|
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure | 
 enlarge | Author: Sarah Macdonald
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.22
You Save: $12.73 (85%)
New (33) Used (64) from $2.22
Rating:  99 reviews
Sales Rank: 33213
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0767915747
Dewey Decimal Number: 954.56052092
EAN: 9780767915748
ASIN: 0767915747
Publication Date: April 13, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: stained pages. Used - Good Default Text
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In her twenties, journalist Sarah Macdonald backpacked around India and came away with a lasting impression of heat, pollution and poverty. So when an airport beggar read her palm and told her she would return to India—and for love—she screamed, “Never!” and gave the country, and him, the finger.
But eleven years later, the prophecy comes true. When the love of Sarah’s life is posted to India, she quits her dream job to move to the most polluted city on earth, New Delhi. For Sarah this seems like the ultimate sacrifice for love, and it almost kills her, literally. Just settled, she falls dangerously ill with double pneumonia, an experience that compels her to face some serious questions about her own fragile mortality and inner spiritual void. “I must find peace in the only place possible in India,” she concludes. “Within.” Thus begins her journey of discovery through India in search of the meaning of life and death.
Holy Cow is Macdonald’s often hilarious chronicle of her adventures in a land of chaos and contradiction, of encounters with Hinduism, Islam and Jainism, Sufis, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians and a kaleidoscope of yogis, swamis and Bollywood stars. From spiritual retreats and crumbling nirvanas to war zones and New Delhi nightclubs, it is a journey that only a woman on a mission to save her soul, her love life—and her sanity—can survive.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 94 more reviews...
 Don't judge a book by its cover December 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The cover of this book is beautiful. The content is boring and the writer is self-absorbed. If your interest is India, don't bother reading this book. If your interest is Sarah Macdonald then go ahead and waste your money.
 A Selfish Woman's Selfish View of India & Search For Self October 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have to admit that I decided to read this book because it has a great cover. I should have peeked a bit inside, though, because the cliched chapter titles would have kept me away: Insane in the Membrane, Birds of a Feather Become Extinct Together, etc.
Basically, this is the memoir of a selfish Australian woman's year in India. She sees India as a filthy place full of disgusting people with intolerable cultural habits. And she spends her free time (while her husband is working in other cities or countries on news stories) traveling around India in search of religion. She seems to have a disdain for religion at the same time she seeks out religious celebrities and empty religious experiences.
Perhaps I have negative feelings about the author's view of India because, when I was in India, all I felt was compassion and sadness for the poor around me. What type of person sees poverty and is disgusted by it? I guess it's this type of selfishness that also keeps her from giving a face and a personality to her husband in her writings.
 Travels in the Future October 12, 2008
India is our future - as the youngest, biggest, and increasingly smartest society on earth the way India goes will lead us all. So much I read on India is about macro forces....this book gives an on the ground view from a slightly wacky but always hilarious explorer from Australia. At this point in my life I can't pick up and travel around India...so this book is the next best thing.
Exaggerated whining, but entertaining neverthless. September 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I picked this book because the front cover looked colorful (read funky) and the review on the back said it was hilarious account an Ozzie's journey.
Good : Sarah has a flair for humor. More on the sarcastic side, but it is there. She can also laugh at herself. She traveled extensively in India and experienced quite a lot during her stay. She got a closer look at the typical social life in India and narrated her impressions in detail. So, you will get a taste of India if you read the book till the end.
Bad : She uses (or wastes?) her talent for making too many satirical remarks. Specially in the beginning, she is too inflexible to adjust and accept anything different from her cozy comfortable life in Sydney. I think she really failed to enjoy the enthusiasm and vibrancy of the absolutely exciting country India is. Like a lot of tourists from the developed countries, she sees the poverty, population, pollution and garbage as 'The India'. It is not that those things do not exist or that no one should write a book about them, but there is so much more to India than that. And this book could have been a lot more enjoyable without Sarah McDonald's endless whining.
Recommendation: Read it for the entertainment purpose only, but if you haven't been to India, don't let the negative bias ruin a possibly enjoyable trip you might have one day.
 Terrorists Don't Meditate For Peace September 15, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sarah Macdonalds Holy Cow was generally an enjoyable read particularly as she reported her experience with
her spiritual journey and the adventures she encountered. Her descriptions of the events, people and environment were colorful, witty and powerful. I thought that she ran into trouble when she gave her commentary on the aftermath of 9/11. She took a decidedly naive opinion as she expressed disappointment that the US reactions was not that of "forgiveness and compassion". She also some unflattering remarks about
President Bush referring to him as the cowboy in the White House. Perhaps Sarah would have preferred that the President first conferred with one of her swamis before he decided to take action.
|
|
|
This amazon.com affiliate Store Owned and Operated by Silkroad Retail Group
Accepted Payment Methods:
American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, Eurocard, Visa, Visa Check Cards, Amazon.com gift certificates, payment directly from your bank account, and checks, money orders, or cashier's checks denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank, Borders Gift Cards and Waldenbooks Gift Cards as payment for qualifying orders. More information about Shipping & Handling, Delivery Date, Return Policy, Special Offers/Savings etc is available at the time of Secure CheckOut.
© 2006 ChindiaLounge.com All Rights Reserved | Powered by Silkroad Web
| |
