The lives that some people lead can put fiction to shame. One such example would be Australian novelist Gregory David Roberts, a former heroin addict who held up banks with a toy pistol. Apprehended and sentenced to 19 years in prison, Roberts, driven to escape by the cruelty of his captors, obtained a forged New Zealand passport and in early 1982 found himself on the lam in Bombay, India, where he was to spend the next 10 years. He was recaptured in Germany and, upon his release from prison in 1997, went on to become a literary phenomenon.
"Shantaram," the first in what will eventually be a quartet, is the fictionalized account of Roberts' years on the run in Bombay.
Protagonist Lindsay's adventure begins with his arrival at the airport, whereupon he makes the acquaintance of his native guide, a tiny man with a huge grin, named Prabaker Karre, who promises to show him "more than everything." Lindsay's rapport with his guide becomes the catalyst for his emotional attachment to India -- and vice versa, for the affection seems to be mutual.