Are We Not There Yet?: Travels in Nepal, North India, and Bhutan

by Chuck Rosenthal

Literary Nonfiction. Travel Writing. South Asia Studies. "Irreverent is a good word to describe this chronicle of a four-month sojourn in North India and the Himalayas undertaken by a group of California college students, teacher and novelist Rosenthal, his poet wife, and their daughter. But it merely hints at the many dimensions of Rosenthal's roguish and frank travelogue, what with its thorny detail, skepticism, and chutzpah; complex philosophical, political, and spiritual conundrums; acid humor, mystical chaos, and cosmic surrealism. It helps that Rosenthal, hailed everywhere they go as 'Cowboy' thanks to his feathered hat, has been immersed in Buddhism for several decades, enabling him to extract lessons in the nature of illusion from every ludicrous, alarming, or gratifying episode within the cacophony and crush of Kolkata, the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, the impossibilities of Sikkum, and the labyrinthine surprises of Kathmandu. Rosenthal vividly recounts time-warping complications, extreme discomfort and illness, suffocating train rides, terrifying maneuvers on crumbling mountain roads, the ferment of immense markets, bloody border conflicts, terrorism, spontaneous friendship, and glorious vistas. As he shares his affecting adventures swimming in the Ganges and visiting temples, monasteries, and a zoo without animals, Rosenthal contemplates epic suffering and transcendent beauty in a wry and transporting tale of both earthly and metaphysical journeys"--Donna Seaman, Booklist .

Genres: India, Travel, Nonfiction

182 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Chuck Rosenthal, also known as C.P. Rosenthal, is an American novelist, short story writer, and memoirist whose work spans several decades and genres. Since the 1980s, he has authored a rich body of literary fiction, blending philosophical inquiry with imaginative storytelling. A longtime Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Rosenthal is also known for his collaborative work with his wife, the poet Gail Wronsky.
Rosenthal’s bibliography includes the acclaimed Loop Trilogy—Loop’s Progress, Experiments in Life and Deaf, and Loop’s End—as well as a wide range of other novels such as Elena of the Stars, inspired by his daughter Marlena Rosenthal, Jack Kerouac’s Avatar Angel: His Last Novel, and The Heart of Mars. His fiction often explores themes of identity, language, and transcendence, sometimes drawing on iconic literary or mythological figures, as seen in You Can Fly: A Sequel to the Peter Pan Tales and The Legend of La Diosa.
In nonfiction, Rosenthal's memoir Never Let Me Go reflects on personal and familial relationships, while West of Eden and Are We Not There Yet? chronicle life in Los Angeles and travels through South Asia, respectively. His literary voice is both cerebral and playful, deeply philosophical yet grounded in the human experience.
Chuck Rosenthal’s body of work also includes The Shortest Farewells Are the Best, a noir flash fiction collection co-authored with Wronsky, and the speculative Tomorrow You’ll Be One of Us: Sci Fi Poems, further demonstrating his versatility and genre-crossing instincts.
A vibrant voice in contemporary American literature, Rosenthal is as dedicated to teaching and literary exploration as he is to writing, continuing to shape readers and writers alike with his thoughtful, inventive prose.

Reviews

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking really forward to this one and then was extraordinarily disappointed at the whole attitude toward the countries visited. Basically, a white, middle-class college professor, (and her daughter named "Jesus") accompany a yoga class to the Indian subcontinent and behave badly; "Bangkok smells" was one of the first observations; "I think I'm going to pass out" was another. "The students are getting drunk" was the third. Not exactly a whimsical trip to the exotic East. It should be entitled "Wankers Leave Southern California."

[Lyn Quilty · Rating 2 out of 5]

An American writer travels with his family and some college students through Nepal and India. Interesting in parts but I found some sections cringeworthy. There seemed to be expectations that American food and conditions should be found anywhere. This man certainly views the world through a different lens to those who accept and embrace differences.

[James Callan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most entertaining books I've ever read. An honest portrait of the travel experience, both its highs and lows. It showcases the exhausting effect of adventure, highlighting the steep, uphill trek that often comes with adaptation to a culture different from your own. Some of the passages in this book took my breath away -- those moments where spirituality and awe seep through the cynicism. An incredible, hilarious journey. This book read itself.

[Bindesh Dahal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughable.

[Mycala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Every so often, I feel a bit sorry for myself that I can't travel as much as I would like in this stage of my life. This book made me thankful for the comforts of home. Interesting as I'm sure these places are to visit, I think the claustrophobia alone is enough to keep me out -- not to mention the fact that these people seem unable to form a queue to save their lives. The writer is hilarious and I often found myself laughing out loud, especially the part about the yak named Derek Jeter.

That being said, he could have benefited from an editor. Various spelling errors, the wrong use of "they're" and a misplaced apostrophe were all rather jarring to me, particularly when I discovered he's got a Master's degree and he teaches English at the college level.

[J.I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A travel narrative that isn't obsessed with giving you vicarious pornography for the exotic, this book raves over the delights of travel, of beautiful locations and intersting people, but pays much closer attention to the frustrations of travel (the fault of both the traveler and the destination), the people they meet (and travel with) and the ways in which cultures collide. This is not a book in which you find the answer, or the way, or a meaning of life, but where flawed human beings travel around the world and meet other flawed human beings with different ideas about the world and completely different circumstances. Often weird, this book is delightful, entertaining, but mostly thoughtful about who we are and what we're doing when we go on such pilgrimages.

[Marija · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author clearly has a love/hate relationship with India and its neighbors. His four-month stay sometimes borders on a nightmare, and yet, and yet, something draws him to the place. Spirituality? Perhaps. The author is a devout Buddhist. But it's something more that draws him.

The chapter describing his hotel bathroom is worth getting your hands on this book. The bathroom is a perfect metaphor for India.

[Danny Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a couple reviews i can tell yall need to distance the work from the context (an old white dude gallavants around a few poor countries etc), cuz the prose and writing is enough to make this a 5 star