I recently finished listening to the audio book of Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald (narrated by Kate Hosking). Sarah is a woman who struggles with her choice to give up her career and Australian homeland as she follows her fiancé to India. She feels her identity slowly ebbing away as her main job in life becomes waiting for her fiancé (later husband), a reporter covering India for the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

I enjoyed the wide range of emotions I felt while listening to the book, from sadness and shock at the deploring conditions that many Indians are forced to live in, to humor at the unique situations Sarah finds herself in as she acclimates herself to her temporary homeland.

I also really enjoyed the speaking style of the narrator, Kate Hosking. I think she did an excellent job portraying the different personalities and emotions of the various characters. I had a few laugh-out-loud moments while listening to the narrator speak in an Indian accent. The crazy statements of some of the more unusual characters coupled with her take on an Indian accent struck me as funny. A perfect example of this is when the narrator humorously portrays a friend of Sarah as he chides her husband for being away for so long: “My brother, I have to tell you, you have failed in your first year of marriage, you are way beyond a one karat diamond now. You are up to a ruby and an emerald now. I will take you shopping.”

A good portion of the book deals with Sarah’s exploration of the many religions she encounters in India. The most obvious would be Hinduism and Buddhism. She also dabbles in Judaism, Islam, Jainism, Sufism, Sikhism, Guruism, Parsiism and even the religion of her birth, Christianity, gets a new face in India. Sarah tries on each belief system, and eventually takes from each the wisdom she needs to make her life more whole.

(SPOILER)
The book tells the story of an Indian friend of Sarah’s named Padma, who lived in Australia with her, and has an Australian boyfriend. When Padma’s mother finds out about this boyfriend, she writes a one line letter to Padma, saying, “Child, it’s me or it’s him. If it’s him, you won’t exist anymore. To me, you will be dead. Love, Mommy.” Again I found myself laughing at the phrasing of this letter (the serious declaration of disownership followed by an affectionate ‘Love, Mommy’) and the narrator’s Indian accent. This humor quickly died when I found out, later on when Padma marries someone her mother disapproves of, her mother hangs herself, saying that Padma has shamed the family and she has nothing left to live for.
(/SPOILER)

Sarah finds that India is a place where, for a westerner, even the smallest errand takes planning and a herculean effort. She must deal with homesickness, with the incredible heat and drought of the summers, with being separated from her husband for long periods of time, and with the inevitable second class treatment she receives as a woman. For example, when applying to renew her Visa, Sarah must carry a letter from her fiancé stating that she is engaged, and needs to stay in India until their marriage. An official tells her, “No, you are no good to India until you are married!”

Overall, the storytelling moves along at a quick pace, relaying funny anecdotes about colorful people. The book reveals all aspects of India, both flattering and disparaging. Sarah says, “India is the land of the profound and the profane.” It is a land of incredible, heartfelt spiritual fervor but also a land where there is human waste on the streets and the smell of sweat and pollution hangs over the cities. It is interesting to follow as her views of India evolve from hatred to love over the course of the story. By the time she is ready to depart India for good, she knows that the experiences she has had in the country will color her and her husband’s life forever. She describes this perfectly by saying,“Our souls share a shadow cast by India.”

I give this book 4 stars out of 5.