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City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi Review

The first thing that is incredibly interesting about this book is the way it is approached. To call it a travel book, I feel, is diminishing the many other aspects & experiences this book is about.

This book is kind of a diary of Dalrymple & wife's year in Delhi. And it is also a book of history scattered behind the sights, the people, & the culture. Dalrymple narrates compellingly, candidly, without biases & with plentiful humour. Stories abound - of the destitute but historically cultured 'old Delhi-wallahs' & the loutish Punjabi nouveau rich, of Anglo-Indians living in reminisce & poverty, of the Delhi eunuchs, of Dervishes that speak in parables, of partridge fights, of khalifas, of Balwinder Singh's buoyancy & lust, of Mr & Mrs Puri's idiosyncrasies.

And while you're drifting from one of these interludes to the other, you're taken centuries back to the Kingdom of Shah Jehan, Aurangzeb's treachery & network of spies, of incest in Royal Harems, of Englishmen who smoked hookahs - some who became Indian in their ways beyond recognition, some who continued their English ways, of the partition, of Tughlak's barbaric ways, of the refined mannerisms of a mirza during the Mughal period, of the Red Fort & what lies beneath.

Dalrymple is also an astute recorder of conversations. Some of the 'Indian English' that is spoken is in such sharp contrast to Dalrymple's speech, that you cannot help but get tickled. However, I do not think that Dalrymple's intention is mockery for there are plentiful other examples to the contrary.

I definitely learned & relearned a lot from this book. I also developed a sense of Delhi's history & a empathy for it's present. And I smiled a lot.

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi Feature

ISBN13: 9780142001004
Condition: New
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City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi Overview

Sparkling with irrepressible wit, City of Djinns peels back the layers of Delhi's centuries-old history, revealing an extraordinary array of characters along the way-from eunuchs to descendants of great Moguls. With refreshingly open-minded curiosity, William Dalrymple explores the seven "dead" cities of Delhi as well as the eighth city-today's Delhi. Underlying his quest is the legend of the djinns, fire-formed spirits that are said to assure the city's Phoenix-like regeneration no matter how many times it is destroyed. Entertaining, fascinating, and informative, City of Djinns is an irresistible blend of research and adventure.

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Customer Reviews

Saved me a trip. - Dick Johnson - Oklahoma USA
I know I will never be able to visit India, so my "trip" comes from books. Dalrymple is a great tour guide. He took me places that I wouldn't have been able to visit even if I flew to Delhi today.

The people he met and described were as fascinating as the places he explored. This book is a combination of history, tourism, mini-biography, human interest, archeology and anthropology. The mix was well balanced and Dalrymple's writing ability made the entire book entertaining as well as educational.

Please do not let the age of this book dissuade you from reading it. Dalrymple's take on Delhi will still be worth the read for as long as people read.

My only gripe (worth a tenth of a star) was with the only map. Though nicely drawn by his wife, it was nearly useless. A more inclusive map would have added a tremendous amount to my enjoyment.

Read while visiting India - MGP - Heredia, Costa Rica
Dalrymple writes wonderfully. I read this while visiting Delhi, and it made me want to find all those places he described - many of which are off the beaten track. Dalrymple, a true historian, uncovers a whole other India beneath what regular tourists see. Both his discoveries as well as the reflections on his own life woven in are fascinating. I highly recommend this book, and I even more so recommend reading it while travelling in India, as it will fully allow you to appreciate "City of Djinns".

Excellent book to get a glimpse of Delhi's history - Shyam Kumar -
I loved reading all the three books by this author - The last Mughal, The White Mughal and City of Djinns. Unlike the other two, City of Djinns , is a little fast paced, more readable and is not as much detailed. If you have lived in Delhi and wondered about its history or a tourist heading for Delhi, you will look at things differently if you have read this book. The book is so readable that I would have liked more details especially Mughal and pre-Mughal history. Overall this is a great book.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 11, 2010 16:45:06

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Monday, October 11, 2010