{"product_id":"9781398506770-better-to-have-gone","title":"Better To Have Gone","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLove, Death and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville\u003cbr\u003eA transfixing masterwork that probes an unsolved family mystery and portrays a utopian community striving to create a better world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Beautifully written and structured, deeply moving, and realised in wise, thoughtful, chiselled prose. it is that rarity: a genuine non-fiction classic' William Dalrymple\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A troubling and moving account of lives gone wrong in the search for an eastern Utopia' Damon Galgut, author of the Booker Prize-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Promise\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA spellbinding story \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eabout love, faith, the search for utopia - and the often\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003edevastating cost of idealism.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s the \u003cb\u003elate 1960s\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003etwo lovers converge\u003c\/b\u003e on an arid patch of earth in South India. John Walker is the handsome scion of a powerful East Coast American family. Diane Maes is a beautiful hippie from Belgium. They have come to build a new world - \u003cb\u003eAuroville\u003c\/b\u003e, an international \u003cb\u003eutopian community\u003c\/b\u003e for thousands of people. Their faith is strong, the future bright.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo how do John and Diane end up dying two decades later, on the same day, on a cracked concrete floor in a thatch hut by a remote canyon? This is the \u003cb\u003emystery\u003c\/b\u003e Akash Kapur sets out to solve in \u003ci\u003eBetter to Have Gone\u003c\/i\u003e, and it carries deep personal resonance: Diane and John were the parents of Akash’s wife, Auralice. Akash and Auralice grew up in Auroville; like the rest of their community, they never really understood those deaths.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2004, Akash and Auralice return to Auroville from New York, where they have been living with John’s family. As they re-establish themselves, along with their two sons, in the community, they must confront the ghosts of those distant deaths. Slowly, they come to understand how the tragic individual fates of John and Diane intersected with the collective history of their town.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBetter to Have Gone\u003c\/i\u003e is a book about the human cost of our age-old quest for a more perfect world. It probes the under-explored yet universal idea of utopia, and it portrays in vivid detail the daily life of one utopian community. \u003cb\u003eRichly atmospheric and filled with remarkable characters, spread across time and continents, this is narrative writing of the highest order - a heartbreaking, unforgettable story.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56451460727158,"sku":"9781398506770","price":7.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_31850711.jpg?v=1760462624","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781398506770-better-to-have-gone","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}