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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
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:
No
A mixture of some beautiful prose and some pretentious dialogues
I read Shantaram a few years ago on the recommendation of someone at Chapters and was so enthralled with the brilliant, rich characters that Gregory David Roberts created. To me, it was the most textural experience of a place I have ever read and I truly loved the story. I was nervous picking up The Mountain Shadow as I wasn't sure it would match my expectations, but it did. An absolutely lovely book by a fantastic storyteller!
The perfect sequel to Shantaram. So great to delve into that world of wonderful characters again.
Not as good as Shantaram (READ IT, by the way, if you haven’t already) but not a bad follow up in the great wide world of sequels. I really adore GDR’s writing; it’s deep and philosophical without being tedious. Just gorgeous, start to finish. As I think I mentioned in my review of Shantaram, every single line is quotable. I mean, these books are literally 1,000 page tomes of mind blowing one-liners. (Take note, Stephanie Meyers of the world!)
The Mountain Shadow picks up right where Shantaram left off and offers just as much action-packed, romance-infused adventure as its predecessor.
If I have one gripe with this book it would be that it tidied things up a bit at the end, which would be awesome if it weren’t for the fact that the last book was so goddamn brilliant because the story was left perfectly messy. Just like life. Don’t get me wrong, GDR didn’t go all rogue and Rom-Com, but it was just a little happy-ending-ier than I wanted it to be…
Read it anyway. It’s quality literature, and totally worth your time.
The Mountain Shadow picks up right where Shantaram left off and offers just as much action-packed, romance-infused adventure as its predecessor.
If I have one gripe with this book it would be that it tidied things up a bit at the end, which would be awesome if it weren’t for the fact that the last book was so goddamn brilliant because the story was left perfectly messy. Just like life. Don’t get me wrong, GDR didn’t go all rogue and Rom-Com, but it was just a little happy-ending-ier than I wanted it to be…
Read it anyway. It’s quality literature, and totally worth your time.
I LOVED Shantaram. So much that I’ve read it 3 times. I could not even get through 50 pages of this follow up. The abstract metaphors and unnecessary flowery language and rambling sentences that mean nothing and go nowhere … I just can’t do it. And one of my mottos is “life’s too short to keep reading a book you’re not enjoying”, though usually I try to give it 50 pages before I give up on it. I made it to page 34 before I’d decided not to waste any more time on it.
Long story short - if you haven’t read Shantaram, I highly recommend it. I do not recommend this one. Now I might go read Shantaram for a 4th time, to get ready for the Apple TV adaptation that comes out next month (!!) - finally!!
Long story short - if you haven’t read Shantaram, I highly recommend it. I do not recommend this one. Now I might go read Shantaram for a 4th time, to get ready for the Apple TV adaptation that comes out next month (!!) - finally!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not as good as Shantaram. But his writing style is still impressive. You feel so connected to the characters. They're so real.
First of all, I do not recommend this to any of my friends, because it's pretty bad.
I still loved it, because I got to spend some more time with characters I love so well from Shantaram, one of my favorite books ever (top 5 lifetime list). But unlike the racing plot and sparkling local color of Shantaram, this was rambling and made me wonder "what's the point" when I finished it. 900 pages is a big commitment to make to something that just isn't that great. Still spending more time with Lin and Karla and the outrageous cast of characters was a treasure and I couldn't put it down. One thing I will give Roberts: normally I get lost in a big cast and can't remember which character is which. But I know all of these dozens so well because they are so masterfully developed.
Bottom line: Not recommended unless you are Shantaram obsessed like me. If you are, drop everything and read it.
I still loved it, because I got to spend some more time with characters I love so well from Shantaram, one of my favorite books ever (top 5 lifetime list). But unlike the racing plot and sparkling local color of Shantaram, this was rambling and made me wonder "what's the point" when I finished it. 900 pages is a big commitment to make to something that just isn't that great. Still spending more time with Lin and Karla and the outrageous cast of characters was a treasure and I couldn't put it down. One thing I will give Roberts: normally I get lost in a big cast and can't remember which character is which. But I know all of these dozens so well because they are so masterfully developed.
Bottom line: Not recommended unless you are Shantaram obsessed like me. If you are, drop everything and read it.