Pic of 1980's Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan thanks to JohnnyLubber

Amitabh Bachchan has been cast in the film as Khader Bhai.


Lin is a wanted man. A very wanted man, yet he loved appearing in the very popular Bollywood movies.

Greg has Lin share the following; "A Dutch mercenary in Kinshasa once told me that the only time he ever stopped hating himself was when the risk he faced became so great that he acted without thinking or feeling anything at all. I wish he had hadn't said it to me because I knew exactly what he meant. And I rode that night, I soared that night, and the stillness of in my heart was almost like being at peace."

Can you name other situations in the book when Lin risked it all.......without thinking or feeling?

There are a few places where he discusses his need to "surrender" to India.

P.73,top paragraph.
"I had to change. I had to get involved. The city wouldn't let me be a watcher, aloof and apart. If I wanted to stay, I had to expect thatshe would drage me into the river of her rapture, and her rage. Sooner or later, I knew, I would ahve to step off the parvement and intothe bloody crowd, and put my body on the line."

and
P.99 conversation with Karla.
"Just let yourself go. Sometimes, in India, you have to surrender before you win."

Anyways, to me, in order to surrender, I would have to just jump on into a situation without thinking, and just DO what ever needed to be done. Kind of like emergency situations. Jump on in and help.

Maybe when he storms into Mme. Zhou's place is another example. I'm not there yet in my reading.

PS: Is it true that Johnny will stay at Amitabh Bachchan's house while filming? I heard that Amitabh is vegetarian. Johnny might end up looking skinny to the bone and tortured if he stays there long enough.

I kinda wondered about that...I think that piece was more for press coverage. I doubt that he will stay there. LOL As we've seen tho, Johnny tends to keep his plans to himself. ;) But as always, time will tell.

What came to mind for me were the times Lin made the passport/money runs through the airports. Those would be occasions where he could easily be recognized and caught. I found his willingness to be in the movie intriguing...it was almost like he wanted to be seen, maybe as a way of communicating with his friends and family back home that he was still alive? Here in the US films from India aren't widely distributed but maybe DownUnder they are.(?)

Personally, I've never been a position to feel the way Lin does about putting himself is so much danger that there's almost a sense of peace about it. Toward the end of the book, when the remains of Khader's 'army' are surrounded and they have to fight their way out against all odds, Lin is exhilarated by the fact that life has boiled down to such basics. He claims that cleverness and intellect have no place now...it's pure luck, fate, karma...and he surrenders to that.

I suppose for someone who has had to live his life constantly on guard, constantly alert and on the edge, it would be a relief to just let go.

Good grief! Lin put himself out there so many times that I found myself saying, 'no don't go there' or 'why are you doing that'!
Having never read the book before until just recently, I didn't know what to expect and I thought for sure that this was not going to end well for him. He's either going to die or get caught. You just can't keep pushing your luck!
But he did keep pushing. Neverending brawls, the Madame, the war, forgery, disposing of a body, the movie scenes and last but not least, the bear! As I said, I knew nothing of this story until recently, so at the end, when they try to sneak the bear out as a float, I thought how ironic would this be if he got found out now by doing something like this.
But I guess I could make myself do anything too, no matter what the consequences would be, if those consequences only affected myself.
Does he think or feel before he does something dangerous? No, I don't think he will allow himself to.

Perhaps, knowing in the deep recesses of his mind that he still must serve punishment for his crimes, he is subconsciously trying to get caught? At least it will be a sort of relief; an end to his running and the fear that pervades his existence.

That's a good point, amp. Don't they say all criminals secretly want to get caught? Plus I think in Lin's case he concludes that getting killed would be the same - ie, a relief. As a motivator for action, I don't quite understand that attitude (!) but it kind of fits Lin's fatalistic streak. In any of the instances where he could get caught I can see him fighting to the death in some big blow out.