India with humor, the only way to take the country in stride. This book captured the heart and the essence of India and its vast array of religions and cultures, all from the outsiders perspective. I have read this book a few times and know I will read it again. But, for a bigger treat, check out the audiobook. A take on India and its many accents all with the drawl of an Australian accident. This book made me laugh so hard while driving to assignments that I nearly wet my pants.

Perfect read for anyone that has been to India or plans to visit.

I have always been fascinated by India's extraordinarily rich history and totally foreign-seeming culture, so the detailed description of the different areas of the country helped satisfy some desire to visit India, without the expense or running the risk of contracting a disease (which sounds like a real risk). I also appreciated the author's sensitivity to some of the fine nuances of social interaction with Indians and in viewing their interactions together--how they treated her and how they were different with each other, I guess is what I saying. Her prose shows an intelligent attention to detail.

It is unfortunate that I do not like the author as a person, because I think it's necessary at some point to empathize with her in order to really enjoy this memoir. She presents herself as a bad-ass, independent woman, but in the end, I think she's an emotionally needy, insecure mess who wears her past career success on her sleeve as if it's the only identity she's ever known. The general whining tone and desperate search for meaning and direction in her life become a framework which mars this otherwise fascinating information about Indian. She seems to hate India while demanding that it fulfill all of her personal needs, and I don't think any country could be asked to do that. The more objective descriptions are my favorite, but they are few and far between by the end. When we are trapped in her head dealing with her quest for the meaning of life, it's just tedious.

But here's my favorite part of reading this book: I just learned a whole lot more about India. And I can't get it out of my mind--how do I make sense of a country that allows people to live like this? And what kind of person could possibly stand it? What makes such blatant disregard for human life acceptable? As an American, I obviously can't figure it out, but there must be some awareness and dialog about this in India, and about why these ancient social systems are still in place.

This book was simply incredible. Anyone interested in religion, as well as human condition will thoroughly enjoy this book. It had a bit of everything in it: humour, sadness, joy, discovery, friendship and understanding. Sarah Macdonald has done a wonderful job of drawing out the truths of many different world views and sharing them with us in an incredibly relatable way. Overall this book was moving and inspirational.

There are no stars because it didn't deserve one!
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald
-1 ★'s

From The Book:
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.

My Thoughts:
I read this to complete a challenge and the cover looked interesting. Both bad reasons to read a book. Shame on me! I found her entire approach to "investigating" the people and beliefs of this country to be obnoxious and condescending. No one forced her to return to India and I'm sure the people of India were more than happy to see her backside getting on the plane. The author's attitude toward India and Indians combines the worst of both the old and the new west by patronizingly sneering at a culture she doesn't understand and obviously has no desire to, much less offer any sign of respect. I guess I've read worse books but I can't remember when.