After reading first chapter, I realized what I am heading to, but continued to read, as a bestseller should have some salt. And, indeed it was there, just in the name of crass Ozzie sense of humor she kept on rubbing on, Indian wounds.

Though her depiction of situation of civic situations in India and obscurity of religions is very true. But, when it becomes continuous ranting and predictable, it becomes derogatory and prejudiced. When she is deriding india she gets very detailed and elaborate, but when praising, she has no detail and language is diplomatic/open ended, you can feel it to be "Well if every one says it is great country then could have been". So she has all negative facts but none of the good ones. Where ever by mistake she said anything seemingly +ve, same sentence has some very -ve thing to turn overall impact to be a -ve one.

The final message she gave is, stay in India made me love Australia, and probably she loved India for this fact.

Last but not the least, in first chapter she said number Zero was not discovery of India but an Arabian country. This shows she is very strong on her convictions, so did not even try to validate history of Zero before making such an statement.

Due to same strong convictions/biases, her atheism got stronger on brush with con-god people and archaic religious acts, but she could not absorb more evolved conscious practices.

All the reviews that give this book a low rating makes me wonder if they're missing the point! This was a heart opening book aptly conveying the challenge of living within a culture that brings all of ones judgement, criticism and shadow side to the fore.

Kudos to the author for her ongoing quest in her development of compassion and the process of striving to bring more peace both to her life and others. The spiritual journey is always a contradiction as after all we are only human and she does such a great job of highlighting these contradictions which seem to prevail in India. The expectation of what it means to be spiritual and the disappointment the ego self encounters when things don't meet ones expectations is a theme that recurs over and over and is a lesson we all visit from time to time.

When I first started to read this book (this year) I was delighted to find that it was the same timeframe as when I was visiting in 2001 & recalled vividly all those events from the earthquake in Gurjurat, the big 12 year kumbmella event & the mass hysteria at the beginning of the monsoon that swept Delhi about the red eyed monster who was consistently seen at night jumping from rooftop to rooftop looking for victims. The papers were awash with headline news of this bizarre yeti like creature which morphed every day in character and intent. My point being that her book is rooted in fact that takes you on a journey through the beautiful the bizarre and the ugly, touching on topics from the multitud of different faiths that coexist, through to the issues that females still face today. I loved it

Condescending, narrow-minded, arrogant and misleading.

Sarah Macdonald is obviously far superior to any Indian person (in fact, she's probably far superior to any person on the planet), and she completely lacks any understanding of the culture or the peoples.

Swanning around India with Bollywood actors is hardly the way to "find yourself", and criticising people for taking a morning dump by the railway tracks as her train passes is crass.

I'm giving my copy to the poor people who live near the railway tracks with no running water and no sanitation - at least they'll have something to wipe their bottoms with when they've finished outraging Sarah Macdonald!

I read the book while holidaying in Northern NSW. The reason I read this book was because it was on the bookshelf in the holiday home we had for the week. Also because it was supposed to talk about India from a Westerners perspective.

Let me put it out there: this book is not a travelogue. It is a miserable portrayal of a difficult to understand country by a selfish Australian woman. A lot of what she passes off in the book is exaggeration. In other words, fiction. Do NOT use this book as a decision-making tool for an Indian holiday. Describing the book in just one word: Patronising.

PS: You could be at the wrong place at the wrong time ANYWHERE in the world. I was mugged at a well lit train station in Westren Sydney.

