Dancing to the Flute

By: Manisha Jolie Amin

Narrated by: Paul English

Kalu climbed high into a tree seeking the perfect leaf to roll into a pipe.... Softening one end in his mouth, he pressed down with his teeth to flatten the tube and blew. The sound, sweet and clear, rode the wind, snaking through the tree and down into the village.

Set in the small Indian town of Hastinapore, we meet Kalu: just a young boy, without any family, living on the streets. As he plays his music, he doesn't realise there is a man resting against the trunk listening. And so Kalu and the healer meet, and Kalu’s life is changed forever.

©2012 Manisha Jolie Amin (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Dancing to The Flute is one of the most touching and beautifully realised novels I have read in years. The story of a boy's mysterious appearance in the world and his trajectory from childhood to maturity, Dancing to The Flute is above all a novel about friendship and love and the astonishing transformative powers of music. It is both magical and uplifting." (Jacob Ross, author of Pynter Bender (4th Estate 2009))

gorgeous prose and imagery, endearing characters

This is my favorite book this year. I wish the narrator would have been able to sing the vocal parts since the music is so central to the story (esp as the boy was learning the basics of the raag). That's the only shortcoming. I will look for more from this author