Holy Cow!

Holy Cow! - Sarah Macdonald

This 2005 book is about her adventure in India. For the sake of love, Sarah moves to New Delhi. This, in spite of the fact that she detested the country on a previous trip there.

This book delivers just about everything a reasonable reader can expect from a travel book. As an expatriate memoir, it tells of her struggles with the culture and the ultimate drag, getting really sick in another country. It’s part chick lit because space is devoted to a “problem relationship.”

In the travelogue, she tells about journeys around India and Pakistan and in the confession, she tells about her spiritual journey, a.k.a. finding herself. The book is a primer, too, as a guide to the diversity of religions in India.

On the downside, the writing kinda clumps along in places, a shrill tone sometimes creeps in, and the frank honesty about India could be interpreted as a slap in the face. But these are quibbles alongside her insight and humor about her unique experience in a culture that we general readers ought to know more about.