Reviews tagging 'Death'

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

12 reviews

loquaciousleon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a book that changed my life.

This is a book I was buying for people before I finished.

AND, this book is heavy. (A lot of trigger warnings.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

tmidge22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

molliekneath's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault

wifeslife's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

cherub__'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a complicated book with a complicated history. In a sense, it's no wonder the page count approaches 1000. There is so much life, history, emotion, and tension packed into every single chapter. The prose can be poetic at times, but sometimes borders on pretentious. It's action-packed, but also slow-paced over the whole -- it really does feel as though I've read 7 years of the author's life. Rarely have I read a novel so capable of expressing scenes in an urban environment, and for a reader who loves urban travel/exploration, the early chapters are a delight of new characters and experiences.

There are two things I'm still chewing on after reading. The first is the matter of authenticity and authorial honesty. Shantaram is marketed as fiction, but the events are obviously inspired by the author's real life experiences in 1980s Mumbai and characters are either entirely real people or are barely-hidden composites of real people. Unfortunately, Prabaker's real-life family disputes the events as told in the story, which gives the story more than a hint of exploitation. This, in addition to the history of Orientalism and travel books going back to the 1960s, put Shantaram in somewhat uncomfortable company.

The second concerning aspect is the core philosophy seemingly held by the author and doled out over the course of the narrative. As Lin learns through his conversations with

Khaderbai

, there begins to be a unifying theme in the novel surrounding the notions of good vs. evil and personal redemption. The philosophy lesson contrasts subtly with a distinct lack of personal growth: Lin accumulates an increasingly fantastical amount of experiences but seems almost wholly immune to gathering the associated wisdom. He is, in essence, the same person/decision-maker at the end of the book as at the beginning, just with more power and an additional 7-8 years of stories to tell. Whether this is an intentional choice by the author or a byproduct of the author's true beliefs is hard to tell, but the proselytizing tone and minor hero complex displayed by the self-insert main character combined with a philosophy that more or less excuses the worst behaviors displayed in the book makes for an interesting reflection after reading.

Despite the above, I'd recommend reading this book to anybody who enjoys characters who are larger than life. Each little interaction in Leopold's or the slums was leaps and bounds more interesting than some of the more fantastical plot points!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, and War

Moderate: Car accident

tanya_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, War, and Injury/Injury detail

edgarallenshoe's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

"I was interested in everything and committed to nothing" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Drug abuse

Moderate: War

jennimunro's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, and War

booksonadventures's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 • Things that worked: vivid descriptions of India, insight into symbiosis between crime and poverty, thought-provoking philosophical discussions. 

• Things that didn’t: pretentious and “too-good-to-be-true” main character (Lin), longer than necessary. 

Early in Shantaram and fresh off the plane from Australia, Lin comments on the unique “freedom” of Indian people living in slums. TBH I almost quit the book right there. I’m not interested in reading about white people who travel to romanticize poverty. Despite my efforts to hate Lin, I stuck with it (mainly due to Prabaker ❤️), and somehow got swept up in this mind-blowing epic of love, life, brotherhood, and betrayal.

I wouldn’t say I LIKE Lin—he’s painfully pretentious—but I did grow to respect him. Despite being the convenient hero of every story (🙄), Lin does a decent job of acknowledging his arrogance & showing how his white saviorism doesn’t hold up in reality. I also believe that GDR genuinely attempted to illustrate the heart of India, with all its nuance and chaos, making Bombay the most fascinating character in the story. 

Look, this is a LONG book, and it’s packed to the brim with dizzying escapades, from the poorest slums to Bollywood, from mafia mansions to the middle of a war in Afghanistan. The author claims this novel is based entirely on his real experiences with fictionalized characters, but it’s obvious that much of this novel is fiction, including his infallible alter-ego. 

GDR used a lot of foreshadowing and epiphanies throughout this novel, with a reflective and overly embellished writing style that’s certainly not for everyone. Some parts are ridiculous, but others moved me. Shantaram didn’t need to be 900 pages, but there are enough nuggets of wisdom and “Indian heart” buried among the pseudo-philosophy that I feel it was worth my time. 

Final thoughts: 👍🏻 Recommended, but not a new favorite by any means. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Violence

zormal815's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I just felt like the narrator was a bit on a high horse about being connected to everyone in this culture that wasn’t his own. I guess it felt a bit too white savior? The story was ok but representation in this book was just off.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Cultural appropriation