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Nine Lives
Synopsis
From the prize-winning author of White Mughals and City of Djinns, Nine Lives is a distillation of twenty-five years of exploring India and writing about its religious traditions – a modern Indian Canterbury Tales which introduces us to characters and takes us deep into worlds we could never have imagined existed.
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet – then spends years trying to atone for the violence by hand-printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve to death. A woman leaves her middle-class family in Calcutta, and her job in a jute factory, only to find unexpected love and fulfilment living as a tantric in a skull-filled hut in a remote cremation ground. A prison warden from Kerala becomes, for two months of the year, a temple dancer and is worshipped as an incarnate deity; then, at the end of February each year, he returns to prison.
An illiterate goat herd from Rajasthan keeps alive an ancient 4000-line sacred epic that he, virtually alone, still knows by heart. A devadasi – or temple prostitute – initially resists her own initiation into sex work, yet pushes both her daughters into a trade she now regards as a sacred calling.
Nine people, nine lives. Each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. Exquisite and mesmerising, and told with an almost biblical simplicity, William Dalrymple’s first travel book in a decade explores how traditional forms of religious life in South Asia have been transformed in the vortex of the region’s rapid change.
Editions
Reviews and Quotes
- Tom Adair, Scotsman Books of the Year
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- Khuswant Singh, Telegraph
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- Amabel Baraclough, Pen Pushers
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- Sunil Gangopadhyay, Tehelka
- “Very interesting… Dalrymple writes in a fascinating manner… There is a feeling of real authenticity about the work.”
- Anthony Sattin, The Times, Books of the Year
- “Dalrymple’s storytelling skills and eye for the bizarre make this a fascinating and entertaining window onto spiritual India.”
- Celia Brayfield, The Times
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- Nick Smith, Bookdealer
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- Huma Imtiaz, Jang
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- Nandhini Parthib, Indian Express
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- Brian Schofield, The Sunday Times
- “Beautifully written, ridiculously erudite and, more than any of his previous work, reveals Dalrymple to be remarkably warm and open-hearted. A towering talent.”
- Ruaridh Nicoll, Observer
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... read full review - Bron Sibree, Canberra Times
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- Pico Iyer, Time Magazine
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... read full review - Partha Chatterjee, Indian Express
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... read full review - Pankaj Mishra, The National
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... read full review - Peter Kirkwood, The Australian
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... read full review - Tabish Khair, Biblio
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- Lewis Jones, Spectator
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- Sadanand Dhume, Wall Street Journal
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- Nilanjana S Roy, Business Standard
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- Kendall Hill, Sydney Morning Herald
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... read full review - Maya Jasanoff, Maya Jasanoff
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- James Lamont, Financial Times
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... read full review - Gaurav Jain, Tehelka
- “In clear, simple telling Dalrymple takes us to the beating heart of devotion.”
- Rasheeda Bhagat, Hindu Business Line
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... read full review - Hirsh Sawhney, Guardian
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- Wendy Doniger, Times Literary Supplement
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... read full review - Raghu Karnad, Time Out
- “Nine stories so exquisitely twisted between secular suffering and spiritual commitment, they are capable of changing the way you think about devotion.”
- David Robinson, The Scotsman
- “There is no other writer whose work explains the East to the West as thoughtfully, stylishly and enjoyably… Few reach this level of empathy able to show at once the fullness of faith and the fragility of the life that led to it.”
- Gurcharan Das, Gurcharan Das
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- Parvathi Nayar, The Hindu
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... read full review - Peter Parker, The Daily Telegraph
- “This absorbing book… Dalrymple is a lively, knowledgeable and sympathetic guide to this world of faith.”
- Melissa A. Bell, Mint
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- Shevlin Sebastian, New Indian Express
- “A remarkable book.”
- John Keay, The Literary Review
- “Impressively honest …The reader relishes the sense of immediacy and conviction. Dalrymple reconstructs the testimony of his interviewees brilliantly, without apparent contrivance or condescension.”
- Jason Webster, Sunday Telegraph
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- Kumar Chellapan, Deccan Herald
- “Memorable: it is doubtful if anyone has succeeded in showcasing the Indian hinterland as Dalrymple has.”
- Salil Tripathi, The Independent
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... read full review - Mani Shankar Aiyer, Outlook
- “A travel writer of huge talent, even genius.”
... read full review