While living in USA, I continuously miss my home country India; thus, I thought of reading a book based on India expecting it to refresh my memories. I opted for “A Holy Cow”, but soon I realized I have made a wrong choice. Her description of India is as if someone is visiting a poor’s house and making a mockery of his poverty. Since I’m an Indian my review might be considered a biased one, but my intention is just to be logical. After reading the initial few pages it appeared as if the writer is accusing Indians for our poor infrastructure and poverty, and being poor is some kind of a sin. Few instances in the book I couldn’t find any logic in:
1. Airplane incident:The air hostess not taking ANY action against the sexual assault: I could have accepted a leniency toward the accused but no action at all is bit too much to digest. This airline operates throughout the globe, flying international passengers. Had they been so lenient to such a crime, I’m sure they must have faced some serious consequences.
2.tAir hostesses coming from very rich families through bribes, so that they can fly and stay in five star hotels: I couldn’t understand if they are really rich wouldn’t they be able to afford flights and hotels with their own money? Why would rich people allow their girls to do the kind of job that involves waitering? In fact, in India, an air hostess's job is still considered a sort of demeaning work even by middle class genera, forget about the riches.
3.tPeople farting in the evenings: is it only the Indians who do so? Please! It’s a god’s mercy that he made all humans the same, otherwise farting could have been another sin on top of being poor.
4.tThe Driver Kuntee, asking the author to wait for one hour and not showing up until she herself looked out for him after 2-3 hours - I couldn’t understand the driver’s incentive behind it, he didn’t take the money in advance which could have left the passengers stuck to him alone. She could have easily taken another taxi instead of waiting for him.
Well! Reading all these illogical instances, I couldn’t force myself to read any further. There are books like SHANTARAM where author saw the beauty even in filthy Indian slums. Every country gives its traveler a cocktail of experiences, if you are determined to see only the bad nothing can please you ever.

Ah, back to school and various volunteer duties, less time for reading. I just finished Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald, a gift from Stephanie and something that's been on my 'to read' list for awhile. It was funny and serious and fascinating. I loved it! It tells the story of the author's unwilling move to India and her growing appreciation of the culture and people. I expected something like Sex Lives of the Cannibals, which it was in some ways, but it was also a thoughtful examination of India's religious diversity and the power of love (not as cheesy as it sounds).

I enjoy books exploring the different cultures and customs of the world. I enjoy a well-written memoir exploring those discoveries, but I finally put this one aside about 3/4 of the way through it. I tried, I truly tried to finish it, but with so many wonderful books out there waiting to be read, I couldn't justify spending another minute listening to this poor, lost woman attempt to "find herself" or the meaning of life that she was so desperately seeking.

I had read reviews mentioning that there was a lot of "religion" here and knowing India's varied religious background, I was prepared for some of that. I was looking for a book that explored the people, the cultures and the sites of India from the perspective of an "outsider." While there was a bit of that, mostly this book became a tedious exploration, not of Indian sites, people and regions, but almost solely of one woman's attempt to find meaning in life through the various religious practices found there. When one didn't work, she'd jump to another and when that failed to bring peace, she'd try another group. Since I am at peace this endless jumping made me first of all sad for her that she is so obviously lost and unable to find her way and number 2 weary of the endless detailed speculations about hopeless religious practices.

I first read ‘Holy Cow’ in 2006 or 2007. It was interesting to look at Indian diversity and idiosyncrasies through the eyes of an outsider who wanted to make sense of the chaos. I loved it. But in order to appreciate this book, you must have the ability to laugh at India’s eccentricities. It is one of the very few books which I have re-read and enjoyed.

Sarah Macdonald, an Australian journalist, broadcaster and presenter, did not like India on her first visit and never wanted to return. But she returns to India after almost 11 years to be with her boyfriend Jonathan Haley. “Holy Cow” is more of a spiritual journey of the author which takes her through interesting experiences and people.

She writes right at the beginning: “India is Hotel California: you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

In her early days, her cynical self only finds the problems: widespread poverty, no respect for time, no sense of space and privacy, people gawking at western women, dirt and filth, the unbearable heat, poor medical standards, etc., etc. But soon she decides to make the best of her stay in India, since Jonathan was away most of the time for long duration owing to wok commitments. Sarah’s experiences were diverse: finding anything but peace in the spiritual ‘market’ of Rishikesh, brushes with death in the forms of earthquake and double-pneumonia, making sense of the Indian marriage scene (its close connection with family and honour), cleansing of mind and finding inner peace through Vipassana, learning about Sikhs and meeting a unique group of white Sikhs, grim realities of a paradise lost in Kashmir, experiencing Jewish rituals, getting blessed by Mata Amritanandamayi, meeting film stars, exploring Christianity at our Lady of Velangiri, to name a few.


