image of person or book cover 5915817083508136958.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Shantaram single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2003... 2003 Shantaram
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.'

'As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.'

'Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerillas - this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart.'–BOOK JACKET.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Shantaram United States of America (USA) : Paramount Pictures Anonymous Content , 2018 12552086 2018 series - publisher film/TV

Notes

  • Dedication: For my mother
  • Selected in December 2004 by the Australian public in an ABC poll as Australia's 67th favourite book.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Carlton North, Parkville - Carlton area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2003 .
      image of person or book cover 5915817083508136958.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 936p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication Date  January 1, 2003

      ISBN: 1920769005
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      St. Martin's Press ,
      2004 .
      image of person or book cover 5183973936902734619.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 936p.
      Edition info: 1st US ed.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date October 13, 2004

      ISBN: 0312330529
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Abacus ,
      2004 .
      image of person or book cover 5671208555497973987.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 936p.
      ISBN: 0349117543
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Picador , 2011 .
      image of person or book cover 8887706285452359041.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 933p.p.
      ISBN: 9781742611075, 1742611079
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Abacus ,
      2013 .
      image of person or book cover 1862283729382879608.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Note/s:
      • 'With a new introduction by the author' (front cover).

      ISBN: 9780349138978, 0349138974
Language: French
    • Paris,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Flammarion ,
      2006 .
      image of person or book cover 1437984984946688372.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 871p.
      Reprinted: 2007
      ISBN: 9782080689177, 2080689177
    • Quebec,
      c
      Canada,
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Flammarion ,
      2006 .
      image of person or book cover 5808035782375332929.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 871p.
      ISBN: 9782890773196
    • Paris,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Éd. France Loisirs ,
      2007 .
      image of person or book cover 382314806697164197.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 871p.
      ISBN: 9782298006674
    • Paris,
      c
      France,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      J'ai Lu ,
      2008 .
      image of person or book cover 2409652569827113401.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 871p.
      ISBN: 9782290009253

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Braille.

Works about this Work

'Other' through an 'Other’s' Lens : Representations of India in Gregory David Roberts’s Shantaram Swati Roy Chowdhury , 2024 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australia–India Encounters 2024; (p. 129-148)
Shantaram : Portrait of an Australian Bestseller Brigid Magner , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 28 no. 1 2014; (p. 213-225)
'Gregory David Roberts's semi-autobiographical novel Shantaram has been an Australian bestseller since its original publication in 2003. Marketed largely as nonfiction, Shantaram presents a fictionalized version of the author's experiences as a criminal on the run, particularly his adventures in the Mumbai underworld. Magner critiques Shantaram based upon reviews from newspapers and periodicals along with online fan responses to account for its robust readership. She saysa s an exemplar of a contemporary Australian bestseller, Shantaram is instructive from a number of angles, raising questions about genre distinctions and the workings of taste as well as drawing attention to the practices of publishers, consumers, and fans.' (Publication abstract)
Our Cup Runneth Over : Life-Stories from Fremantle Go National Per Henningsgaard , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Australian Life and Literature 1935–2012 2013; (p. 431-436)
Narrative, Emotions, and Autonomy Amy Mullin , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Narrative, Emotion and Insight 2011; (p. 92-108)
Compares the treatment of emotions in Roberts's work with that in Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April (1922) and Joan Barfoot's Exit Lines (2008).
Reconfiguring 'Asian Australian' Writing : Australia, India and Inez Baranay Paul Sharrad , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 70 no. 3 2010; (p. 11-29) Mapping South Asian Diasporas 2018; (p. 250-267)
A Compelling Life on the Run Cameron Woodhead , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 16 August 2003; (p. 5)

— Review of Shantaram Gregory David Roberts , 2003 single work novel
Over the Wall and Into a Ripping Yarn Nicola Robinson , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 August 2003; (p. 14)

— Review of Shantaram Gregory David Roberts , 2003 single work novel
Home and Away Peter Pierce , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 26 August vol. 121 no. 6387 2003; (p. 75)

— Review of Shantaram Gregory David Roberts , 2003 single work novel ; The Tyrant's Novel Thomas Keneally , 2003 single work novel ; Lives and Embers Jacob G. Rosenberg , 2003 selected work short story ; The Different World of Fin Starling Elizabeth Stead , 2003 single work novel ; My Life as a Fake Peter Carey , 2003 single work novel
Stranger Than Fiction Phil Brown , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 27 August - 2 September no. 458 2003; (p. 9)

— Review of Shantaram Gregory David Roberts , 2003 single work novel
Life Lines Frank Campbell , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30-31 August 2003; (p. 8-9)

— Review of Shantaram Gregory David Roberts , 2003 single work novel
The Scribe Who Takes Risks Jane Sullivan , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 18-19 April 2003; (p. 3)
Interviewed during the first half of 2003, Rosenbloom discusses his publishing house, Scribe, and a new work Shantaram, an autobiographical novel by Greg Roberts, due to be published in mid 2003.
The Face : Greg Roberts : Author Cameron Stewart , 2003 single work biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9-10 August 2003; (p. 3)
Back from the Badlands Andrew Rule , 2003 single work biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 9 August 2003; (p. 24-25, 27-28)
Not Bad to the Bone Tony Baker , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 August 2003; (p. 3)
The Pros and Cons of Rebel Writers Jane Sullivan , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 26 October 2003; (p. 10)

Awards

2004 shortlisted Commonwealth Writers Prize South East Asia and South Pacific Region Best First Book
2003 shortlisted Australian Booksellers Association Awards BookPeople Book of the Year
Last amended 30 Oct 2024 10:55:28
Settings:
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • c
    India,
    c
    South Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • c
    Pakistan,
    c
    South Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • c
    Afghanistan,
    c
    South Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
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