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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
While living abroad I read a lot of travel memoirs. I was disappointed in most of them because of how annoying the authors were.
MacDonald strikes just the right note of shock, wonder, amusement and annoyance. As an Australian, she has a very western bias / point of view as she explores the different faiths and cultures of India. But I think she does a good job of relaying her observations without too much judgement. Which is not to say she is only an observer, or that she keeps her opinions to herself... it's just that she makes it easy for the reader to follow along and form their own opinions.
One of my biggest complaints about Eat Pray Love was that the author was so self absorbed, I couldn't get out of her head and into what the places she visited were actually like. Holy Cow is not at all like that. I mean, it's a memoir and as such it delves into her thoughts and feelings and spiritual journey, but I didn't feel like I was being dragged into her own personal drama.
Holy Cow was a refreshing change from the usual travel memoirs.
MacDonald strikes just the right note of shock, wonder, amusement and annoyance. As an Australian, she has a very western bias / point of view as she explores the different faiths and cultures of India. But I think she does a good job of relaying her observations without too much judgement. Which is not to say she is only an observer, or that she keeps her opinions to herself... it's just that she makes it easy for the reader to follow along and form their own opinions.
One of my biggest complaints about Eat Pray Love was that the author was so self absorbed, I couldn't get out of her head and into what the places she visited were actually like. Holy Cow is not at all like that. I mean, it's a memoir and as such it delves into her thoughts and feelings and spiritual journey, but I didn't feel like I was being dragged into her own personal drama.
Holy Cow was a refreshing change from the usual travel memoirs.
I liked the idea behind her book but if I encountered this author on my travels, I don't think I would like her much. It was a nice peek into life in India (as an outsider) but as far as her spiritual exploration goes, I felt like she was trying on religions like different pairs of shoes. She also tells many tales of how Indians gave her things like gifts, food, lavish invitations, hospitality, and above all else, love. I didn't feel like she returned the favors to the gracious people she encountered. There were many trips she took to find enlightenment and get experiences and knowledge out of different situations but there was never a trip she made for the sole purpose of giving back. Sure, she gave the occasional beggar a few coins but she could have done some volunteer work in all of the free time she spent just passing the days. I wanted to be a big fan of this book but I just didn't relate to the storyteller on a personal level and that is an important factor for me when reading a travel journal.
a great travel book. a funny book. a great book to learn about India. I want to go here now becasue of this book
2.5 stars. I totally get why many people find this irritating or offensive. I also get why some people liked it (but I don’t get why it was an “international bestseller”). She starts out so condescending and annoying that I understand that some would stop reading—but it does get much better as she acclimated to India and starts to explore with an open mind. I hate how she kind of at the end reduces the experience to how she learned one lesson from each religion and India “made” her and she was reborn (such a cliche). It’s strength was her descriptions of a lot of detail about the experience of life in India as an expat and also descriptions of the different religions.
this book felt like a realistic retelling of a westerner's experience in India. nothing is sugar-coated or over simplified. it explores both the desire for the spiritual and beautiful, as well as the confrontation with the cruel and the dark side of a complex and diverse country. if you're looking for a book to inspire you to visit or move to India, this might not be the place to start!
She spent 2/3rds of this book complaining about how much she hated India. The end of the book was good but it was mostly just a book of complaints. Nothing special.
This book is India through the eyes of an outsider, Journalist Sarah Macdonald travels around India during her twenties and vowed will not return back to India. Meanwhile from airport a beggar reads her palm and predict she will come back to India for her love . Prediction become true after eleven years as she need to return back to India for her boyfriend who later become her husband Jonathan was placed in India for work.
She sees India as a place full of disgusting people. Who later travel around India in search of religion. She come across Muslims,Hindu,Buddha,Chrristians,Jews ,Parsi by travelling through out India. She also meets some bollywood icons like Amir Khan,Preity Zinta and Amithab Bachan. Also meets some spiritual gurus like Satya Sai Baba and Amrithanatha Mayi
She sees India as a place full of disgusting people. Who later travel around India in search of religion. She come across Muslims,Hindu,Buddha,Chrristians,Jews ,Parsi by travelling through out India. She also meets some bollywood icons like Amir Khan,Preity Zinta and Amithab Bachan. Also meets some spiritual gurus like Satya Sai Baba and Amrithanatha Mayi
I really enjoyed this book. Her initial culture shock (and horror) to her gradual love of India was an incredible journey and I'm glad she brought me along.
I'm not a particularly spiritual person so perhaps that explains why I found this book quite tedious. From the opening chapters, it is fairly clear what is going to happen. White girl goes to India, is initially overwhelmed by the dirt and craziness but a year or so later she has learned to love the country and is a changed person.
There are anecdotes of the author's crazy life in India that are witty and fun, but somehow trying to stretch these anecdotes into a full length novel seems to be forced. I felt that she was "trying on" many different religions in India in an extremely shallow way simply to give herself something to do (and turn it into a novel) and some of her experiences fall quite flat.
There are anecdotes of the author's crazy life in India that are witty and fun, but somehow trying to stretch these anecdotes into a full length novel seems to be forced. I felt that she was "trying on" many different religions in India in an extremely shallow way simply to give herself something to do (and turn it into a novel) and some of her experiences fall quite flat.