I'd like to thank you all for really making this Shantaram revisit the wonderful and thought provolking discussion that it's been! Without you all, there would be no JDR discussions!

Is there anything else from the book that you would like to discuss?

There are so MANY things!!!

I'm at a point in the book right now, where he's going to Prabu's hometown, and being touched on the shoulder, many times in one segment. I think the train trip really was his transition , or 'stepping down off the sidewalk'.
I love to hear about Lin's transitions. Or a list of transformations. Which scene is about what. It does seem that each scene has a purpose. :shistle

Are there any symbolisms in the story?
Do the symbols at the beginning of the chapters mean anything?
(I was thinking they were Caste Tattoos! Probably not. But they're each different.)

How many of the Charachters are real people? Any?
I was suprised to hear at a JDR interview with Lin, that Prabu was based on a helper who wasn't 'nice'. Are there any other similarities/differences with real people? Is Karla a real person? Or complete fiction? :ph43r:

I've really enjoyed this book reading, and the contemplating that has gone with it. There's alot to be said for the freedom to openly contemplate! I've learned so much, and look forward to finishing the book with this discussion in mind. :thumbsup :thumbsup Thanks Karen.

I'm curious about Lisa Carter. Why is she in the picture? What does she bring to Lin's character development? Why can't he seem to love her? Who would make a good Lisa Carter in the film?

I really enjoyed participating in this discussion with all of you and I'm very grateful to JDR for introducing me to this book! Everyone's insights were great and I loved seeing all the pictures!
I'm usually not one for re-reading books no matter how much I like them, but before the movie comes out, I can see me pulling this out again.

I guess we pretty much covered everything thanks to Karen's wonderful choice of questions, but I do have one question myself. Did I read correctly that a Shantaram 2 is in the works?

What's your favorite 2 phrases or quotes in the book ? :captain

Gee I didn't give the symbols at the beginning of each chapter any attention at all...anyone else??


When I asked about the people in the book being "real" he was pretty insistent that they were all fictitious. He was very proud that he had made these amazing characters up. There was the confusion about the Prabu based character, but again, he was very clear to me about the characters. So I guess it's safe to say that Karla was fictitious too.

I glad that you enjoyed the discussion! I love being able to visit about thoughts and ideas when reading a book. I think it helps us see things through other sets of eyes and then be able to see and understand different points of view!

Yes, that is what Greg told me! But he also has many other projects in the works and I think S2 could be quite a way off. Darn...

That's a good question about Lisa...why was she there???

Here are two of my favorites:

"News tells us what people did. Gossip tells us how much they enjoyed it."

"Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy things."

oh, and one more:

"I don't know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us or our endless ability to endure it."

Yikes!

I don't know if this is the right place or not so please move it if you need to. Or delete it. I wanted to say :thanks to Karen and the others for re-visiting Shantaram. I am shy about posting my opinions. I wish I was more brave. I have always loved books and my DH and I have a house full of them. This place has introduced so many new books to me - books that I never would have known about. :thanks

What is next?

I am still trying to figure this one out!! Good question....

Many thanks Heidigrant40. I hope you will join in the discussions one day.


Good question...I am looking at a couple of books now...as soon as I know, LOL....it'll be right here. :)

I had to think about this one because I have a few favorites but the one that really sticks out for me is, 'luck happens when fate gets tired of waiting'.

It's interesting that GDR doesn't write what kind of luck, good or bad, that might intervene.

I like all the ones that have been shared. I have so many "dog-eared"pages in this book for quotes and passages that have made me stop and think. For some reason, this passage has stuck with me:

"... But the soul has no culture. The soul has no nations. The soul has no colour or accent or way of life. The soul is forever. The soul is one. And when the heart has its moment of truth and sorrow, the soul can't be stilled."

and:

"...that suffering, of every kind, is always a matter of what we've lost. When we're young, we think that suffering is something that's done to us. When we get older---when the steel door slams shut, in one way or another----we know that real suffering is measured by what's taken away from us."

and:

"We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive."

Here's one that always "gets me"


"...some things are just so sad that only your soul can do the crying for you."

Oh that's a great one too Karen-------no wonder this book has affected so many people around the world--------

I really want to :thanks everyone for posting your favorite quotes. I had imagined that everyone would have the same first quote! :lol: (Shows how naiive and dreamy I can be when I want to be.) So now I'll post my all time favorite:

"...Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons."

Now I personally would never DO something like that but I'm contemplating that this is what makes some men 'tick' or function. Is this where a person can measure a man's pride?

A second one..well, ...the one that I'm 'hung up on now' is:

P.136 (soft cover)
"I was thinking about another kind of river, one that runs through everyone of us, no matter where we come from, all over the world. It's the river of the heart, and the heart's desire. It's the pure , essential truth of what each of us is, and can acheive. All my life I'd been a fighter. I was always ready, too ready, to fight for what I loved, and against what I deplored. In the end, I became the expression of that fight, and my real nature was concealed behind a mask of menace and hostility. The message of my face and my body's movement was, like that of a lot of other hard men, Don't **** with me. In the end, I became so good at expressing the sentiment that the whole of my life became the message. "

Then he goes on in the next paragraph... that the villagers took him for a peaceful man. Then they go on to name him Shantaram.

Hmmm... :rolleyes: This statement really shows to NOT judge a person for what they look like, but who they really are. For me, it's quite profound. It also shows how a person could be fighting for what's right, and be seen as doing something wrong.

