I requested this book because it is always fascinating to see my country through a relatively alien viewpoint. Bonus points if they turn out to be favourable ones ( I am biased that way). The author, it turned out, was not as alien as I expected her to be. She has had a firm grounding in what to expect and the background information on Hinduism that most people born into that society have no inkling of. This is a very private journey. It is the tale of her four-month journey in India , with rigorous information provided which might have been gathered after the trip(for the most part, the author does go into the trip with meticulous planning).She undertook the journey seeking some sort of respite from the person she was back home. She laces her travels with the stories of the places she visits, her purpose being both general and spiritual curiosity. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a very enriching time watching another's explorations of life and its meaning. It leans heavily on the spiritual backbone of hinduism and its values and as a reader I have enough of an affinity with her thought process to enjoy the book in its entirety, I am not sure how those who do not would react to this book.