A Bonsai Tree is not a memoir; it is an autobiography. Memoir is a selective slice of life focused to advantage; autobiography is the whole messy life as it unfolded. It is the story of one of the millions of families whose lives were shattered by the Partition – also called Independence of India–in 1947. It continues as a narrative of India through the prism of one life. Post-Partition hardship and singular effort launches the author on a coveted career. Hilarious snippets of a young bumbling couple keep you glued to the book. The scenario then changes to an epic private battle with the ‘bottled devil’. Narendra Luther has hitherto written about others. Here he tells you his own gripping story with his trademark wit, optimism and unusual candour. Looking back, he finds a pattern emerging out of a chequered life, bringing him to questions of destiny.