“Yesterday I dreamed again that I was lost in a large city of blinding lights and traffic. I was feeling quite helpless, until a small boy took my hand and led me to the safety of these mountains I know so well. I wanted him to stay – I was certain I knew him – but he turned and walked away, whistling, hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts, and as I called out to ask his name, I woke up.”
I love reading Ruskin Bond. All his stories are so simple yet so beautifully written. The way he describes the scene and his characters, it seems you know the place and you know all the characters. Some of the characters you even relate to yourself and to your friends. Most of his writing transports you to Uttarakhand hills and I love being there. When his autobiography came out in 2017, I had no other choice but to read it to know more about the man in his own words.
Lone Fox Dancing is an autobiography written with honesty. Ruskin Bond will take you on a journey of his life, right from his birth to this point. You will get to know the making of a great writer and a great human being. Starting from his days in Jamnagar, to Delhi, to England and to Mussoorie finally. The book is full of anecdotes and written in a witty manner that keeps you hooked to the book. You eagerly wait for what is coming next.
He recalls his boarding school days in Shimla, the other places he lived, his friends, his childhood which was lonely, and many experiences of his life with honesty and intimacy. All the cities he lived and stayed are beautifully captured in detail with perfect sense of timing, if he is describing a 1940s Delhi, you can visualise the place as it would have been in 1940s.
You will get to know about the making of some his brilliant novels, his life when he was established as writer and the love he received from people. And finally he talks about the place which is his home for years and where is settled currently with his adopted family. The way he writes about Mussoorie will tell you how much he is in love with the place.
While reading the book you feel as if you are watching the author’s entire life unfold infront of you. It makes you sad, it makes you smile, it makes you wonder, it makes you nostalgic, there are so many emotions you go through while reading this brilliantly readable autobiography.
A Must read for all who have read Ruskin Bond and also for those who haven’t read him yet. This book can start your lifelong love affair with Ruskin Bond, the writer.