City of Joy  (English, Paperback, Lapierre)

The City Of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre which is a story of unsung heroes of a Kolkata slum and is influenced by real-life incidents.

Summary

The City Of Joy is a fictional novel written by Dominique Lapierre that tells the stories of a few saints living in the most crowded and the poorest sections of Calcutta in India. This novel is an awe-inspiring story of Stephan Kovalski, a Polish Catholic priest, who experienced a spiritual reincarnation in a poor area of Calcutta.

The story revolves around the main protagonist Father Stephan Kovalski who has joined a religious order and the vows he takes there put them in the poorest and crudest places on earth. When he is put into such a place, he not only decides to serve the poor people in Calcutta but also plans to live their lives by being among them. The novel takes the readers on the journey of father Kovalski as he becomes the Big Brother for the slum dwellers.

As Stephan starts living and serving these poor people, he comes across miracles amidst ignorance and utter poverty that take place almost every day irrespective of the fact that these slum dwellers are not only ignored but exploited by society. Even the higher authorities of power have their own prejudices against this poor section, which is evident by the continuation of caste system and their approach towards lepers.

The novel explores various trials and tribulations of this young priest. Along with that, there are two more main characters, Hasari Pal and Max Lowe. The former is a rickshaw puller and his hardships are described here. He is a peasant farmer who has been compelled to move to Calcutta because of a drought that wiped out his generations-old farming village. The latter is a young American doctor who wishes to do something purposeful after completion of his med school and has come to serve the poor and is dedicated to fight diseases in this dirty hellhole.

The City Of Joy sheds light on the lives of several saints of today living in the hellish areas of Calcutta including Mother Teresa. It brings into account Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Mercy as well. The stories of these saints are a testimony to the undying human spirit that still stands firm even in the most miserable of circumstances.

This novel has been made into a motion picture starring Patrick Swayze and received the Christopher Award in 1986 for the book. This award is for those outstanding creative works that showcase the highest values of the human spirit.

About Dominique Lapierre

Dominique Lapierre is a Padma Bhushan award winning French author who is famously known for his outstanding work in The City Of Joy.

Besides The City Of Joy, he has written various other books including Freedom At Midnight, O Jerusalem!, Calcutta-Kolkata, Beyond Love, and A Thousand Suns: Witness to History etc.

Dominique Lapierre was born on 30th of July, 1931, in Charente-Maritime, France. He studied economics at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Besides writing, he has a passion for automobiles.