1

INTRODUCTION

1. Half of the ten million inhabitants of Calcutta, India, live in slums.

Anand Nagar, the City of Joy, is one of the 3,000 slums in that city. It is a
reclaimed swamp the size of two football fields inhabited by 70,000 men,
women, and children, most of them refugees from the drought or monsoon-
stricken surrounding rural areas. The City of Joy has the highest population
density in the world. Most of the people who survive in this living hell live on
less than ten U.S. cents a day.

2. These people are able to reconstruct the social, religious, and

family traditions of their villages in the vast slums of Calcutta. Here they wage
a gallant struggle to preserve their dignity amid conditions of desperate
poverty and overcrowding.

3. The author of The City of Joy, Dominique Lapierre, 56, has written a
string of bestsellers. In 1960, Lapierre and American Larry Collins wrote a
book answering why Paris, condemned in 1944 to an apocalyptic destruction
by Hitler, escaped undamaged by the war. Is Paris Burning? became an
instant success. Seven years later, they produced...Or I'll Dress You in
Mourning, about the Spanish Civil War. In 1971 Lapierre and Collins wrote O
Jerusalem, the story of the birth of the state of Israel and of the beginning of
the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1975 their Freedom at Midnight described life in
India at the end of British rule and the accession to independence of the
Indian and Pakistani people. The Fifth Horseman in 1980 became another
publishing success, translated into thirty languages.

4. While writing Freedom at Midnight, Lapierre developed an interest

in India and founded an organization to support the children of lepers in ...
(1996 of 3310 Characters) My introduction to "The City of Joy" has been fairly
late, but the brilliance of the book has not faded with time. The topic of
Calcutta has always been close to my heart and there are a few books out
there which can describe the pain and joy of living in that part of the world.
This masterpiece by Lapierre truly brings forth the suffering, hope and joy felt
by the poorest of the poor.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

5. Dominique Lapierre has touched many people through his life and
work. His first taste of fame followed the summer when he was 17 years old
and left Paris with US$30, worked aboard a ship, disembarked in the United
States and managed a 30,000-mile jaunt around North America. This
adventure led to Lapierre's first best-selling book, A Dollar for a Thousand
Miles. Since then, he has continuously searched for new messages and
stories. While completing military service in 1954, Lapierre met an American
soldier named Larry Collins. An everlasting friendship-and a valuable
partnership-sprang from this meeting. Years later, they would collaborate on
some of the century's most memorable books including Is Paris Burning?,
which was made into a major motion picture boasting 30 international
stars; ...Or I'll Dress You in Mourning, O Jerusalem, Freedom at Midnight, and
The Fifth Horseman, books read by millions of readers in more than 30
languages.

6. In 1981, Lapierre founded a humanitarian association rescuing

children suffering from leprosy from the slums of Calcutta, which is supported
by half the royalties from his literary successes. Lapierre went back to
Calcutta to visit his "children" and stayed two years researching, after which
he published another best-seller, The City of Joy. This book, which was made
into a major motion picture starring Patrick Swayze, has sold over eight million
copies. It tells the epic survival story of the population of one of India's poorest
slums. It was rewarded with the prestigious U.S. literary Christopher Award.

7. While researching in Calcutta, Lapierre became a close associate

of Mother Teresa who gave him the exclusive authorization to write a film on
her life and the work of her sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. With Geraldine
Chaplin playing the role of Mother Teresa, the film Mother Teresa-In the
Name of God's Poor was aired, at prime time, on the Family Channel in the
U.S. and several European channels. Lapierre's script has been nominated by
the prestigious Humanitas Prize for communicating the best values.

8. In 1991, Lapierre published another best-seller, Beyond Love, the

epic story of the discovery of the AIDS virus. His latest book, A Thousand
Suns has already been read by over three million readers.
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CRITICAL ANALYSIS

12. This story is about human beings who live in abject penury suffering
from a scourge of diseases, hunger, malnutrition, eunuchs but above all
“EXISTENCE”.

