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Sto caricando le informazioni... Chasing the Monsoondi Alexander Frater
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Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. This is, without doubt, the most fascinating travelogue I have ever read. Frater follows the monsoon from its genesis in Kerala up to Cherrapunji in Assam, the wettest place on earth: in the process, he gives fascinating insights about India, the monsoon, India the monsoon (a strange entity!) and human nature in general. His writing is wryly humorous (without being sarcastic) and sympathetic at the same time. Being from Kerala, I know and love the monsoon. So it was all the more enjoyable for me. As I read the book, I could almost smell the smell of the first rains on parched soil, what we call "the smell of new earth". Highly recommended. Frater narrates an eccentric journey following the commencement of the Monsoon (the annual rains) from the South to the far North East of India. On the way he has a great deal to say about the weather, of India and its people. The real strength of this account is Frater's ability to connect with Indians, and to observe their observations of him, and of his quest. It's an immersive account, this is possible as close an impression of Indian life you could possibly get without actually being there. The beauty of it of course is that it doesn't strain or over-reach itself. There's a lightness of touch and even imprecision that reflects the actual experience of anyone travelling in another culture - and India particularly. It is a masterpiece of travel writing. But it's not just an account of a journey across India, but also one of Frater's life, connecting a childhood growing up in the South Pacific to his final destination in India, and a lifelong fascination with weather. The threads of this story within the story are equally fascinating, and revealed with wonderful delicacy, piece by piece as Frater makes his way across India, leaving the reader to wonder if this wasn't the main story after all and wishing for more. There is only one other account of travelling through India that I have read that comes anywhere near to this, and that is Michael Wood's 'The Smile of Murugan: A South India Journey'. I recommend both very highly. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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On 20th May the Indian summer monsoon will begin to envelop the country in two great wet arms, one coming from the east, the other from the west. They are untied over central India around 10th July, a date that can be calculated within seven or eight days. Frater aims to follow the monsoon, staying sometimes behind it, sometimes in front of it, and everywhere watching the impact of this extraordinary phenomenon. During the anxious period of waiting, the weather forecaster is king, consulted by pie-crested cockatoos, and a joyful period ensues: there is a period of promiscuity, and scandals proliferate. Frater's journey will take him to Bangkok and the cowboy town on the Thai- Malaysian border to Rangoon and Akyab in Burma (where the front funnels up between the mountains and the sea). Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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The passages to do with description of the weather are well written, but how many of those can you take? But they were few and far between. I think what also did me in were the frequent lapses into entire passages from books with "olde" english, with facts and tid-bits perhaps interesting to researchers, but something I had little interest in. I could at best only scan those to get back on track. I did read 'em but I wasn't paying attention. A good bit of the book was about the author trying to obtain permission to get to Cherrapunji.
I wish the entire book was like the last chapter. It would have been more readable. This one was a very tough exercise in trying to get the book over with. I only persisted because I'd bought the damn thing. Hodja's Peppers. ( )