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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
In one word: Disappointment. The magic was missing for me. Too many subplots and frankly there were bits wherein I got bored. It was exhausting to finish this tome of a meandering read, and that's saying enough.
Sursa tuturor lucrurilor, lumina, are mai multe forme decât sunt stele pe cer. Un
singur gând frumos este suficient pentru a o face să strălucească. Însă o singură
greşeală poate pârjoli o întreagă pădure în suflet, ascunzând toţi aştrii de pe cer. Iar, în
vreme ce greşeala încă te mistuie, iubirea ori credinţa pierdută îţi poate da senzaţia că
totul s-a sfârşit, că nu poţi merge mai departe. Dar acest lucru nu este adevărat. Nu este
câtuşi de puţin adevărat. Indiferent ce ai făcut, indiferent unde te-ai rătăcit, lumina nu te
părăseşte niciodată. Orice lucru bun care s-a stins în tine poate reînvia, dacă ţi-o doreşti
din tot sufletul. Inima nu ştie să renunţe, pentru că inima nu ştie să mintă. Îţi ridici
privirea din carte, întâlneşti zâmbetul unui necunoscut şi căutarea reîncepe. Nu se
aseamănă cu ceea ce a fost. Este întotdeauna diferită. Însă noua pădure ce creşte în
inima deja vătămată este, uneori, mai deasă şi mai puternică decât înaintea pârjolului.
Iar, dacă zăboveşti o clipă acolo, în lumina renăscută dinlăuntrul tău, ierţi totul şi nu te
dai bătut, mai devreme sau mai târziu te vei reîntoarce în locul în care lumea era
alcătuită din dragoste şi frumuseţe: la origini. La origini.
— Salutare, Lin. Asta da surpriză! a strigat Vikram, dintr-un colţ al încăperii
întunecoase şi umede. Cum m-ai găsit? Când te-ai întors?
— Adineauri, am răspuns, din pragul uşilor mari ce dădeau pe terasa dinspre
stradă. Unul dintre băieţi mi-a spus unde eşti. Vino puţin până afară.
— Intră, frate, a spus Vikram, râzând. Hai să-ţi fac cunoştinţă cu băieţii.
Am şovăit preţ de o clipă. Din cauza luminii de afară, nu distingeam decât nişte
forme vagi în camera întunecoasă. Singurul lucru pe care îl desluşeam erau două raze
de soare care se strecurau prin obloanele trase, tăind fumul aromat de haşiş şi parfumul
vanilat de heroină neagră.
singur gând frumos este suficient pentru a o face să strălucească. Însă o singură
greşeală poate pârjoli o întreagă pădure în suflet, ascunzând toţi aştrii de pe cer. Iar, în
vreme ce greşeala încă te mistuie, iubirea ori credinţa pierdută îţi poate da senzaţia că
totul s-a sfârşit, că nu poţi merge mai departe. Dar acest lucru nu este adevărat. Nu este
câtuşi de puţin adevărat. Indiferent ce ai făcut, indiferent unde te-ai rătăcit, lumina nu te
părăseşte niciodată. Orice lucru bun care s-a stins în tine poate reînvia, dacă ţi-o doreşti
din tot sufletul. Inima nu ştie să renunţe, pentru că inima nu ştie să mintă. Îţi ridici
privirea din carte, întâlneşti zâmbetul unui necunoscut şi căutarea reîncepe. Nu se
aseamănă cu ceea ce a fost. Este întotdeauna diferită. Însă noua pădure ce creşte în
inima deja vătămată este, uneori, mai deasă şi mai puternică decât înaintea pârjolului.
Iar, dacă zăboveşti o clipă acolo, în lumina renăscută dinlăuntrul tău, ierţi totul şi nu te
dai bătut, mai devreme sau mai târziu te vei reîntoarce în locul în care lumea era
alcătuită din dragoste şi frumuseţe: la origini. La origini.
— Salutare, Lin. Asta da surpriză! a strigat Vikram, dintr-un colţ al încăperii
întunecoase şi umede. Cum m-ai găsit? Când te-ai întors?
— Adineauri, am răspuns, din pragul uşilor mari ce dădeau pe terasa dinspre
stradă. Unul dintre băieţi mi-a spus unde eşti. Vino puţin până afară.
— Intră, frate, a spus Vikram, râzând. Hai să-ţi fac cunoştinţă cu băieţii.
Am şovăit preţ de o clipă. Din cauza luminii de afară, nu distingeam decât nişte
forme vagi în camera întunecoasă. Singurul lucru pe care îl desluşeam erau două raze
de soare care se strecurau prin obloanele trase, tăind fumul aromat de haşiş şi parfumul
vanilat de heroină neagră.
3 stars for the moment, might change it to 4 later. I haven't fully made my mind up yet.
