A good debut | Enlightenment for Idiots: A Novel

A sort of yoga chick-lit - the India parts are the best | Enlightenment for Idiots: A Novel | Anne Cushman

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	• Enlightenment for Idiots: A Novel Anne Cushman Shaye Areheart Books, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Entertaining...but misses the mark

I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it did not move me in the same way as "Eat,Pray & Love". I found the book to be predictable and quite unrealistic....Its definitely worth the read but I think the rave reviews sent my expectations soaring. It was just ok....

A good debut

Anna Cushman's "Enlightenment for Idiots" centered around Amanda who is a part-time yoga teacher/freelance writer, and she recently broke up with her commitment phobic boyfriend, Matt. Feeling lost, Amanda took the opportunity to go to India to write a book on enlightenment. Amanda went from one ashram to another, hoping to learn more from the gurus about enlightenment, but was unsuccessful. Along the way, she met a celibate hippie named Devi Das (also American) who became a traveling companion.

This was an average read for me. It was interesting to read about Amanda's experience of traveling in India for the first time, and the author did a good job of providing insights into the cultural and social aspects of the country. The sights and sounds of both urban and rural India were well described. That being said, I felt that the book was too long, and could have been shorten. It was engaging when the author described Amanda's first two experiences at ashram, but that became old very quickly as she moved along to her next destination. "Enlightenment for Idiots" would appeal to those who love yoga and how it ties to spirituality. It is evident that the author is very knowledgeable about this subject area.

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A sort of yoga chick-lit - the India parts are the best

This enjoyable yogic chick-lit novel has three parts - the Pre-India, India and Post-India sections. The best part, and the bulk of the story, lies in protagonist's India travels...in all their poverty-stricken, rotten-corpse-floating-in-the-Ganges glory.

Amanda, a part-time yoga instructor/part time guidebook author, is sent by her dragon-lady publisher to India in search of enlightenment. She ultimately finds the problem with packaging enlightenment into a "Dummies" book is that spiritual paths don't run on deadlines. :)

Amanda jumps both feet first into India, fortunately befriended by an ex-pat, barefoot Sadhu (renunciate spiritual seeker). They travel across the Sub-Continent together, sleeping under mosquito netting on questionable mattresses, poling up the filthy Ganges and watching cows eat garbage in the streets. There's an odd mix of the holy and the grotesque. The author's voice seems genuine; she transports us with her to an honest view of India.

Amanda's comic-desperate journey takes her from one promising enlightenment guru to the next. Each spiritual master takes a different tack on "The TRUTH"...hard core yoga, loss of individuality (who is the *you* who is asking about your truth?), strict ashram schedules and even ashrams with no leader (where the main activity, at least for Amanda, is sleeping in). Amanda finally backpacks in to an ascetic in a mountain cave who might actually possess the truth...and is suddenly, painfully sent home.

I found the India segment fascinating - I could have traveled with Amanda and Devi Das stumbling for enlightenment for years. Following her back to the states was a lot less fun.

The denouement was a bit of a let-down after all the colorful traveling and exotic misadventures. Back home, I sensed Amanda missed the sacred chaos and strange purity of her quest. I missed it too.

Amanda DID find what she was looking for, in a sense, and so did her publisher. And it's really all we can hope for ourselves. :)

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Refreshing, Entertaining, and Insightful

Here's a well written book, with a well-thought-out female character as the lead. This is definately the book to read if you're a woman who's dabbled in yoga or thought about an alternative spirtual journey. The book felt like a light-hearted, easy read with lots of humor, but it leaves you with some deep thoughts.

Honestly, after a crazy day of work, this was a nice respite.

A wonderful road trip

Anne Cushman takes us on a spiritual and literal journey into the world of yoga, meditation and India and I loved her witty, honest and insightful look at a young women's yearning to find meaning in the spiritual marketplace. I have traveled to many of the destinations highlighted (guided by Anne's first book From Here to Nirvana) and found her crisp and vivid storytelling made me feel like I have just returned from India again. I highly recommend this book to all those interested in Yoga, as well as those who are in need of a meaningful adventure, with a very funny tour guide.

Sarah P.

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Nearing age thirty, Amanda thought she?d be someone else by now. Instead, she?s just herself: an ex-nanny yogini-wannabe who cranks out ?For Idiots? travel guides just to scrape by. Yes, she has her sexy photographer boyfriend, but he?s usually gone?shooting a dogsled race in Alaska or a vision quest in Peru?or just hooking up with other girls. However, she?s sure her new assignment, ?Enlightenment for Idiots,? will change everything; now she?ll become the serene, centered woman she was meant to be. After some breakup sex, she?s off to India to find a new, more spiritual life.

What she finds, though, is an ashram run by investment bankers, a yoga master who trashes her knee, and a guru with a weakness for fashion models. She escapes a tantra party at the Taj Hotel, has a nasty argument outside the cave where the Buddha used to meditate, then agonizes through the ten-day silent retreat that?s supposed to make her feel better.

No, India is not what she had pictured. But she finds a friend in Devi Das, a redheaded sadhu who refers to himself as ?we.? And when a holy lunatic on the street offers her an enigmatic blessing, Amanda realizes a new life may be in store for her?just not the one she was expecting.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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