A novel of high adventure, great storytelling and moral purpose, based on an extraordinary true story of eight years in the Bombay underworld.

‘In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australia prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street solider. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fell in love and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan .........amazingly, Roberts wrote SHANTARAM three times after prison guards trashed the first twi versions. It’s a profound tribute to his will power......at once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.