City of Joy
Author	Dominique Lapierre
Original title	La cité de la joie
Country	France
Language	French
Publication date	1985

City of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre (1985) and a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé.

[edit] The book

The story concerns the trials and tribulations of a young priest, Steven Kovalski and is based on real life priest Gaston Grandjean, living in Calcutta (Kolkata), India. Paul Lambert is trying to help and understand life in the slum called Anand Nagar (City of Joy) and the life of rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal (the sufferer).

The strong bonding, indomitable strength and optimism among the suffering inhabitants of Anand Nagar helps them to bravely face their collective fates. The slum dwellers who are ignored and exploited by society and authorities of power are not without their own prejudices. This becomes evident by their attitude towards the lepers.

Half of the royalty from the sale of the book goes towards the City of Joy Foundation that looks after slum children in Calcutta.

This article about a 1980s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e