Scan barcode
jnyrose's review against another edition
5.0
surprisingly soothing
This is actually a lovely meditation on India, journeys and growth. The author quietly wraps you into her experience and brings you along for the experience in a way that feels personal. Really did enjoy it.
This is actually a lovely meditation on India, journeys and growth. The author quietly wraps you into her experience and brings you along for the experience in a way that feels personal. Really did enjoy it.
gillameeno's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
wooknight's review against another edition
4.0
A thoroughly entertaining book !! The author takes us on a fascinating journey through India using the Indian Railways system . A wonderful joy ride
gayathiri_rajendran's review against another edition
1.0
The title of this book seemed interesting enough to pick it up and frankly I wanted to read what the author had to tell about India and her extensive railway system.
To be frank,I was completely disappointed. The writing was elementary and there were too many jibes and pokes and the grammar was bearable at most. This book could have been excellent in the genre of travel literature but sadly it is a whiney bland narration of the author about her journey in India by 80 different trains. There is a lot of complaining throughout the book by the author about almost everything right from the trains till the people traveling with her.
It can be seen clearly that minimum or no research has been done with regards to this book. It’s mostly poverty that is depicted throughout the book and one who has never travelled to India or heard of India might think that is true. Her descriptions are bland and in my opinion India is anything but “bland”.
I find it hard to believe that the railways are that worse as depicted by her. I have travelled by trains frequently and I should say that the railways have definitely improved. The character Passepartout flits in and out of the narrative and it is hard to get a grip of his character. We never really find out what he is like throughout the book. There is a fight between the author and him in the middle of the book and she goes off on her own.
One thing that irked me was the way she described the Indians traveling with her in the trains and the foreigners who were traveling with her in the luxury trains. Indians were depicted to be indisciplined,loud and nosy whereas the foreigners who travelled in the luxury trains were portrayed to be perfect caricatures of tourists. I find it surprising that almost all the Indians she met on the trains were selfish,unhelpful and ungracious except for a couple of people including an ambassador and a few others.
The way she described hunting for hotels to stay was a bit unbelievable. At last the book ends in the cliched way of finding spirituality in India where the author prides upon herself to complete the Vipasana course depicting the others in the course like complete idiots. I was happy to put down this book at the end. Somehow I raced to complete this book. I wish she had elaborated more on the places she saw,local cuisine,interaction with locals,places of visit instead of constantly complaining about how poverty stricken people were and constant jibes at the sizes of Indians aboard the trains.
This book was such a waste of my time and I was misled by the title. The only saving grace is the excellent cover design.One star for the cover design.
To be frank,I was completely disappointed. The writing was elementary and there were too many jibes and pokes and the grammar was bearable at most. This book could have been excellent in the genre of travel literature but sadly it is a whiney bland narration of the author about her journey in India by 80 different trains. There is a lot of complaining throughout the book by the author about almost everything right from the trains till the people traveling with her.
It can be seen clearly that minimum or no research has been done with regards to this book. It’s mostly poverty that is depicted throughout the book and one who has never travelled to India or heard of India might think that is true. Her descriptions are bland and in my opinion India is anything but “bland”.
I find it hard to believe that the railways are that worse as depicted by her. I have travelled by trains frequently and I should say that the railways have definitely improved. The character Passepartout flits in and out of the narrative and it is hard to get a grip of his character. We never really find out what he is like throughout the book. There is a fight between the author and him in the middle of the book and she goes off on her own.
One thing that irked me was the way she described the Indians traveling with her in the trains and the foreigners who were traveling with her in the luxury trains. Indians were depicted to be indisciplined,loud and nosy whereas the foreigners who travelled in the luxury trains were portrayed to be perfect caricatures of tourists. I find it surprising that almost all the Indians she met on the trains were selfish,unhelpful and ungracious except for a couple of people including an ambassador and a few others.
The way she described hunting for hotels to stay was a bit unbelievable. At last the book ends in the cliched way of finding spirituality in India where the author prides upon herself to complete the Vipasana course depicting the others in the course like complete idiots. I was happy to put down this book at the end. Somehow I raced to complete this book. I wish she had elaborated more on the places she saw,local cuisine,interaction with locals,places of visit instead of constantly complaining about how poverty stricken people were and constant jibes at the sizes of Indians aboard the trains.
This book was such a waste of my time and I was misled by the title. The only saving grace is the excellent cover design.One star for the cover design.
dennasus's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoyed this one, especially as I've learned a lot about India. On the other hand the multitude of trains and places and people confused me after a while and I had to take a few breaks. And resign to the fact that I won't ever keep track....
chikreads's review against another edition
5.0
Being a fan of train travel, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I gained knowledge of trains and places in my own country. Great perspective from Monisha, who never felt belonged from the beginning but still had some feelings for the country. Makes you laugh at places! It even has insider tips for other books :D