13. The book is covered in three chapters. It tells the readers about the
lives of an Indian man who works as a rickshaw puller, a doctor from the
United States and a polish priest. It takes place in one of the slums of
Calcutta, India.

14. Max Loeb is a Doctor from the USA who’s disillusion by his
luxurious life style in the States. This guilt he’s experiencing will not go away
while he is working in the western part of the USA so he decides to fulfill
himself in another way and goes to Calcutta to find some enlightenment. In
Calcutta he meets Stephen Kovalsky (Polish Priest) who has made it his
mission to help the people of Anand nagar (one of the slums in Calcutta). Its
an area where the poorest people of Calcutta live. Inside this area is a large
Leper colony (and they are shunned by the poor as well as the rich).

15. Despite the shocking condition of this place Max comes face to face
(for the first time in his life) with the people who really need his help and care
while he’s helping them, he sees that humanity and compassion can bloom in
the most devastating of places. It’s a sort of rejuvenation and resurrection for
the Doctor, as he says ‘The smiles of my brothers in the city of joy are the
lights that will never be extinguished in me”.

16. The life of Hasari Pal (a poor farmer) changes when he and his
family move to Calcutta. As Hasari looks for a better life, he gets a job pulling
a rickshaw. Here starts a gruelling story about the lives of people in a vicious
cycle of problems where each family member must work to have some shelter
and food.
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17. The death of Hazari Pal at the end of the book doesn’t elicit a
cathartic feeling in the readers. But you feel for a Father who’s duty is to get
his daughter married even if it means selling his bones, flesh and blood after
his demise.

18. But Anand nagar (meaning the city of joy) is not in a state of
dystopia. One can sense the joy and fervour in the way people celebrate
festivals, weddings and other events (just as we do). But just that the reader
wishes that this spring of joy should be a little longer than the winters of
woe…

QUALITY OF PRESENTATION

19. The book is neatly designed, and is divided in three parts, the
aspects of which are covered in 72 chapters in paragraph format.

20. This book was originally written in French and has been translated
to English by Kathryn Spink. The presentation is impressive and lucid and the
language is well organized and easy to understand. The chapters have been
meticulously framed and the author made the subject more interesting and
reader friendly.

21. The book is a paperback edition. The quality of the paper used is
excellent and the binding is also very good. The cover of the book induces
interest among the readers to read the book the book is reasonably priced
and the clarity of print is commendable.

22. Effort put in by the author to assemble the subject was well
researched and is highly recognizable.
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RECOMMENDATION

23. From the military point of view this book has no relevance however
its significance from the humanitarian point of view is unquestionable. This
book is a testament to the indominable human spirit unbowed by the most
disturbed circumstances.

24. Its heroes shows us how majestic the human spirit can be infact
CITY OF JOY redefines all our perspectives. This is a book of epic
proportions and an engrossing account of the fantastic battle of human
solidarity, fraternity and courage.

25. It shows the problems faced by the poor in India and the squalid
conditions in the Leper colony and slums of Calcutta.

26. It truly illustrates the Christopher’s philosophy:

“ IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT A CANDLE THAN CURSE THE DARKNESS”;

27. This book is therefore strongly recommended for everyone who

refuses to accept defeat in the hands of fate and those soldiers in us who
thinks that ‘HE CAN MAKE A DIFFRERENCE’.

CONCLUSION

28. I thereby conclude by admitting that in this book Dominique

Lapierre has succeeded in giving human faces and emotions to the faceless
masses in slums. By sharing the struggles faced by the poor, their sorrows
and joy, the author has succeeded in opening a window to their existence.
The book takes you through several journeys of introspection and privileges
enjoyed by us solely based on the accident of our birth.

29. The book of a few hundred pages may leave lasting impressions on
its readers and has truly succeeded in spreading hope and joy to millions of
readers, if not inspiring a few more selfless people to devote their lives to
helping the poor and downtrodden.
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Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorry, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it !

- Mother Teresa