Fragments against My Ruin

Farrukh Dhondy

£15.99

We send all orders via Royal Mail: within the UK, choose from 1st Class, 2nd Class or Special Delivery; for the rest of the world, International Standard or International Tracked. Delivery and packaging charges are calculated automatically at the checkout.

To collect orders in person from the Bookshop, choose Click and Collect at the checkout.


Verso Books
16 July 2024
ISBN: 9781804295243
Paperback
320 pages

From the publisher

The rebellious life of a novelist, screenwriter and revolutionary activist

Born in Poona, India, Farrukh Dhondy came to England in 1964 and immersed himself in radical politics and the counterculture. He kicked off a career in journalism interviewing Pink Floyd and Allen Ginsberg and covering the first meeting between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Dhondy was soon drawn into political activism. He joined the Indian Workers Association and the British Black Panther Movement. Within the radical activist collective Race Today, he worked alongside Darcus Howe and C. L. R. James. An award-winning writer, he co-wrote the ground-breaking sit-com Tandoori Nights. In 1984 he became Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for multicultural programming and was a driving force behind Desmond’sSalaam Bombay!, and the trailblazing Bandung File.

In Fragments against My Ruin, Dhondy explores a life to salvage precious moments against the inevitable decay of age. The result is a fascinating social and historical document of the late twentieth century, addressing politics, culture, friendship, and the determination to break down boundaries. It is an autobiography packed with compelling anecdotes, such as an insightful take on Jeffrey Archer’s conviction, as well as portraits of Richard Attenborough, Arundhati Roy, V. S. Naipaul, Charles Sobhraj, and many others.