Slum-Bear-Millionaire

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts was a challenging book to read; I was not quite sure how to pace myself. On one hand, I was eager to go through the lengthy novel and absorb the story line. On the other hand, I wanted to savour the text, remembering the words of a friend who said she was jealous that I was reading Shantaram for the first time and that when she finished the book, she was sad it was over. In the end, I took a mix of the two approaches. There were times I had to leave the book to walk away and think about the author's words, and there were times I could not bear to stop reading, sacrificing a few household chores along the way just to learn what was next.

The story was told through the eyes of a fugitive and was a mix of action, philosophy, and introspection. The novel explores loss, love, freedom, and the idea of redemption. "Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons" is a frequent theme. The main character is a likeable fellow, and the reader can empathize with his sentiments of love, anger, pity, and elation, though perhaps not the actions which may have driven those emotions (unless some of you are involved in organized crime). I saw a hard side to the characters as it pertained to business and honour, and a soft side as those characters dealt with others in a gentle dignity and love. There are even a few moments when one cannot help but laugh as several characters deal with a bear at various points along the way. Through the book, we receive a glimpse of counterfeiting, currency exchange, arms movement, and a life in the slum. Fate and choice is discussed in a barroom conversation and grief is expressed in the ability to avoid it, sometimes with the help of a drug. Friends are made and lost, and the book finishes with a paragraph that might seem hokey if read alone, but after having read Shantaram seems the appropriate ending to the story told before.

So I am done with Linbaba's tale for now, but think it is a book I would revisit again to pick up those subtleties I missed on the first read. (In fact, I have already done so as I reread the beginning this morning.) With a deeper understanding of my friend's words, I might also be envious of you when you read it for the first time.