Scan barcode
A review by spyralnode
Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh
3.0
Ticket by ticket, train by train go the chapters, following the ambitious journey of a British woman of Indian heritage. Inspired by Jules Vernes' 'Around the World in 80 Days', she aims to reconnect with India by exploring every nook that can be reached by rail.
This is the first book I'm reading that is focused on India, and one of the only travel books I've ever read ('Notes from a Small Island' by Bill Bryson is one I find comparable perhaps). I was looking for something relatively high level, giving me a taste of the culture, the history and the geography, and for that this book is very well suited. It mainly features observations and interactions, such as women's safety on trains, how you are never by yourself for a long time and people will inevitably start a conversation, the judgement based on your clan and civil status, haggling and money making - all great intros for the first time visitor.
The tone is casual, fun, and the author tends to move pretty quickly from one topic the next. There is little in the way of deep diving or introspection, it's fast paced and light.
Even for me though I'd consider this too light. Two areas that I really wish she would have gotten more into is cuisine and landscape. Cuisine was mentioned only via names of dishes, rather than where they are culturally relevant or even what they are exactly, I had to google them to stay on top of the meaning of the words. And on landscapes we get nothing beyond non-specific adjectives like 'beautiful' or landform naming like 'mountain'. The fact that the number of train journeys is what the author prioritises, rather than the experience of the train journeys, is actually quite disappointing. You feel like the plot is in flux a lot and never slows down quite enough to understand all the nuances that may be at play.
This is the first book I'm reading that is focused on India, and one of the only travel books I've ever read ('Notes from a Small Island' by Bill Bryson is one I find comparable perhaps). I was looking for something relatively high level, giving me a taste of the culture, the history and the geography, and for that this book is very well suited. It mainly features observations and interactions, such as women's safety on trains, how you are never by yourself for a long time and people will inevitably start a conversation, the judgement based on your clan and civil status, haggling and money making - all great intros for the first time visitor.
The tone is casual, fun, and the author tends to move pretty quickly from one topic the next. There is little in the way of deep diving or introspection, it's fast paced and light.
Even for me though I'd consider this too light. Two areas that I really wish she would have gotten more into is cuisine and landscape. Cuisine was mentioned only via names of dishes, rather than where they are culturally relevant or even what they are exactly, I had to google them to stay on top of the meaning of the words. And on landscapes we get nothing beyond non-specific adjectives like 'beautiful' or landform naming like 'mountain'. The fact that the number of train journeys is what the author prioritises, rather than the experience of the train journeys, is actually quite disappointing. You feel like the plot is in flux a lot and never slows down quite enough to understand all the nuances that may be at play.