Aama: Eine Pilgerreise in den Westen

by Broughton Coburn, Gabriele Kuby (Übersetzer)

Mit vierundachtzig Jahren verlässt sie ihr Dorf am Fuß des Himalaya, um auf eine Pilgerreise ins Herz der Westlichen Welt zu gehen - nach Amerika. Neben ihrem Schmuck nimmt Aama nur eines mit: ihre herzensweise Lebenserfahrung und ihre Neigung, Dinge durchaus ironisch zu betrachten. Tausende Kilometer reist sie von Heiligtum zu Heiligtum. Disneyland, Las Vegas und den Yellowstone Nationalpark sieht sie mit dem ihr eigenen, unbefangenen Blick und versucht, die Seele Amerikas zu verstehen.
Dieses Buch liest sich wie ein Roman, und doch ist jede Zeile davon wahr. Wie alles, was aus tiefstem Herzen kommt.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Asia, Anthropology, Biography

317 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[happydog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers Alert!

I had chance to hear from the author himself. Here is my reflections on a TECANET public talk by Broughton Coburn: Aama's Journey: A Pilgrimage Between Continents and Cultures.

Listening to Brot was a treat. He splendidly captured roots, family values and spirituality that a Gurung strongly believes through the journey of a Nepali Gurung Aama, Vishnu Maya Gurung to America.
I enjoyed a series of stories with photographs depicting characters, witty observations, and wisdom of Aama shared during the conversation. Among them, Aama's kindness when she wanted to gift the shopping lady something because she gave food to Aama without cost; her respect and finding spirituality at odd places like the one where she bowed in front of a Catholic shrine; later meeting an indigenous American woman and instantly understanding similar life values they share; finally enjoying the family time with Didi's family will stay with me forever. I was reminded of my Kanchi grandmother (I am very fond of my Kanchi grandmother who is the youngest sister of my grandfather), especially the wise words that Aama uttered resonates with her life teaching. Along with the journey, I felt Aama was teaching us to find joy in small things rather than on materialistic wealth irrespective of any place we are or live. Alas, the world had forgotten its value. I love her optimistic views and she did look forward to each new day with cheerfulness. She reignited the belief that my parents installed in me in my younger years, always to remember my roots, family values, and spiritual health. Besides, this conversation did help me retrospect my priorities in life.

Thank you, Brot for this inspiring talk. It was timely.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Smug. Pompous, badly written and exploitative.

Can I start by saying that I love Vishnu Maya, the 84-year-old Nepalese woman who is the "fish out of water" in this awful saga. If someone had written an account of her honest impressions, respectfully and thoughtfully, I think this would have been an amazing reading experience.

But this is neither respectful nor thoughtful. It's self-centred and poorly organized-- both the hare-brained scheme to bring an 84-year-old lady on a "pilgrimage" to the United States, and the account of it, which is more about how clever, funny, tortured, spiritual and generally awesome the author is. Vishnu Maya's impressions are filtered through what the author thinks she is seeing and understanding -- don't ask her, or explain things properly to her, because that might undermine the hilarious misunderstandings. Let's smirk, as Vishnu Maya assumes that the plants kept by apartment-dwellers in Seattle are there to feed their livestock! Let's laugh, as Vishnu Maya doesn't understand how ice cream, or elevators work! Let's gasp, as her tiny, misshapen feet won't fit in adult-size American sneakers (and let's grab a child-size pair, as we rush her out of the store ...)

Broughton Coburn can't write to save his life. He has no idea how to move from point A to point B on Aama's journey; he's either droning on about inconsequential things (we DON'T need to know how he jump-started the old car that's going to be trading in the next day ...), or leaping from incident to incident. His writing is painfully mundane until, every few pages, he remembers that this is supposed to be a work of great spirituality and observation, and goes off the charts with the over-writing:

A few yards downstream, the trees and pagoda-roofed temples swayed and shimmied through the flames of a funeral pyre. A charred foot and an arm reached out, starkly beckoning to its relatives tending the pyre, while starlike embers soared erratically skyward like fairy sprites, searching for the heavens.