There really are so many really good and profound statements!! So many things to give us something to think about..thanks for asking the question! ;)

I also think it's the way Roberts puts the words together----the way he chooses words and expresses himself---it really is one of the most beautifully written books I've read.

It's really no wonder it took him so long to write. With all the profound statements, and the dancy rhythmic flow ... hmmm... I could NEVER write like that. Not in a million years ! I'm glad Shantaram has become a popular book.

I can imagine Greg, through his life, with hundreds of little 'statements' on little post-its, or tape and paper, stuck on a wall somewhwere. LOL... :lol:

Agreed!! It's really quite moving to read this level of writing and to realize what can be done with language. It's a gift, all the way around. :bow

This passage is very telling. It's Lin's unwitting confession about how hard he's trying to hold onto an identity of toughness inspite of others (the simple souls of the slums) seeing him in another light altogether. I think throughout the story we see glimpses of the other Lin - the softer, kinder, peace loving, Lin - but then the old identity pattern comes into play again which he can't or won't shake. Appearing hostile and menacing trumps having his true nature revealed, to himself or to others for very long. It's easier to express the scope and depth of all his feelings through fighting.
I think I mentioned earilier my opinion that India has a way of stripping away any surface personas a person might carry about who they think they are. That's pretty threatening (and bloody inconvenient!), but it also offers an invitation to discover other, deeper, perhaps purer, levels of being. In the realm of self-knowledge or self-awareness there's no place like India to bring a person to his or her roots. In some ways, I think this is what Shantaram is really all about.

Yeah, I will agree with you on that.
It's like, when we asked the question about the slums, and would you help?

It's like...the difference between:
Ok sure, I'll help them out a bit.
Ok, sure I'll volunteer for a month.
Ok, sure, I'll emerse myself WITH them for however LONG they NEED it, in the SSSLLLUUUMMMSSSS....

There's a BIG difference in each of those sentences.
I read a blog about a girl who volunteered somewhere 3rd world, Never mind the Malaria and the TB ... she talked about COBRAS in the KITCHEN. YIKES! (The last encounter ended up being a Goat with a bucket stuck on it's head and not a Cobra ! ) :lol:

There are more than 2 for me. I have so many highlighted passages. I am going to finish the book before finishing the discussion points. I'm still in Afghanistan.

Okay. Thanks Karen.

Please delete this if I am stepping on toes here. I hope one of the books you are looking at isn't this one. Wait Until Spring, Bandini by John Fante

Another site is going to discuss the book because a reprint is supposed to contain a new forward written by Johnny. Right now its only supposed to be available on the UK Amazon site, but they are shipping the old one without the forward by Johnny. Who knows when that will be available. No one is able to get the new book and everyone is having to return it.

If I shouldn't have posted this then, please remove it. I hope I haven't caused any trouble. I like this site and don't want to make anyone mad.

Wait Until Spring, Bandini is really a good book, though, even if it's been hard to get the new edition with Johnny's foreward. It's worth reading anyway. Just my two cents! ;)

Nope, no toes stepped on here! No one mad either. :)

Thanks for the caution HeidiGrant 40, but don't worry, that's not one of the books I am looking at. I knew the revised issue was coming out and I spoke with a local bookselller here about availability when I first heard about it and they said it was almost impossible to guarantee when it would or IF it would be available in the states. I see she was right. IF we were to discuss something like this (we have discussed "Burton on Burton" twice because of Johnny's updated forwards and because Tim and Johnny are such good friends) it would HAVE to have the forward as that would be a big part of the discussion.

Thanks Parlez for the :thumbsup about the book, but until we have the forward written by Johnny... I won't put it on the list. Glad to know that it's a good read tho! It may end up on the list one day!


Thanks to all for your help and input, it's always appreciated! :thanks

I just wanted to add my thanks and appreciation for the great discussion to Karen and everyone else who participated I enjoyed it thoroughly and want to encourage anyone who is lurking out there to jump in on the next one - I lurked through the last several discussions and am so glad that I joined in. It was thought provoking and quite a bit of fun!

Here are 2, for now. I'm sure I will add many more later.

There are just so many profound revelations throughout. thanks for asking, Depputante!

"Love is the opposite of power. That's why we fear it so much". Karla, pg. 39

"Optimism is the first cousin of love, and it's exactly like love in three ways: it's pushy, it has no real sense of humor and it turns up where you least expect it." pg. 90

and I'm still not quite finished reading :shistle

Two more amazing quotes I loved:

"What we call cowardice is often just another name for being taken by surprise, and courage is seldom any better than being well prepared." ~ pg. 70

"Indian actors are the greatest in the world, one of them said once, because Indian people know how to shout with their eyes." ~ pg. 75

I love the quotes you've chosen, amp! :thumbsup
The one about optimism being like love is one of my favorites. And Indian actors being able to shout with their eyes is SO true! I can't wait to see what Mira Nair does with/for Johnny's eyes... :thud

Finished the book, finally!

Not quite finished listing all the quotes I have highlighted.

"Wisdom is just cleverness, with all the guts kicked out of it. id' rather be clever than wise any day." (Karla again) ~ pg. 99

"There's a special anger we reserve for people who won't let us do them a good turn." ~ pg. 281

"....like everyone else in the world who smokes, I wanted to die at least as much as I wanted to live." ~ pg. 371

"One if the ironies of courage, and the reason why we prize it so highly, is that we find it easier to be brave for someone else than we do for ourselves alone." ~ pg. 381

And whoever plays Prabu!!! He's just GOT to have great eyes!!