{"product_id":"better-to-have-gone-love-death-and-the-quest-for-utopia-paperback-2","title":"Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAkash Kapur\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Named a Best Book of the Year by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, Wall Street Journal, \u003c\/i\u003eCNN\u003ci\u003e, New Statesman, Air Mail, \u003c\/i\u003e and more * Longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize * Recipient of a Whiting Grant*\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \"haunting and elegant\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) story about love, faith, the search for utopia--and the often devastating cost of idealism.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt's the late 1960s, and two lovers converge 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--Auroville, an international utopian community for thousands of people. Their faith is strong, the future bright. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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 mystery 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 2004, Akash and Auralice return to Auroville from New York, where they have been living with John's family. As they reestablish themselves in the community, along with their two sons, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A riveting account of human aspiration and folly taken to extremes\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eBetter to Have Gone\u003c\/i\u003e probes the underexplored yet universal idea of utopia and portrays in vivid detail the daily life of one such community. Richly atmospheric and filled with remarkable characters, spread across time and continents, this is narrative writing of the highest order--a \"gripping...compelling...[and] heartbreaking story, deeply researched and lucidly told\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAkash Kapur is the author of \u003ci\u003eIndia Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India \u003c\/i\u003eand the editor of an anthology, \u003ci\u003eAuroville: Dream and Reality\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the former Letter from India columnist for the international \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the recipient of a Whiting Grant, and has written for various leading publications. He grew up in Auroville and returned there to live with his family after boarding school and college in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.3 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 12, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52464789586227,"sku":"9781501132520","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/TSs4ZXY3T1dFc3UvaHRCK2tBbklxUT09_8421541c-1070-4e20-865c-61c72b92222e.webp?v=1759262469","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/better-to-have-gone-love-death-and-the-quest-for-utopia-paperback-2","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}