There are several such books by western travellers / journalists / explorers but Sarah Macdonald has a distinguished voice. Some may find a few of her observations or comments offensive, but you must remember while reading this book, or any such book, that this is a personal journey of the author. In this particular book, we find Sarah Macdonald transform from an atheist to someone who begins to enjoy the expansive spiritual roads India offers, its many religions. At the end of it, she is humbled by India’s accommodating culture, affectionate people, diversity and experiences. At the end, if you really read it with an open mind, there is not a thing to offend. She sounds a little conceited in the beginning but I think, it is purely to bring out the contrast in her transformation from someone not amused by the situation in India to someone who had begun to enjoy the “organised chaos”.

Few gems from the book:

About the Hindi she learnt from her teacher who scoffed at the use of street language:
When I thought I was asking a taxi driver to take me somewhere I was really saying, ‘Kind sir, would thou mind perhaps taking me on a journey to this shop and I would be offering you recompense of this many rupees to do so, thank you frightfully humbly.’ And I have been greeting filthy naked street urchins with, ‘Excuse me, o soul one, but I’m dreadfully sorry, I don’t appear to have any change, my most humble of apologies.’

These lines beautifully capture her thoughts on religion:
“I realise I don’t have to be a Christian who follows the church, or a Buddhist nun in robes, or a convert to Judaism or Islam or Sikhism. I can be a believer in something bigger than what I can touch. I can make a leap of faith to a higher power in a way that’s appropriate to my culture but not be imprisoned by it.”

She says about her trip to Pakistan:

“I feel like I’ve travelled between two divorced parents who are trying to outdo each other.”


About war against Afghanistan
This war has shattered my Great Australian Dream – the fantasy that I could be part of the world community with all its benefits but isolated enough to be safe and separate from its violence and brutality.”

And finally, her thoughts on India towards the end:
”India’s organised chaos has exuberance and optimism, a pride and a strong celebration of life. I truly love it. There’s no place like this home.”

It is an interesting book; and people who love to read about India, or Non Fiction in general or travel stories in particular will love it.

Review Book courtesy: http://www.mysmartprice.com/books/
More reviews from me here: http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/

Greatly disappointed. The materials Macdonald offered in her book is interesting, but the narrative suffers greatly from her inclination of employing the crisis-religion-awakening/enlightenment trilogy too much to the extent the narrative edges to banality in the end.

Not sure whether to read this lol. I don't know...the description is a bit questionable. I might give it a try some time though?

OK first up - I haven't read this book and neither do I intend to. The simple reason being that everything a westerner (or an easterner for that matter) had to say about the dichotomy of modern India, has been magnificently captured and related by n  n and any book by William Dalrymple.

That's it. Done. You won't need anything else.

n  But the reason why I am writing this "review" is just one : The issues Indians on this discussion board have with the book's cover.n

What is so strange/weird/unacceptable about seeing our Gods from another perspective? I mean, he's wearing sunglasses for crying out loud! It's not like they showed him smoking weed (Which he smokes by the way..all the time..as per our own mythology) or brandishing an AK-47 or any other weapon (Oh..I see he has his ever present trident..never mind.)

I am an Indian and I am a Hindu and I am completely fed up of people trying to act like they are God's personal SWAT team. Hindu religion, just like every other religion, has had its fair share of unacceptable practices which have gradually been outlawed so please stop acting like everything has been picture perfect since the dawn of time. We need to start taking things a little less seriously (After all, religion is fiction isn't it? Yup! Deep down inside, somewhere in a a dark corner of your heart, you know there is no one out there...but that is another discussion) and stop treating anything religious as taboo and not to be meddled with.

Personally speaking, I would have loved to see him smoking weed. Would have made him look a lot cooler :-)

Cheeky, chipper Sarah Macdonald hated India on her first trip there and never imagined that the prophecy of a fortune teller assuring her of her return to a land in which she felt profoundly uncomfortable,was correct.This time she is there to be with her partner, a war correspondent whose work most often leaves her on her own,attempting to come to terms with the mix of emotions India awakens within her turbulent soul.

My own feelings towards SM swivelled 180% as I followed her somewhat cynical progress through the spiritual banquet that India provides. Her lessons were all so pertinent to me, I felt as if we were on the same trip.