Get Your Free Audiobook
-
Nine Lives
- In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Religion & Spirituality, Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts
People who bought this also bought...
-
Return of a King
- The Battle for Afghanistan
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the 19th century.
-
In Xanadu
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
Here is William Dalrymple's highly praised and greatly entertaining account of his 1986 trip made while a student at Cambridge, which retraced Marco Polo's route across land from Jerusalem to Xanadu. With him, he took a phial of Holy Oil, 600 pounds and Laura until Lahore, and Louisa from there to Xanadu.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
fast reading
- By Rajiv keshri on 10-03-19
-
Dara Shukoh
- The Man Who Would Be King
- Written by: Avik Chanda
- Narrated by: Siddhanta Pinto
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
Dara Shukoh - the emperor Shah Jahan's favourite son, and heir-apparent to the Mughal throne prior to being defeated by Aurangzib - has sometimes been portrayed as an effete prince, incompetent in military and administrative matters. But his tolerance towards other faiths, and the myths and anecdotes surrounding him, continue to fuel the popular imagination. Even today, over 350 years after his death, the debate rages on: if this 'good' Mughal had ascended the throne instead of his pugnacious younger brother, how would that have changed the course of Indian history?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing Narration
- By Amazon Customer on 05-10-20
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 309
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 257
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 259
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible performance
- By Saad on 23-10-19
-
The Bengalis
- A Portrait of a Community
- Written by: Sudeep Chakravarti
- Narrated by: Anindya Chakravorty
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The Bengalis are the third largest ethno-linguistic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and the Arabs. A quarter of a billion strong and growing, the community has produced three Nobel laureates, world-class scientists, legendary political leaders, iconic movie stars and directors and an unending stream of writers, philosophers, painters, poets and musicians of the first rank. But, bald facts aside, just who are the Bengalis? What is the community all about? In order to find the answers, the author delves deep into the culture, literature, history and social mores of the Bengalis.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent book, narration could be better
- By Sumedha on 18-04-20
-
Amritsar
- Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle
- Written by: Mark Tully, Satish Jacob
- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
On 5th June 1984, the Indian army began its attack on the complex at Amritsar, which houses the two most sacred shrines. Generals who had pledged to use minimum force and on no account to violate the shrines were not prepared for the fierce and adept resistance they encountered. Having suffered severe casualties, the infantry were driven back, and as a last resort - with approval from Delhi - tanks were ordered in....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome book, Awful Narration
- By RabidReader on 03-06-19
-
Return of a King
- The Battle for Afghanistan
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the 19th century.
-
In Xanadu
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
Here is William Dalrymple's highly praised and greatly entertaining account of his 1986 trip made while a student at Cambridge, which retraced Marco Polo's route across land from Jerusalem to Xanadu. With him, he took a phial of Holy Oil, 600 pounds and Laura until Lahore, and Louisa from there to Xanadu.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
fast reading
- By Rajiv keshri on 10-03-19
-
Dara Shukoh
- The Man Who Would Be King
- Written by: Avik Chanda
- Narrated by: Siddhanta Pinto
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
Dara Shukoh - the emperor Shah Jahan's favourite son, and heir-apparent to the Mughal throne prior to being defeated by Aurangzib - has sometimes been portrayed as an effete prince, incompetent in military and administrative matters. But his tolerance towards other faiths, and the myths and anecdotes surrounding him, continue to fuel the popular imagination. Even today, over 350 years after his death, the debate rages on: if this 'good' Mughal had ascended the throne instead of his pugnacious younger brother, how would that have changed the course of Indian history?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing Narration
- By Amazon Customer on 05-10-20
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- Written by: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 309
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 257
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 259
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible performance
- By Saad on 23-10-19
-
The Bengalis
- A Portrait of a Community
- Written by: Sudeep Chakravarti
- Narrated by: Anindya Chakravorty
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The Bengalis are the third largest ethno-linguistic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and the Arabs. A quarter of a billion strong and growing, the community has produced three Nobel laureates, world-class scientists, legendary political leaders, iconic movie stars and directors and an unending stream of writers, philosophers, painters, poets and musicians of the first rank. But, bald facts aside, just who are the Bengalis? What is the community all about? In order to find the answers, the author delves deep into the culture, literature, history and social mores of the Bengalis.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent book, narration could be better
- By Sumedha on 18-04-20
-
Amritsar
- Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle
- Written by: Mark Tully, Satish Jacob
- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
On 5th June 1984, the Indian army began its attack on the complex at Amritsar, which houses the two most sacred shrines. Generals who had pledged to use minimum force and on no account to violate the shrines were not prepared for the fierce and adept resistance they encountered. Having suffered severe casualties, the infantry were driven back, and as a last resort - with approval from Delhi - tanks were ordered in....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome book, Awful Narration
- By RabidReader on 03-06-19
Publisher's Summary
Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize 2010. Winner of the 2010 Asia House Award for Asian Literature.
