Holy Hell

Five stars, not for the quality of the writing, but for the courage required to put such an experience to paper. That is not to say that the writing is poor - it is well above average and I spotted no glaring errors. Her observations of the differences in lifestyle are, at times, humorous to read, and at others, disheartening, especially towards the end of the book, where events take a decidedly darker turn. I must also confess that, being a strong atheist, I felt it quite difficult to empathize whenever the author describes her feelings of spirituality, or closeness with God, which forms the basis for her life in India. I'd also like to note that while my mother, who read this book before I did, expressed mild shock at the revelations about the moral character of ‘Amma', I felt nothing of the sort - only some sort of inevitability - of what happens when adulation is showered on a person for no justifiable reason.