William Dalrymple is amazing. He has inherited the mantle worn by Bruce Chatwin and Patrick Leigh Fermor and he wears it well. "Nine Lives" is a brief look at the complex religious background of modern India. I first read his "To The Holy Mountain", a now classic work on the status of native Christians in the Middle East, in the early '90s. "To the Holy Mountain" is so good I re-read it almost every year. "Nine Lives" attempts to do the same for India. Because India is so complex, he focuses on just nine individuals. He could do a companion volume to cover the sects he left out. By focusing on nine souls he brings home what religion holds for the modern individual and what it means for them in a India that is changing daily. As always I am eagerly awaiting his next book. ( )

A wonderful book, particularly if you are as fascinated by India as I am. Highly recommended. ( )

Dalrymple tells the story of 9 different people scattered throughout India to show how diverse and ALIVE religion is in these modern, cynical times. Don't get me wrong, I'm your average agnostic, but I really enjoy reading about other peoples' belief, if only to wonder at how rational people can believe the things they do. Which is pretty cynical, naturally. However, this was a beautifully written book, with little or no interference (judgement) from the author/narrator. ( )

Heel mooi boek, vooral factie, waarin D. vertelt over en spreekt met negen verschillende Indiase mensen. De nadruk ligt wel (voor mij iets te) sterk op spiritualiteit (of liever: dat is de ggd van deze negen levens, al kan dat uiteenlopen van tantrisme tot boeddhistische non) en op uitstervende beroepen. D. wil ook in een India dat deels volkomen verwesterst of zelfs versiliconvalleyt en deels nog uiterst tradioneel en onwesters is, dat laatste element laten zien voor het verdwijnt. Natuurlijk heel fraai geschreven, en ik las het in (Zuid-) India ( )

This isn't a feel-good-eastern-philosophy-for-western readers. Rather it's an exploration of the varied religious life in India, often digging into the places where spiritual traditions overlapped or intersected or risk being demolished by hardline state-propagated religion. Jain nuns, sacred prostitutes, Baul singers, Buddhist warriors. Dalrymple has an easy, flowing style and is a good listener - the personalities of his speakers really come through and there is a mournful sense of certain traditions being lost or threatened by modernity.

I really appreciated the glossary but photographs and perhaps a map or two would have really helped. ( )