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Nine Lives
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Srini Me
- 03-12-19
Horrible narration. Returning it
Apparently someone have the book to someone who can’t read, let him record it and published it. Expected better from audible. This man seems to deliberately pronounce every Indian word wrong. He can’t get even one word right. That bad. I wanted to throw up when he said Ramanaya. There is no equivalent for proofreading in audio books? Where did you find him? Nothing has ever disappointed me more. Please withdraw this and release a better narration. The author deserves it.
Don’t know about the story. Could get to it due to the horrible narration. Just clicked the average to be able to submit a review
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Prakash Swaminathan
- 02-12-19
Excellent book except for the mispronunciations
Excellent book by Darlymple covering intersting, heartwrenching stories across the subcontinent. The narration while does justice to the emotions the author is trying to evoke, was full of unacceptable mispronunciations of some of the poular l ocal words which makes you feel a bit frustrated, when you hear it..for eg. Ramanaya instead of Ramayana. Should've spent some.extra effort to get the narration right.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- ReaderH
- 28-01-19
Great stories, Superb narration.
I absolutely loved it. William Dalrymple knows India the way only a few men do. a must read for anyone interested in India and mystical/spiritual ways. Highly recommended. The narration too was excellent. the voice modulation from the narrator makes one feel invariably at the centre of all the happenings in the story. Will be on a lookout for more such titles.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rakesh Agrawal
- 10-07-21
Sacredness is indeed the soul of the plural India
The author, although a British, has such a deep understanding, insight &interest in the plural, composite and all'-accepting culture of India that is so interestingly interwoven in the sacredness of the people that is reflected on their daily lives, be them the boils of Bengal, or Bapuji singers of Rajasthan or sufi saints of Sindh. Sadly, this extremely rich tradition is extremely threatened by the onslaught of the market & monolithic Hindutva.
Listen to this really enlightening narration before this is lost in the dirt of history.
Thanks to the author for righting it, who spends six months a year in his Indian home is a farm, in a village near Gurgaon.
Sadly, the narration couldn't pronounce Hindi words correctly!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amit B.
- 23-05-21
Good audio book
local dialect narration needs improvement ..otherwise narrative is good..interesting audio book from Dalrymple..enjoyed it ...
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Prashant Nigam
- 18-10-20
A sneak peek into Indian religious/societal setup!
India is a wonderful chaos, and this compilation of nine stories gives you a perfect peek into how its society works, how it perceives same person differently in different roles and situations - despises her in one role while revers her as soon as she switches the role…
India has a growing middle class population which proclaims to be modern, educated and financailly capable.Yet, when it comes to religion, customs, rituals, age-old traditions etc. it chooses to put its rational mindset in lockers and go by the conventional wisdom.
This book revolves around lives of people who have not chosen the beaten path and how their decisions are treated by societal perceptions. Very nicely written piece, it makes you visualize the complications of living in a world of sharp contrasts.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kripi Sharma
- 29-09-20
Narrator is mocking the very subject of the book
The narrator is completely taking away from the author who has done a great deal of research in bringing these characters to life in his book. Most of the characters would be speaking in their own language to the author, so these are translated dialogues, which makes it absolutely unnecessary for the narrator to use that stereotypically racist accent he has chosen. Instead of working on that God awful accent, it would have been nice if he could have put at least a little research in pronouncing the Indian words correctly.
