Customer Reviews

Don't Drink the Punch: An Adventure in Tantra

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I was truly surprised at how much I loved this book - and even more so with the second read. Unlike some of my other favorite authors who can fill pages with slippery stylized prose, Don't Drink the Punch is a relatively simple, straight forward story (albeit very sexy) with believable characters and insightful dialog developing into some increasingly profound concepts that culminates all too soon in a wonderfully classic surprise ending. It's very easy to imagine this as a major motion picture that we'd all want to see again and again!

Having been in and around the California Tantra scene for over a decade, I honestly didn't expect to glean a whole lot of new insights from a novel that I had assumed to be aimed at the beginner, but I was quite wrong. Just as the author alludes to throughout the book, for everyone from the acolyte to the ascendant, there is always room to learn and grow.

Don't Drink the Punch is a lusty odyssey of divine inspiration; guided by love, self-exploration, intrigue and an evanescent ascended master, a group of mostly western tantricas embarks on a pilgrimage across India in search of the deeper mystical secrets of ancient tantric expression. As the reader, I got to voyeuristically tag along, and recognizing the depth of what she has to offer, soon found myself asking the questions posed to our hero and heroine, seeking new answers for myself.

This book served as a timely reminder of my deeper needs for growth and development; for enlightenment... and inspired me to re-evaluate my own path and to spend more time in meditation, in open hearted expression and exploring what's really important - my connection to my greater self and to the divine.

And what a magnificent way to get there...

This is a book that is part adventure, part sexy romp, part travelog, and tretise on the some of the more obsure rites of those following the non-dualistic shakta path.

There are major lapses in plot and character development, but who cares? This book is written in a light breezy style, perfect for the western reader.

But after you put the book down you may want to think about these important questions. . .how are we attached to our egos?, how can we affirm the spark of divinity within ourselves and others?, and how can we live our daily lives with integrity, purpose, and love?

Will there be a sequel?

This book isn't what you think it will be. It's a good story, a very good story. It's fiction, and it has a plot and characters and more. It's not instructional, preachy or how-to at all...

I saw the book, was intrigued by the title and that word Tantra in the subtitle, and truly did not know what to expect when I picked this book up to read it. The cover managed to capture my attention, even though it's not a genre I would typically read.

Several pages into the book, I knew I would not be disappointed! I was hooked from the first chapter and couldn't stop reading it until I finished it, even fighting sleep to stay up late into the night to read the rest of the story.

Don't Drink the Punch is well written, but in a style that is rather unexpected-first person, present tense! There are very few authors who have the capacity and talent to write in present tense, first person, and draw the reader into the story. Typically, we read in third person and/or past tense, more like reading a `movie' that we play out the scenes in our own minds. First person present tense requires precisely written scenes that keep the reader captivated as though they are inside the story, as it is happening, part of it.

Don't Drink the Punch achieves this requirement and then some! I found as I read Kamala Devi does this expertly, by making the reader feel completely connected and involved in the story, and I could identify with the main character on a personal level, and he is a MAN (I'm not!)

The story begins with the lead male character, Sal, in the Bangkok International Airport, where he spots a redheaded woman who captures his attention, so much so that he had to follow her and initiate conversation. Little does he know that this innocent conversation would lead him down a path with the beautiful and free-spirited redhead, Sara, through the streets and back-alley sex commerce of Bangkok, to the ancient cemeteries of India, with several stops in between.

Readers experience first hand Sal's experiences from body massages (where the masseuse uses their entire body to massage, not just their hands), dealing drugs, life threatening illness, participating in a sex cult and questioning every belief he's ever held dear to him, to experiencing the emotion of painful decision to choose between true love and sanity, and eventually to experiencing and understanding loss, remorse and guilt. Readers will learn in the end whether or not Sal learns from these experiences, how they change him-for better or for worse-and the fate of his love for Sara.

With steamy, erotic and sensual scenes interspersed with romance and affection, friendship and understanding, and plenty of adventure to keep it all exciting, it's no wonder I had trouble putting down this book.