What I loved seeing back in this sequel:
The novel was once again a page-turner for me, with vivid scenes and characters. I loved the adventure in Shantaram, and I'm glad to witness the next part of the lives of the beloved characters we got to know. We also met some new characters (some more memorable than others).
Roberts turned the wacky metaphors down a notch, but kept the spirituality present at all times, which made me enjoy the grand discussions and guru-teachings more than the ones in Shantaram.
What I missed in this sequel:
I kept feeling that the adventure of getting to know India and the culture in Bombay was half of the fun of reading the first novel. In this sequel, the protagonist feels at home in the city, and doesn't really encounter the same weird and mind-boggling places anymore. I feel that in the first novel we got to know some out of the ordinary characters once in a while that screamed 'Indian tradition' at you. The second novel is mostly based around a group of foreigners who gathered in this magical city.
Let me wrap things up with my favorite quote from the novel:
"Every peaceful encounter with nature, is a natural conversation with the Divine, which is why it is advisable to live as near to nature as you can"
What I loved seeing back in this sequel:
The novel was once again a page-turner for me, with vivid scenes and characters. I loved the adventure in Shantaram, and I'm glad to witness the next part of the lives of the beloved characters we got to know. We also met some new characters (some more memorable than others).
Roberts turned the wacky metaphors down a notch, but kept the spirituality present at all times, which made me enjoy the grand discussions and guru-teachings more than the ones in Shantaram.
What I missed in this sequel:
I kept feeling that the adventure of getting to know India and the culture in Bombay was half of the fun of reading the first novel. In this sequel, the protagonist feels at home in the city, and doesn't really encounter the same weird and mind-boggling places anymore. I feel that in the first novel we got to know some out of the ordinary characters once in a while that screamed 'Indian tradition' at you. The second novel is mostly based around a group of foreigners who gathered in this magical city.
Let me wrap things up with my favorite quote from the novel:
"Every peaceful encounter with nature, is a natural conversation with the Divine, which is why it is advisable to live as near to nature as you can"
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
Started really strong but goes off on a very spiritual tangent that detracts from the story too much. Just kept skipping large bits and didn’t really care what happened so gave up.
Enjoyed the book with its philosophy overlay. Gregory David Roberts still would benefit from a good editor!
Shantaram was and still is my favourite book so i was always going to love this book but i didnt know just how much. This is not a pointless sequel. The Mountain Shadow is packed with philosophy and importance and it is a fantastic book. Absolutely 5 stars. I have underlined and dog eared throughout. Here is a writer who actually has something to say.
The Mountain Shadow. The sequel to Shantaram! Well it is a book that I will not read twice. The story was so similar to its prequel that it got boring real soon. I literally had to skip through Idriss' philosophies. We had enough of that in Shantaram didn't we? But some parts of the story were interesting but it was equally balanced with meaningless banter. Coincidences are acceptable but an entire roulette of coincidences remove any sort of realism that the author might have tried to project in the story. And the story ends so drastically that I had a feeling of partial fulfilment. Now I regret reading the book and wonder why I didn't stop after Shantaram.
I would like to say, if you haven’t read Shantaram, don’t read this book, it IS a sequel and people saying you can skip the first are so wrong because you will have no grasp on anything.
Shantaram, and now The Mountain Shadows are my favourite books of all time, this broke my heart, I lost characters in this book I held dearly in my heart for years and years of my life.
This was equally as good as the first, and I was putting it off for ages because I didn’t think that was possible.
I do think you need to be a certain type of person to enjoy GDR’s writing, but I think it’s some of the most impressive work I’ve ever read.
This was a journey which took me 18 months to read, because I couldn’t bear it to be over. I’m heartbroken, I’m happy, I’m in mourning, I can’t wait to read this all over again.
Shantaram, and now The Mountain Shadows are my favourite books of all time, this broke my heart, I lost characters in this book I held dearly in my heart for years and years of my life.
This was equally as good as the first, and I was putting it off for ages because I didn’t think that was possible.
I do think you need to be a certain type of person to enjoy GDR’s writing, but I think it’s some of the most impressive work I’ve ever read.
This was a journey which took me 18 months to read, because I couldn’t bear it to be over. I’m heartbroken, I’m happy, I’m in mourning, I can’t wait to read this all over again.
Whenever I come to the end of a Gregory David Roberts book, I feel like I'm leaving a soul relationship. This was another epic read, the sequel to Shantaram which I also loved and found this hard to put down at times, challenging at others but always mesmerised by his poetic use of words, that I often found myself re-reading over and over. Gregory's ability to engage you with the characters leaves you feeling you know them personally and finishing this book has left a hole I now have to fill as I don't know yet another author that fills me with such inspiration with the use of the English language as he does.