A really interesting book. It is both an account of the Author’s first year living in Delhi, and a history of the city and of India more generally. Dalrymple weaves his story together wonderfully, using an event or meeting in his life to set the stage for an episode in history, and it makes compelling reading. I’ve visited Delhi, but this makes me want to go back and see all the hidden spots that I missed. A great book for those interested in both travel writing and history.

I tried to read William Dalrymple's acclaimed first book, [b:In Xanadu: A Quest|124431|In Xanadu A Quest|William Dalrymple|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171869042s/124431.jpg|2157138] a few years ago. The opening chapter was amazing, wonderfully atmospheric, but after that his obsession with architecture started to get me down, and I eventually abandoned it halfway through.

I liked this one much better. It's a good balance of anecdotes about daily life and the people he meets during a year in Delhi, and historical interludes. Oh, and some architecture :) It's very cleverly constructed, with the historical interludes in reverse chronological order, so that it's like watching an archaeologist peel back layers of history. Dalrymple is endlessly curious, and interviews scholars, sufis, eunuchs, faith healers, djinn-exorcisers, the last descendants of the Mughals, Anglo-Indians hankering after the empire, and more. Well-researched, beautifully written, a gem of travel literature, even if you've never been to Delhi (I haven't) and don't plan to go (I don't).

A must read for anyone disillusioned (or curious) about this strange city which has been called by many names over the centuries. Hard to imagine that after having been born and brought up in the city, my return to it after a mere three years away would give me such a culture shock that I could not imagine living here at all. Perhaps it was all the freedoms and the vibrance of Bombay that brought the intrusiveness into sharp focus. It's an uncivil city still yet it was a Scotsman travelogue about the this city of seven citadels that helped me readjust to - if not love - the city again. I went on the trail of the places mentioned in the book and discovered that there was still something left to love about the city. In your debt, Willy.

Technically a memoir of one year in Delhi, it is really an excavation of 3000 years of Indian history, from an iron age settlement mentioned in the great Mabaharata, the Mughals, the British and the chaos of Partition. It is also great local color, as Dalrymple tracks down eunuchs, attends a local wedding and deals with his landlady's family and servants.

Well written, often beautifully so, and very readable travelogue of Delhi. A bit much on the British legacy and follow through. Some amazing enlightening chapters on the Djinns and Partition and Tukhlugh and the hijra/eunuch society. And of course, much on Mr. Dalrymple's obsession with the Mughal period (but it is a rather irresistibly romantic period, true). The book gave me new appreciation for the city's immeasurable history and also indicated a kind of character or soul for it that I'm not sure I was privy to when I visited myself.

Excelente libro. Es un maravilloso texto de no ficción. Me gusta mucho como aborda la existencia de múltiples ciudades y temporalidades en la Delhi más o menos actual (la de principios de los 90). También me resultó bastante entretenida la historia de su investigación durante el año que vivió allí. Siento que me dió un marco referencial maravilloso sobre una ciudad y un país del que conocía muy poco.

Cuando vuelva a Delhi me vuelvo a leer.

William Dalrymple first experienced India as a teenager. At 25 he moved to Delhi with his wife to write, research, and experience the city for a year.
This is so much more than a travel book. Dalrymple also intertwines the stories of the people he meets and the history of the city. His research is thorough and it's clear that he is passionate about the place and people. His writing is incredibly engaging.

I really appreciated how well researched and academically comprehensive this book was. Parts of it I absolutely loved, like the chapter about transwomen and the houses they build, and the Anglo-Indians and theirs struggles.
Parts of it I disliked, like conveniently never touching the subject of how brutal and tyrannical the British Empire was.
Idk but i feel like britishers should never be allowed to go and write romantically about countries they have colonised without acknowledging their own atrocities first.