Nine Lives : In Search of the Sacred in Modern India book cover

Best for Modern India

Travel Writing

Nine Lives : In Search of the Sacred in Modern India

by

Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 'Beautifully written, ridiculously erudite, warm and open-hearted' The Times 'Compelling and poignant' Guardian 'This is travel writing at its best' Observer Internationally bestselling William Dalrymple takes us to the heart of an undiscovered India.


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About the book

A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life 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 herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day.

Book details

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Paperback ISBN: 9781408878194 19 May 2016 196 x 127 x 21 (mm) 246g