Defence
The famous novel 'The City of Joy', set in Kolkata, was written by:
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Answer: Option B — Dominique Lapierre
Detailed Solution
"The City of Joy" ("La Cité de la joie") is a book by the French author Dominique Lapierre, published in 1985.
About the book:
- It is set in a slum in Howrah, near Kolkata (then Calcutta), which is called "Anand Nagar" ("City of Joy").
- It tells the stories of people living in extreme poverty and their courage, faith and kindness.
The main characters include Hasari Pal, a poor farmer from Bengal who comes to Calcutta and becomes a rickshaw-puller; Stephan Kovalski, a Polish Catholic priest who chooses to live among the poor; and Max Loeb, a young American doctor who works in the slum.
The book is based on Lapierre's own research and experience in Calcutta.
It became an international best-seller and was made into a film, "City of Joy" (1992), directed by Roland Joffé, with Patrick Swayze and Om Puri.
Calcutta (Kolkata) itself is often called the "City of Joy" because of this book.
About Dominique Lapierre (1931-2022):
He was a French writer and journalist.
With the American writer Larry Collins, he co-wrote several famous historical books:
- "Is Paris Burning?" (1965), about the liberation of Paris in 1944.
- "O Jerusalem!" (1972), about the creation of Israel.
- "Freedom at Midnight" (1975), about India's independence and Partition in 1947.
- "The Fifth Horseman" (1980).
- His other books include "Five Past Midnight in Bhopal" (2001, with Javier Moro), about the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984.
- He used part of his royalties to support charities in India, especially for leprosy patients and poor children in the Kolkata area.
- He received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2008.
Other writers on Calcutta:
- Günter Grass (German Nobel laureate): "Show Your Tongue" (1988), about Calcutta.
- S. Naipaul: "An Area of Darkness" and "India: A Wounded Civilization".
- M. Forster: "A Passage to India" (1924).
Why not the other options?
- ✗S. Naipaul wrote "An Area of Darkness".
- ✗Günter Grass wrote "Show Your Tongue".
- ✗M. Forster wrote "A Passage to India".
Quick tip
Remember: "The City of Joy" (1985; Hasari Pal, rickshaw-puller) = Dominique Lapierre; "Freedom at Midnight" (1975) = Lapierre and Larry Collins; "Five Past Midnight in Bhopal".
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.