Reviews 'A very personal book, Jhalbvala attempts nine different answers to the question: What would happen if I were granted a different life? -- Brighton Argus 20050225 'It is this quality of elegant, unfussy writing that mades the book so enjoyable to read.' -- Student Direct 20050418 'Jhabvala's writing has a feather-like lightness that the stories are easy to read but are secretly powerful tales.' -- Scan 20050503 'I couldn't put it down when I got started. It's well worth the read and is incredibly well-written.' -- Scan 20050503 Praise for her previous work: 'A writer of genius ! a writer of world class -- a master storyteller' -- Sunday Times 'Her tussle with India is one of the richest treats of contemporary literature' -- Guardian 'Each work has her hallmark of balance, subtlety, wry humor and beauty' -- New York Times Book Review 'By the end, while she may not fully have revealed herself, she has shown the grand sweep of life.' - Elena Seymenliyska. -- The Daily Telegraph 20050312 'One is dazzled by veiled fragments of a life that might have been.' -- Guardian 20050319 'Combined, these tales form an oblique portrait of the inner life of the author.' -- Sunday Times 20050327 'Imagining what life might have been ...this is fiction that comes as close to autobiography as the author dares.' - Emma Hagestadt. -- The Independent 20050304 'The most prominent theme is a string of inadvisable affairs with irascible, unreliable older men ...perhaps it'll be 10th time lucky?' -- The Guardian 20050312

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was born in Germany of Polish parents and came to England in 1939 at the age of twelve. She graduated from Queen Mary College, London University, and married an architect. They lived in Delhi from 1951 to 1975. Since then they have divided their time between Delhi, New York and London.