As Prabu and Lin continue their adventures, the latter finds himself living in the city’s slums and opens a medical clinic to cater to the poorest population, where Lin becomes involved with the shady underworld and black market living. While they venture out to better explore Bombay and eventually other parts of the state, Lin learns the culural differences between India and his Australian upbringing.
Prabu is able to help Lin make numerous connections in and around the city. Their connection is almost instantaneous, soon becoming an entertaining pair throughout the narrative. As Lin befriends others who have recently arrive in country, seeking to blend into the billions around him with vague and beige backstories, he meets a tour guide, Prabaker (Prabu). These include Karla Saarinen, a woman who occupies Lin’s mind and dreams from the moment he lays eyes on her. It is, however, home to many who have the same idea, hiding from their criminal pasts elsewhere. Early on, Lin is forced to realise that India is a beast unlike any other culturally, racially, and economically. As the novel opens, the reader is introduced to Lin, a man who has escaped his Australian jail and arrives in Bombay, hoping to hide in India’s vast populace. Returning to read Gregory David Roberts’ epic novel again, I found myself drawn to the complexities and nuances embedded throughout the text.
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