Award-winning, critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling William Dalrymple takes us to the heart of an undiscovered India
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.
LONGLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE
Dalrymple is widely read and admired, and Nine Lives is both
moving and radiant: an austere, piercing, and exciting book on nine
astonishing religious lives