Newar Society brings to the Anglophone world French anthropologist Gérard Toffin's work on the Newars. The book is of extreme importance for Newar studies, and it is also beneficial for other scholars who are interested in Nepal's unique form of South Asian Himalayan culture. Toffin is director of research at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris and has been conducting research in Nepal for more than thirty-five years. His classic Société et religion chez les Néwars du Nepal (Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1984) is based on research in the village of Pyangaon and the small city of Panauti. Newar Society widens his reach and is founded on a number of different research locations in the Kathmandu and Banepa valleys. As the book's introduction states, the study gives “an overall picture of some of the essential features of Newar society” (p. 6).

Toffin is interested in the guthi associations, the ceremonial aspects of the caste system, and, as the book's subtitle suggests, the relationship among the city, village, and periphery. In fact, the book's first eight chapters are structured on the outward movement from core to margins. The first three chapters deal directly with the urban Newar groups of Citrakārs (painters), the Rājopādhyāya Brāhmins (priests), and the Maharjan (Jyāpu, farmers). Chapters –7 depict the village and the interplay between village and center. In chapter 8, Toffin illustrates the peripheral group of the Pahari (wood cutters). The remaining five chapters deviate from this structure to concentrate on caste and identity. Chapters 9, 10, and 11 explore the interplay between caste and society. Finally, chapters 12 and 13 explore contemporary notions of identity and gender.

Newar Society makes three main claims. First, Toffin argues that although there is much Sanskritic influence, the non-Indic components of Newar society cannot be seriously denied. He indicates that many Newar intellectuals may have overstated these non-Indian elements. However, as evidence, Toffin points to bilateral matrimonial systems, territorial moieties, mono-caste villages, and social rules that function quite independent of the caste system. Second, Toffin maintains that the study of Newar society must depart from the old-fashioned study of small, enclosed, isolated tribal societies. He defines Newar society as a complex, literate, urban civilization with its own texts, art, and architectural masterpieces. As stated earlier, he is mostly concerned with the relationship between core and periphery, but also—especially in the final two chapters—the interplay between the local and global levels. Third, he argues that while Newar society has undergone many changes, traditional social structures have persisted. He sees two major events. The first is the conquest of the valley in 1768–69 by Prithvi Narayan Shah, and the substitution of the Malla royal families by the Shah dynasty. Second, and even more dramatic, is the modernization that occurred over the last four decades—population increase, frenzied building, political changes, and the influx of foreign media and ideas. Still, he argues that many of the valley's “inhabitants remain relativity sheltered from the deluge of social and economic change” (p. 21).

The thirteen chapters were written at different times over a thirty-five-year span, and many were published as independent articles—about one-third of the book has never been published before. Because of this, Newar Society often seems to lack coherence, and the reader finds Toffin repeating himself. The introduction makes up for much of this lack of clarity, as it synthesizes the volume's different themes and gives a precise and up-to-date description of Newar society. There are some omissions, errors, and a need for more theoretical subtlety. Because a second volume has not yet been released, Toffin's extensive work on ritual is missing from the present volume. Moreover, the census and other numeric data are dated and often inaccurate. The final two chapters on identity and gender also fall short and seem to lack the thick description of the earlier chapters. I would have liked to have heard directly from the farmers and women about whom Toffin writes. However, even with these shortcomings, the book is a significant and needed contribution to the study of Newar society. The reviewer anticipates the release of the planned second volume on Newar ritual.