On a Shoestring to Coorg: An Experience of Southern India [Paperback]

Dervla Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 1995

A travel diary which recounts the journey taken by the author and her five year old daughter across Southern India. Tells of how they travelled by boat and bus, staying in fishermen's huts and cheap hotels, before reaching the small mountain province of Coorg. Originally published in 1977.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the fall of 1973, Murphy responded to a periodic travel itch by taking her five-year-old daughter Rachel to India, a journey that began in Bombay, proceeded down the coast, then turned inland to the remote and rugged highlands of southern India. They traveled by train and bus, staying at hostels or primitive hotels. Murphy found that Rachel was a link rather than a barrier to the natives. They discovered in Coorg an atypical India: neither crowded nor impoverished, Coorg boasts a magnificent landscape, temperate climate and congenial people (a curiously Anglicized atmosphere). The Murphys visited local families and had occasion to explore a culture in which ancestor veneration is practiced. The author discusses caste in detail; she and Rachel attended festivals, a christening ceremony, funeral and wedding. In their journeys they encountered Tibetan refugees, Western hippies, transplanted Europeans. Readers who enjoyed Murphy's Muddling Through in Madagascar will find this lively travel memoir to their taste as well.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

[Murphy] is the best kind of traveler: observant, high-spirited, and impervious to discomfort. -- The Sunday Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Flamingo (March 6, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006547990
• ISBN-13: 978-0006547990
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,000,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and a Good Read, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On a Shoestring to Coorg: A Travel Memoir of India (Hardcover)

I had this author recommended to me by a friend who knew of my interest in other cultures, so I found this book in a local library and started reading. I find it to be amazing, especially for a journal of her travel experiences. She uses language which gives the book almost a flavor of fiction (I find that many nonfiction authors use very simple and often dry language, making such books harder to read). Occasionally she seems to have the perspective of a stereotypical European, but in general she manages to have a neutral viewpoint and tries to explain Indian customs from the point of view of Indians, as well as her reactions and those of her five year old daughter.

As far as I'm concerned, one of the best parts of this book is the way that it describes various parts of India in amazing detail, as well as giving some background on the area. Unlike many tourists, Murphy is not content merely to wander around seeing usual sites; instead, she tries to get to out-of-the-way places, and to experience life as much like an Indian as she can (while acknowledging that this can never be fully accomplished). This is perhaps one of the best "outsider" descriptions that I have read, as she really makes and effort to understand her new surroundings.

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for all India Trekers..., January 6, 2012

By 

Cabin Fever Books "Cabin Fever Books" (Ann Arbor) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On a Shoestring to Coorg: A Travel Memoir of India (Hardcover)

In this book the author goes across Southern India with her five year old daughter...more or less as a "backpacker" would today. This book should be requried reading for anyone planning a similar trip... It is not dated...even though it precedes the Lonely Planet Backbackers by a couple of decades... I learned something about India on every page...and particularly about the Deccan and how it relates to the North of India... Truly a page turner...hard to put down...

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to loose yourself in, September 15, 2011

By 

Carroline Clarkson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On a Shoestring to Coorg: A Travel Memoir of India (Hardcover)

A cannot put down book a great read. Appreciate the honest no fluff candid observation and experience Dervla writes about in the fasinating place of Coorg.