Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are onlya few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostlyautobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, orLinbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's peace," whichis what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that priorto his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he hadbegun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over thewall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed tosupport his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apartand he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for severallifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that's only the beginning. He arrives inBombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellablepast, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker rightaway, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Linimmediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where theyend up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take upresidence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomesthe resident "doctor." With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatevermedicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets upa practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who havenothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meetsKarla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love.Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla's connections are murkyfrom the outset. Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some ofhis prose is downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy witha tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but abasically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurtanyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldierof fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in acorrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel andthe sequel.