tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post6185668125972543572..comments2023-08-25T06:42:01.114-07:00Comments on The Little Bird: Book Review: SHANTARAM, by Gregory David RobertsTheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086041454745467558noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post-15119146785067199422011-03-10T10:07:39.106-08:002011-03-10T10:07:39.106-08:00Just finished it.
It is a good read, it held my in...Just finished it.<br />It is a good read, it held my interest all the way through and kept me up far too late some nights.<br />It's not perfect though. The blend of fiction and non-fiction was annoying at first, but ok once I got used to it. The descriptive writing is actually very good, but there is far, far, far too much of it. The psychology is also very good, the best aspect of the bok for me (the author must have experienced alot, you don't get this stuff from psychology testbooks). However, the attempts at philosophy are very, very bad, real angst-ridden teenager stuff, and partly based on an understanding of physics that is just plain wrong. 4/5Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post-5119542125172947402009-09-10T15:33:46.211-07:002009-09-10T15:33:46.211-07:00I just finished the book today... I found it on Ha...I just finished the book today... I found it on Harrison Street in San Francisco and just decided "what the hell I'll read it." It's excellent in that he sticks to a straight-forward, classic style. Only people who are telling a TRUE story (not merely factual) can get away with that for me these days. It does get pretty flowery but I was thinking that only a true romantic would be able to lead that kind of life anyway! Who else could keep going except someone who saw the beauty in it?! It's kick ass, best book...er novel I've read in a while and worth the nine hundered plus pages. -benAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08683280578132968365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post-47139124619297008822009-02-17T07:26:00.000-08:002009-02-17T07:26:00.000-08:00I always imagined Didier to be a chubby guy. Someh...I always imagined Didier to be a chubby guy. Somehow, Depp wouldnt be it.<BR/><BR/>I thought Amitabh Bachan would be a perfect Khaderbhai and John Abraham a good abdullah ( Indian actors both, look em up)<BR/><BR/>Having seen glimpses of Mumbai, somehow, the story isn't entirely unimaginable in the setting.Jil Jil Ramamanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13155289939576524389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post-35898957692068702102008-07-31T21:15:00.000-07:002008-07-31T21:15:00.000-07:00Awful book, full of purple prose (the description ...Awful book, full of purple prose (the description of Lin and Karla making love for the first time is hilariuosly embarrassing) and ridiculous, self important philosophising.<BR/><BR/>Lin is some lind of cross between Rambo and Mother Teresa whose introspection and self-pity are a bit hard to swallow when compared to the real hardship that many slum dwellers suffer. <BR/><BR/>The most ridiculous character is Karla, a woman who is reduced to cold, secretive green eyed beauty who spouts pearls of wisdom for every ocassion. Khanderbhai is an out-and-out amoral sociopath and Prabaker is like a bad colonial caricature form the 1950s.<BR/><BR/>If the book had been confined to a 300 page novel about organised crime in India, it would be a thrilling read, instead it drowns in tedious moralising and navel gazing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15584439.post-9607344527655656492007-11-07T04:39:00.000-08:002007-11-07T04:39:00.000-08:00It was a boring airport bookstall where I found th...It was a boring airport bookstall where I found this book, and it got my attention immdly, I have started reading and I should say it has a very good narative and a strong characterisation of all the characters.Final_Takehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01924200588611931768noreply@blogger.com