Book Review

Enlightenment for Idiots by Ann Cushman was a fun read. Cushman has created a wonderfully human character in Amanda, a young woman looking for her place in the world. Living in San Francisco, she works as a free lance writer while finishing her yoga teacher training. She's a bit down and out with a dead end job, an equally dead relationship and working only as a sub for other yoga teachers. Life is really not moving anywhere when she's given an assignment to journey off to India and write a how to book for westerners on yoga, ashrams and groovy guru's. I don't know Cushman's background but I would venture to say she's been to India. Her assessment was realistic and very funny at the same time. I found myself giggling a lot as I wandered through India with Amanada and Devi Das, her new found friend and eccentric travel partner. This is a fun read with heartwarming characters easy to like. A perfect book for the Summer, great for the beach.