Indian Balm

What a wonderful/horrible book. This is a part family history, part South India travel book, and part social commentary about the people of that part of the world. First - what I really liked about it: Hyland took us to places not normally seen and introduced us to people normally kept hidden. His descriptions were very detailed (sometimes overly so). There was a 'coziness' to much of the book and a very human treatment of his encounters. The examination of the common life of the area was handled well. Second - what I really didn't like about it: The need for a glossary is huge. I read a lot by Indian authors and about India and I own several dictionaries of Indian languages - and I still couldn't figure out many of the words. The inclusion of so much local vocabulary without definition seriously detracted from the enjoyment of the book!! Far too often, the author didn't want to let us know where we were, where we were going or what we were doing there. The interspersing of family history and jumps ahead in the story with the main 'trip' of the book was confusing and unnecessary. Third - the reason for four stars: The good about this book far outweighed the bad. The idea and the overall scope are very well done. With some better editing and appendices this would easily be worth five stars. If you have any interest in this part of the world, ignore the flaws and get a copy of this.