Dominique Lapierre

Except for walking on the moon, spending time in the City of Joy is the most fascinating experience a man can have at the end of the twentieth century.

One day in Calcutta a rickshaw puller took internationally bestselling author Dominique Lapierre to one of the poorest and most overpopulated areas of this haunting city, where five million people live out their lives on the streets. The district was called Anand Nagar - the City of Joy - and being there would change the writer's life forever.

At the heart of this extremely poor community, Lapierre found more heroism, more love, more sharing, and ultimately, more happiness than in many a city of the affluent West. Above all, he was overwhelmed to discover that this seemingly inhuman place had the magical power to produce heroes and heroines of all ages and from all walks of life. For Calcutta is the home not only of such saints as Mother Teresa, but also of countless other inspiring people, who are ordinary and completely unknown.

Lapierre discovered Stephan Kovalski, the Polish Catholic priest who came to the City of Joy to share and ease the plight of the most underprivileged; Max, the young American doctor who came to treat people who were without any medical resources; Bandona, the beautiful Assamese nurse who became an Angel of Mercy for the afflicted; and the thousands of men, women, and children who rose above harsh destinies to conquer life with a smile.

In order to tell the saga of this remarkable place, Lapierre immersed himself for months in its awesome reality. He slept in a hovel; came to know the fascinating cultures intermingling in the City of Joy; and spent days with Mother Teresa and the godfather of the local Mafia, a character worthy of the Mogul emperors in the India of old. He witnessed births, marriages, funerals, and festivals of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians--a vast mosaic of races and religions. And he learned firsthand what it was like to pull a rickshaw, to light a stove in the tornadoes of the monsoon, to wash with a half liter of water, and to survive on less than six cents a day.

What Dominique Lapierre created from these unique experiences is an epic story about the soul of humanity: a song of love, a hymn to life, a lesson in tenderness and hope for all people for all times. This is The City of Joy.

October 1, 1985 by Doubleday

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