Book review

Stories of depth and eloquence that take us to the very heart of the Indian experience

For more than twenty years Mark Tully was the BBC Chief of Bureau in Delhi and his name and his voice became synonymous with the country he had made his home. For years he sent back dispatches interpreting the subcontinent to the outside world, but the 'truth' of India is remarkably resistant to reportage.

Imbued with his love for India and informed by his vast experience, Mark Tully has woven together a series of extraordinary stories. All the stories are set in Uttar Pradesh and tell of very different lives. Of a barren wife who visits a holy man and subsequently conceives—but is it a miracle or something more worldly? Of a son's carefully laid plot to take revenge against his father's murderer, with a surprising twist when his case comes to court. Of a daughter, persuaded by her friends to spurn an arranged marriage, whose romance ends in blackmail. Of a man's inability to overcome the conventions of caste and go into business, which leads to his wife breaking purdah and taking control of the family.

In these and in other stories, Mark Tully delicately probes the nuances of life in India.

'In everything he writes, Tully's sympathy for and knowledge of India shines through…he is, indeed, incomparable among foreign observers of that bewildering, maddening, utterly enchanting medley of peoples.’
—Geoffrey Moorhouse in The Guardian

‘A luminous heartfelt and deeply perceptive collection of tales’
-Spectator