Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Great reading

I've read a couple of good books this year and among them is this one:



Mantras & Misdemeanours is everything I want in a good travel/life journey memoir. But before I go too much further I must fully disclose the fact that the reason I discovered this book is because its author is one of my workmates and a fellow resident of Marrickville.

Hers is an amazing story. Having been The Australian's religious reporter she'd picked up an interest in Buddhism, particularly the Tibetan kind, and had travelled to McLeod Ganj in India several times, as this is where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community in exile reside.

Her trips to McLeod Ganj suggested that there may be a story to be written, so she packed her bags (book contract in hand) and headed there for a year.

Not only does she come back with a great insight into the Tibetan life in exile, she wraps a beautiful love story around it. Within weeks of arriving in India she has fallen in love with a former monk - and then she falls pregnant.

It's beautifully written and a totally engrossing read.

2 comments:

Jess said...

I just ordered it from the library - can't wait to read it!

M said...

Excellent. Looking for something new to read as my TBR pile is not grabbing me at the mo.