NINE BY NINE

In a world in which you only have a space of nine by nine to call your own where you share inedible meals and improbable dreams and think you know each other inside out how do you draw the line between private and public discretion and transgression? For Anjali suffocated by her mother's unspoken demands Tara - brilliant and eccentric free spirit - becomes both shield and shoulder while tranquil Paro with her unapologetic ambition to get married represents a completecontrast to their restlessness. So as Anjali furtively applies to universities abroad and Tara struggles with her doctoral thesis Paro gets engaged to a suitable boy.Except the engagement doesn't last long. Paro's return to the hostel signals a sudden disruption as relationships crumble and a sequence of disturbing eventsransforms their lives. For ever. A beautifully nuanced story of friendship and loss Nine By Nine walks the tightrope of emotion with skilful restraint.