CBR15Passport
India
The Elephanta Suite is a collection of three tales, each describing the encounter of an Anglo with India. The first story is that of a retired British couple who stay longer than they intended, the second is of a Bostonian businessman who become a Jain monk, and the third is of an American college student who falls in love with an elephant. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the first two. The retired couple were self-centered, and treated the Indians with whom they came into contact with as the help until they weren’t. It seems as though they were heading for a dire end at the end of the story and I was OK with that. The second story was for me the least believable. Driven Bostonian businessman come to India, won’t even leave his hotel room on his first trip, and is so afraid of the food he lives off of canned tuna. But on a second trip, he becomes so enamored of the place he converts to a Jain monk and heads off on a pilgrimage. Well, that was unexpected.
In the third story, Alice, a college student, has come to India along with a friend. The friend ditches her to run off with a boyfriend, and good riddance. And at last. Theroux gets us out of Mumbai, as Alice hops a train to see an elephant sanctuary. This was easily the best part of the book for me, since we could lose some of the stereotypes, and get a better look India not through Western eyes. Alas, bad things happen to Alice, but she is patient and resourceful. Impressive, Alice!