Hidden in the pages of a fantastic fiction story readers also find historic information about specific locations and inside information to the inner workings of certain religious and spiritual beliefs in different parts of the world, without any judgment or attempts to preach or sway anyone's opinions.

It was a real page turner and a beautifully written story about love, passion, Tantra, obsession... and ultimately about personal fulfillment and finding one's own true path in this world, and not blindly following someone else down a path not their own. Steamy and sensual but also light and humorous, I found it both sad and uplifting at the same time, something that takes a talented writer to accomplish effectively, and Kamala Devi does not disappoint.

I have already recommended this book to several friends to read, because it is just that good. Highly recommended.

At first, I got a strange feeling that the beautiful woman on the cover was trying to say something to me. Was she from an ancient time trying to impart some sacred wisdom?

As I got pulled into the book, and pulled in I was, it became clear that this was no "how-to" book about tantra. In fact, I could say it was more of a how-not-to book. With each page I felt I was given a chance to see the insides of a working sex cult without having to risk disease, or cover my naked body with ashes in a cemetary.

Kamala Devi doesn't resort to any flowery tricks of writing to express her story. The subject and the location have enough flowers, color and blood and guts of their own. Instead she uses direct language to convey the events. As an adult I appreciated her candid descriptions and no holds barred approach of telling a story that can be shocking all the way from the brothels of Bangkok to the drug-crazed beaches of South India.

This book has shaken up my view of tantra. The gurus in the book don't correspond to the beautiful and loving teachers I have met in the 8 years I've been practicing tantra in California.

I can relate to the young, hip western characters who help me absorb the teachings of this ancient practice in a form I could never get in a how-to text.

There is definitely a dangerous edge to Kamala Devi's tantra and I appreciated experiencing it vicariously through Sal, the main character. I especially appreciated sitting back and getting all the secret initiations while he did all the scary and dangerous stuff for me.

Sometimes a practice or language spreads to other parts of the world and then disappears at its source, like a palm tree that sends its coconuts floating across the ocean before its native island is swallowed up by a volcano, leaving children of the tree surviving elsewhere. Once the story drifts into the cemeteries of South India the devotees are channeling a dead master who is holding on by his already deceased fingernails. While his brand of tantra might be dying the story certainly didn't. It was in these later parts that I found myself unable to put it down.

By reading Don't Drink the Punch, I experienced examples of how others could pour themselves in body and soul. While I am not ready to sign up for a naked tantric cemetery tour myself, I can better appreciate the history of the tantra that I experience here in California, making my personal practice more authentic and alive!

Moving from mundane to mystical awareness is a mind-blowing, life-changing experience. Suddenly, superficial everyday "reality" is forever shifted - and nothing can be taken for granted, ever again.

"Don't Drink the Punch: An Adventure in Tantra by Kamala Devi is a compelling, consciousness-raising and heart-opening entree into the erotic, exotic, deeply spiritual world of tantra yoga, "a way of being beyond the doer and the action." (p.295)

Set in the deliciously alien (and steamy!) cultures and climates of Thailand and India, Sal, our California-born middle-class hero, surrenders himself to a tantalizing and refreshing Brazilian goddess who leads him on a breathtakingly cinematic pilgrimage into the love-laden awakening of his very own soul.

As a practitioner - and avid fan! - of this ancient art, I find the subject and nuance of tantra to be thoroughly provocative. Kamala Devi's ability to weave intricate, visceral subtleties of tantric philosophy, focus and attention into a smart, juicy and fast-moving story filled with intrigue, romance and transcendent wisdom... is truly impressive. This novel is a mainstream hit film ready to be made - and a powerful introduction to a sensual, rewarding and dare-I-say `holy' alternate path, open and available to all who wish to learn.

Thank you Kamala Devi, for writing this!

Tes. Inspirational Sound Healer, Life Coach & Shamanic Entertainer