Oh, my eyes. There's something like that, every page or so. Meanwhile, Vishnu Maya's thoughts and observations are delivered in bland, clunky monotone.

I made it to page 83, forcing myself to read a chapter a day, because this is a book club choice, selected by a very dear friend (and that's going to be an awkward conversation ...), and I've just reached a point where I need to give up.

[Sabine Logeswaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein sehr interessanter Blick von Asien auf die Lebensweise der Amerikaner. Ein Buch zum Nachdenken.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gurung women speak their minds,have an incredible sense of humor and, in this case at least, an insatiable curiosity. In some instances Aama's reactions were much like the reactions of a young child to new things; in others, she reacted on a more spiritual plane and not always favorably to her impressions of Americans. While it was interesting to read her judgements on Americans' spirituality and appreciation of that which has been provided to us by the highest god, I find that her interpretation of our culture is less generous than the author's for hers. There are certainly overt differences in the expression of spirituality between the two but I am not so certain, as she, that there is less depth in American practices. Much of her behavior was very reminiscent to me of the practices of cloistered Catholic nuns and monastic orders and in some cases of the rituals in both Jewish synagogues and Catholic Churches. Not to have pointed that out to her was a shortcoming of the author and his girlfriend, I feel.

I was relieved more than half way through the book to see,also, that she was exposed to more than Sea World, Disney World and Las Vegas, although much of the Midwest was ignored in her travels--to me most representative of our basic American culture--our cities not in my mind the centers of who we are any more than she'd feel Katmandu was the best representation of the Nepalese culture.

I am not sorry I read the book--really didn't care much about the author and his relationship with his girlfriend but guess that, since they were travelling together and since his hangups resulting from his biological mother's death apparently colored that relationship, it was necessary. Particularly, too, since the death of his adopted Aama seems to have been the catalyst essential to his finally committing to the relationship--though I'm not clear if it was marriage or just a continuation of their cohabiting--child resulting. LOL

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of an old woman from a Nepali village, travelling in America with a former peace corps volunteer who had become part of her family, so to speak. Shifting plots make the book less than a straight read, but it is full of great quotes, funny and true-to-life both at once.

[Rachel]

I give this book 4 and a half because it is an amazing look through the eyes of an old woman from Napal in America. She is graced with a spirituality that is never forgotten even in the midst of a land that has forsaken the sacred. Not the best writting and the author works through a bunch of his own baggage in the book, which is not as interesting as Aama but I think the point is that he couldn't have done it without Aama in America.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this off of a give-away book pile. It was a fun read because I have often thought about what it would be like to bring one of the rural women I have met in Latin America to the United States. It was so interesting to read what Aama had to say about the things she saw and did. I enjoyed it.

[Peggy Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Travel readers will love the cultural experiences and journey through America as seen through the eyes of an 80 year old Nepalese woman who has lived her entire life in a small village. Made me laugh and cry. Great read.

[Alanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice. Tad chose this book (based on my recommendation) for his family's book club this year. I just finished reading it for the second time as I had read it many months ago and wanted to refresh my mind about the book. It is a great book

[lynna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wish my aama... and my didi... and by bhais would come to america to visit. but then again, i'd rather go to nepal and see them.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

America through the eyes of an elderly woman from Nepal who has never left her village. Some of her observations about American really rang true and pointed out some of our flaws.

[Leihg]

awesome book, would love to buy the rights to this book

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must have heard or read a review of this book, and then, not remembering the title, had a hard time tracking it down. I owned a copy for many years, but it's gone now. I think of this book often.

[Dipraj Adhikari]

Hee.....time pass

[Bandito · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing story!

[Suzanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally problematic, but a compelling read about an elderly Nepalese woman born in the early 1900s who visited America in the 1980s.

[Michal Wigal]

Best "ethnography" I've ever read.