Shantaram | 
 vergrössern | Autor: Gregory David Roberts
Urheber: Gregory David Roberts
Verleger: Griffin
Kaufen Neu: EUR 7,09
Neu (17) Gebraucht (10) ab EUR 6,13
Bewertung:  12 Rezensionen
Verkaufsrang: 43
Medium: Taschenbuch
Ausgabe: First.
Seiten: 944
Versandgewicht: 1.6
Maße (innen): 8 x 5.4 x 1.7
ISBN: 0312330537
Dewey Dezimalzahl: 823.92
EAN: 9780312330538
ASIN: 0312330537
Publikation: November 2005
Verfügbarkeit: Gewoehnlich versandfertig bei Amazon in 24 Stunden
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Amazon.com
Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's peace," which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that's only the beginning. He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident "doctor." With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla's connections are murky from the outset. Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan
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Gripping from start to finish! Dezember 1, 2008
Leonie M. (Augsburg)
Shantaram is one of that kind of books that calls for a rainy or foggy November day, for a cosy chair and a good, steaming Indian Darjeeling cup of tea.
It is a strong and satisfying novel, with a taste that lingers the memory.
I love it very much because of the first-person narrative and of a wonderful, admirable writing style as well.
After escaping from an Australian most inhuman prison in the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict was using the name Lindsay Ford from a false New Zealand passport for smuggling himself to India to go underground in the slum of Bombay (Mumbai). Since he escaped, he flew across the world because he was the most wanted man of his country.
Here he tells his story about his first trip to India. Living in the land where heart is the king, left everything behind, he was just running on instinct and pushing his luck. Accordingly to his experiences the simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that, when you go there and you deal with them, your heart always guides you more wisely than your head. It was one of his best decisions of his life as he trusted the Indian fellow on sight and he got the chance to know and to love him as friend.
The luck led him to know a mysterious but beautiful woman, he has ever seen, green-eyed Karla Saaranen, on his very first day on the street of Bombay. She was reasonably good at being a friend, but at being an enemy also. In his opinion Karla had that kind of power to make men shine like the stars, or crash them to dust.
Lindsay learned some Indian languages Hindi, Marathi but himself became to be well known by the nicknames Lin, Linbaba, Shantaram or even The Bite of the Tiger.
Using his first-aid kit as the basis, he established in poverty of Bombay illegal slum a little open-air health clinic. Just trying to do the right thing, he found often a quantum of solace in his work and by his friends like Prabaker Kishan Kharre or Abdullah Taheri.
Fate put him into the game of the Bombay mafia. Worked as a gunrunner, as a smuggler and a counterfeiter. He found some honourable men. Of course, it is strange and incongrous to hear how he describes criminals, killers, and mafiosi as men of honour who were amongst them. Nevertheles, he had some strange experiences and this is the extremly gripping story of his life, told with all his heart. It was a real blow to him to be buffeled by fate but he kept on his aim at writing under the hardest circumstances.
Now, Gregory David Roberts is a fulltime writer. He lives in Melbourne.
He created the atmosphere of the slum in the suburbs of Bombay and its events in the richest details. His enthralling debut novel tells is an adventure about love, hate, fight, betrayal and conspiracy. You can get lost into for days, nor just hours.
It is really worth reading!
Packender Schmoeker! September 5, 2008
Tina (Wien)
0 aus 1 fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Toller, sehr gut zu lesender Roman!Lustig, gut geschrieben, farbenreich. Wer in Indien war, wird vieles verstehen und nachvollziehen koennen. Fuer Freunde von Schmoekern, die nicht allzu tief gehen und einfach aber extrem fesselnd zu lesen sind, ist dieses genau und exakt das Richtige.LESEN!
Ein grossartiges Werk! Mai 13, 2008
Don Paesano
6 aus 7 fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Ich konnte das Buch fuer volle vier Tage nicht aus den Haenden legen. Ich las immer und ueberall, waehrend dem Essen, auf dem Klo, auf dem Weg zum Klo, auf dem Rueckweg vom Klo. Und schliesslich mit einer Stirnlampe in der Haengematte. Das Buch nimmt einem mit auf eine Reise mit David Roberts, die durch ein Indien fuehrt wie ich es noch nie beschrieben bekommen habe. Die Geschichte geht vorwaerts wie ein Gueterzug. Seite fuer Seite etwas Neues, Aufregendes, Spannendes. Die Sprache ist gut verstaendlich und wunderschoen geschrieben. Ich schliesse mich meinen Vorrednern nicht an, die die Philosophie zum Teil als "cheesy" beschreiben. Ich war vielmehr beeindruckt vom Autor, diesem unglaublichen Typen, der Dinge erlebt und so wunderbar beschreibt, die weit weit ueber uebliche "Reiseerfahrungen" hinweg reichen.
Das Buch hat mich zum Lachen gebracht und mich zu Traenen geruehrt. Es war keine Seite (!) langweilig. Im Gegenteil. Fesseln, spannend, intensiv, fordernd. Das Ende, wie viele Abschnitte zuvor, musste ich gleich mehrmals lesen...Gaensehaut!
Habe das Buch bereits x-mal verschenkt - uneingeschraenkter Lesetip!
Always a new surprise Februar 4, 2008
Hans-Curt Flemming (Muelheim/Ruhr)
0 aus 1 fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
This is a fascinating book which I could not leave alone - I had to read it and was intrigued about what would come after the next corner. And the next...
A completely new perspective of the Bombay slum and of the social networks. Plus, the bittersweet love story. It is well written and bears the touch of reality.
Absolutely worthy entertainment. I would be very much interested to learn how he was captured finally and what he is doing now.
 Raeucherstaebchen Juli 3, 2007
agardenchair (Germany)
8 aus 22 fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Zugegeben, dies ist bestimmt ein ordentlich geschriebener Abenteuerroman. Und er ist an manchen Stellen auch lustig. Sprachlich bewegt er sich in etwa auf der Hoehe eines Dan Brown, mit dem Unterschied, dass Gregory D. Roberts eine Vorliebe fuer komplizierte Adjektive hat. Sollte man eine weitere Vorliebe dieses Schriftstellers angeben, so waere man gezwungen, das Sammeln von Aphorismen anzufuehren. Mit dem Konvolut von unheimlich sinnreichen Sprueche, die in diesem Buch angehaeuft sind, koennte man ganze Abreisskalender ausstaffieren. Beispiele: "Truth is a bully, you'd like to know", "Es war nicht die Hoelle, aber es gab keinen Himmel", etc. Wieso nicht einfach weitermachen mit: "Manchmal ist das Leben nicht schwarz oder weiss, sondern grau" oder "Es gibt Gutes und es gibt Schlechtes, aber meistens bekommt man beides serviert", etc.?
An allen Ecken und Enden des Romans findet man diese sprachlichen Raeucherstaebchen, die Tiefe suggerieren wollen. Der Roman liest sich stellenweise wie ein ausgesprochener Jugendroman. Hier wird der Sound grosser gleichnishafter Erzaehlungen im Stil von Hemingway oder Conrad imitiert. Ein Nachfolger Hemingways oder Conrads ist der Autor deshalb nicht.
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