I have been working on this epic book for a while, I keep coming back to it, mulling parts over, and trying to work out what it's really about. On the surface it's a story of an escapee from a high security prison in Australia who finds his way to Bombay and about his experiences there. But overall I think the book is about love and its many forms. It's also beautifully written in such a way that it leaves me with a stack of polaroids of moments from the novel. It's packed with quotes that I am unable to leave behind:
"Sometimes we love nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that's all there is: love and it's duty, sorrow and it's truth. In the end that's all we have - to hold on tight until the dawn.
"My culture had taught me all the wrong things well. 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 or sorrow, the soul can't be stilled.
I clenched my teeth against the stars. I closed my eyes. I surrendered to sleep. One of the reasons why we crave love, and seek it so desperately is that love is the only cure for loneliness, and shame, and sorrow. But some feelings sink so deep into the heart that only loneliness can help you find them again. Some truths about yourself are so painful that only shame can help you live with them. And somethings are just so sad that only your soul can do the crying for you."
Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. I have heard reports of books being trashed 12 times and rewritten, but I forget who by. (Maybe Rushdie?) If anyone can recall any I would love to know. That fascinates me that someone should be so desperate to externalise a story that they would rewrite it so many times.
There are also plans to turn Shantaram into at least 1 movie starring Johnny Depp and directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). |
