Climbing Chamundi Hill: 1001 Steps with a Storyteller and a Reluctant Pilgrim (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Mysore's racetrack surprised me in a city of such traditional sensibilities..." (more)
Key Phrases: turtle boy, forest retreat, King Karan, Chamundi Hill, King Vikramajit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Religion scholar Glucklich (Sacred Pain: Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul) presents 30 ancient Hindu folktales, slotting them into the contrived story of an unnamed American biologist in South India. While walking barefoot near the sacred site of Chamundi Hill (simply because he wants to dry his wet sneakers), the narrator meets P.K. Shivaram, a retired librarian, who mistakes the biologist for a pilgrim and takes pity on his tender foreign feet. As they approach the 1,001 steps leading to a 12th-century Chamundi temple, the "tiny wrinkled man in brown polyester pants and worn out rubber thongs" distracts the biologist from his aching feet by telling him pilgrimage stories. The rather preachy riddles and fables, some of which are translated from Sanskrit for the first time, feature casts of kings, demons and talking animals and deliver pat moral lessons. The narrator and librarian dissect each tale on a metaphorical journey to Nirvana-a technique that feels irksomely artificial-and Glucklich dumbs down his American narrator (says the narrator to his guide: "First Shiva, now Vishnu-you know, I never could figure out your complicated polytheism"). In a few instances, Glucklich presents meaningful reflections: "No event in your life is a simple objective fact. It always means something to the memory-processing mind." Still, the flashes of substance feel isolated within a narrative that struggles to reach enlightenment.
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From Booklist

In Mysore, India, are a palace, a monastery, and, incongruously, a racetrack doubling as an 18-hole golf course. Also, atop nearby Chamundi Hill is a twelfth-century temple--a center of Sanskrit learning and a place where things aren't what they seem. Marine biologist Glucklich went to Mysore, renowned for its traditional Hindu clinics, to recover from severe sunstroke and food poisoning. Regaining strength, he decided to test his stamina by climbing 4,000-foot Chamundi, which seemed to him a miniature Olympus. Soon he encountered a thin, white-haired old man--a retired librarian, he said. The old man asked to accompany Glucklich up the hill's 1,001 steps, promising the skeptical American that his feet wouldn't hurt "as long as you walk with me." As they walked, he told stories, 30 in all, of gods and holy men, lepers and thieves, that are full of mystery and profound lessons culled from ancient Indian tradition. Their telling led Glucklich, who retells them wonderfully, on a path of spiritual liberation to knowledge of his essential self. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060508949
• ISBN-13: 978-0060508944
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,631,235 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging and intriguing, April 29, 2004

By A Customer

Reading this book was like reading no other I book I have ever read-you need to really think as you read, expand your mind and way of seeing the world. It is very rewarding and I recommend it to people who like a challenge, who like to change their way of thinking, who like to think philosophically and deeply.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, June 4, 2006

By	Curious (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

"Unputdownable" :-)
If you are jaded by religious/philosophical literature, this book will refresh you.
If you are not interested in religion at all, you will find Climbing Chamundi Hill incredibly entertaining.

Mr. Glucklich, when is the next one coming?