Megan O'Grady of The New York Times wrote "Few stand out quite like "Shantaram"", calling it a "gentle giant".[12]
Carole Burns of The Washington Post described Gregory David Robert's "blatantly autobiographical" novel as sprawling and intelligent.[13]
Emma Lee-Potter of The Independent listed it as one of the 12 best Indian novels, calling it a "page-turning debut".[14]