Motel Nirvana: Dreaming of the New Age in the American Desert

by Melanie McGrath

A British woman traveling the American Southwest surveying the range of the New Age movement describes meetings with UFOlogists, angels, inner children, and nature worshippers

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Aka M.J. McGrath

Melanie McGrath was born in Essex. Her first book, Motel Nirvana, won the John Llewelyn-Rhys/Mail on Sunday award for Best New British and Commonwealth Writer under 35. She is also the author of Hard, Soft and Wet: The Digital Generation Comes of Age, and Silvertown: An East End Family Memoir. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Evening Standard and Conde Nast Traveller. She is a regular broadcaster on radio, has been a television producer and presenter. She lives and works in London.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, an account of the author's journey through the deserts of southwest US. Maybe if I had read the last chapter first, I would have had more sympathy for the author. She takes a lot of sleeping pills and junk food, lives in motels and makes fun of new age types without ever seeming to really talk to any of them for more than a couple of minutes.

I found the author hard to relate to, not because of her stubborn scepticism, but because of her persistent self-defeating lack of personal insight.

A little empathy wouldn’t have hurt either.

[Selina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is as much about staying in motels as it is about the 'New Age'. Basically it is a travelogue exploring the wacky beliefs americans in the South West have. The most interesting thing is Native Americans reaction to the new age believers who appropriate their culture. I would have been more interested if she explored more of these new age people (talked to them, rather than observe them)and less about the discomforts of staying in motels.

[Millie]

I did start reading this book, but it was so badly written that I gave up. The author should have heeded Mark Twain: "When you catch an adjective, kill it." Every sentence is littered with them. I don't recommend reading it!

[ML Character]

Sooo, I am pretty sure this was one of the first books I ever read a review of in a fashion magazine in my early teens. Back then--this blows my mind to think about--I wrote down the title and author of every book I read about. The reviews made them all sound worthwhile and I was young enough to not yet have a visceral sense of how YOU CAN'T READ ALL THE BOOKS, not even only the ones that are worthwhile. But somehow, prolly because it came so early in my review and adult magazine reading career, I kept remembering it. And I also managed to not really have a cynical sense of how everything in a magazine is actually advertising not just impartial news about 'culture.' Anyway. I found the book, hardcover, years ago on a bargain shelf. I started reading it once, years and years later. I didn't like the author's tone AT ALL. She was snarky and condescending. I resolved to sell it. Then it didn't sell, and, loathe--still, lo these many years later--to give up on a book I'd started, and one I had such an unaccountably high expectation for, I tried again. I actually didn't hate her as much this time, but it's still not a good or thorough book. Non-fiction books that are basically the same research and writing level as a magazine article continue to confuse me. I guess I read too many academic books now. I'm trying to finally give it up for real, again. I've probably owned that book for more years of my life than I didn't own it now. It's going on permanent hiatus, much as those decisions still wreck me.