Ah, the sweet taste of revenge to go with your morning chai. Shantaram is full of double-crosses, and so it should come as no surprise that revenge takes center stage, as well. The narrator is quick to trust people, but once they betray him he has a hard time shaking it off, and usually tries hunting down whomever has hurt him, or those he loves, and punishing them. There is a kind of a twist though; he mostly doesn't go through with it. The thirst for revenge drives him to the point of no return and he usually chooses not to pass it.
Questions About Revenge
- Why does Madame Zhou betray Lin? Why does he want to take revenge on her so badly, and not other baddies in the novel?
- What does Lin decide when he finally has the chance to take revenge? Why?
- How is Lin's desire for revenge different from Khaled's or Abdullah's?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Lin's desire for revenge is personal; Khaled's is collective.
Shantaram shows how a lust for revenge can eat away at a person's soul—bad times.