This needs to be taken down from Amazon. There has to be some kind of quality control in place.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous
- 14-10-19
Content defeated by the narrator
Needless to say, Dalrymple's work is simply splendid. However, I cannot emphasise enough the need for a narrator proficient in the Indian lilt and accent. The only and huge put off.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Arvind
- 18-05-18
Good Book Rendered Awfully
The author tries to bring out the contrast of the perceived India and the real India. Many of the stories narrated here are known to educated Indians or observant Indians, bringing the same to a global audience is welcome. The sad part though is the narrator has no clue about Indian culture and was often mispronounced the Indian nouns. I wish the author had at least reviewed the narration.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Trent
- 02-04-12
Interesting stories, distracting naration
Where does Nine Lives rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Ranks in the middle
Would you be willing to try another book from William Dalrymple? Why or why not?
Yes, interesting writing style and great insights into India, though can get a little bogged down.
What didn’t you like about Daniel Philpott’s performance?
Several recording errors were left in the recording, which was pretty annoying.
I found the narrators Indian accents a little distracting at times, especially as at times they were a little over the top. Some of the quoted dialogue came across as a little unnatural, which I would attribute to the narrator 'over performing' the lines.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, not a 'page turner' as such.
Any additional comments?
A book to be in the right mood for, but some really interesting material. Unfortunately, the narration probably detracted more than it added.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Nakul
- 28-03-13
Pathetic
Dalrymple's book is perfectly decent – sympathetic and informative, though he does rather make all his nine characters sound very like each other. Comes of having to work through interpreters, I suppose, but a good enough job, attentive and respectful. The audio performance, however, is *unforgivably* bad. The generic 'Indian' accents, owing more to Peter Sellers than to any kind of speech actually to be heard in India, were embarrassing enough. But that was a relatively mild problem. Almost no research seemed to have gone into getting the pronunciations of Indian words and place names right: after the first couple of hours, it became almost comic anticipating the next mangling of an Indian name. Rather it would have been comic if weren't so offensive. I don't mean that there were a few mispronunciations here and there – virtually *every* Indian word is mispronounced, the stress inexplicably put on the final syllable (something which almost never happens in Indian languages). Sometimes the reader couldn't even get the consonants in the right order (Ramayana? Ramanaya?) Sometimes he mangled even *English* words (toddy, jaggery) with Indian etymologies. And in the final story, the producers seem to have gone to sleep – failing to cut out his false starts and stammering. A pathetic excuse for an audiobook. Listeners, and the book, deserve better. I'd ask for my money back if I could.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Azathoth
- 26-12-19
Dalrymple is a gateway to India
Nine lives was excellent. I've read many books by Dalrymple before and really appreciate his writing.
The narrator tries to imitate accents while reading. since this book is so heavy on quotes, the greatest part of the book is read by what is a fakeish Indian accent. I must admit I found that quite distracting.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Medhavi_Patel
- 13-07-12
Amazing India!
I loved listening to this book, full of amazing detail and educational in so many ways.
Depicts many things that need to change and also which need to be preserved.
I would recommend this to anyone passionate about India!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-03-21
Giving up. Interesting tale, dreadfully read.
I'm considering buying the paper book. I would really like to hear the story, which is fascinating, but the narrator's really peculiar and profoundly irritating "accent" is destroying my ability to concentrate.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amit
- 04-01-20
Good stories & Analogy, accent used is gloomy.
Good stories, which are true, very few may actually understand the way they are.
The accent used was bad, there was over exaggeration of accent, which was sometimes offensive.
There was some errors during the read which were kept, please rectify it before publishing.
Overall good read, takes you through the journey how different life can present.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- S_Kam
- 01-09-19
Fantastic story but very poor narration
The author has done a great deal of research and presented the book in a brilliant way. He is very sympathetic to the characters. He also comments how the Indian society is changing and how will it impacts the lives of rural Indians.
However, sadly, the narrator seems to have done very little research on the pronouncing the Indian names. Also he fails to mimics a fake Indian accent.
My advice - if possible read the real book.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sangeeth
- 10-07-17
Good Read
Varied stories. Varied lives. Definitely a cultural induction for an Indian looking at exploring this wonderful land of diversities.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Steve_Morris
- 02-06-15
Interesting perspective on Indian religious people
This book is rather long to keep listening to. But the people's life stories and beliefs are fascinating. Modern India seems a long way away - these people remind me of religious orders from Medieval times in Europe.