There Are Other Rivers

Don't know where to even begin describing this novella after underling some 42 passages so how about the simple statement "Because every day on the road is new." From striking mixed metaphors like "This feels like a happy town, a happy morning, except, I guess, for the goat who is about to be butchered on the roadside", the humorous as example "I'm getting old and soft: the weight saving gained by cutting my toothbrush in half is now outweighed by its irritation factor" and deep, meaningful insights such as "the ageless river reminds me that my own time is fleeting" - I just have to say I loved the manner in which this story was told. Author admits at the end this is not so much a travel book, but "an attempt to articulate my fascination with the open road and the magnetism of the next horizon" and all I can say is he most assuredly succeeded and had me entranced as well.Great book for discovering "the intoxicating cocktail of wanderlust and the freedom to explore" and I moist definitely recommend!

That sentence is how the author's friend described his adventures, and it also describes my experience reading the book. I finished it because I'm in a book club discussing it, and because I hoped he might eventually get to a substantive point. He talks much of living each day with a sense of purpose, but I agree with the passages when he describes his own "quest" as pointless and masochistic. Finding purpose, challenge, and suffering is easy enough in any life without artificially manufacturing replacements that help nobody. There are many causes and challenges worth embracing, and this heroic adventurer chose to apply his significant talent and resources to none of them.On the positive side, I like his writing. Many pithy passages are inspiring when divorced from the silly quest context.I realize this lone 1-star rating is immersed in a sea of 5-star praise. I'm the outlier, and I may very well have missed the point in my increasingly irritated skim. Not my cup of chai.

I ordered on a whim, "hmmm, travel. I'll read the Kindle version and maybe get a printed one for my wife for Christmas"Within two pages the author's skill shined through and a paper copy was ordered as a present. I'm now off to read the rest and return here with a full review.A few hours later ...The promise of the first two pages was fulfilled through the ends.Do not enter here for a description of India. There are glimpses of the country, but the focus lies elsewhere.Do enter here for a meditation through the course of a composite day of a quest fulfilled through walking from coast to coast in India. Alastair somewhat impulsively decides to walk across India. He is familiar with extended physical challenge. Through his writing you can (re)experience meeting a challenge that may or may not be within your abilities.The honest writing of There Are Other Rivers allows you to vicariously go on such a quest. It's time well spent.

This is a beautiful book that I would recommend to any introspective person who loves adventure (reading or doing). It's a quick read, and organized thematically more than chronologically. In the chapter "Struggle", I started to worry that the author was getting a little too precious about his own experience...and then the narrative changed in a completely unexpected way that blew my concerns apart. The end is multi-stage and poetic. I just loved it!

One of my favorite authors and one of my favorite adventurers, Alastair Humphreys has once again penned a story so strong in emotion that I was packing my kit to go out and find an adventure of my own even before I had finished the book. Following in the path of Moods of Future Joys and Thunder & Sunshine Alastair Humphreys’ walking journey across India allowed the reader to experience the sensations of the real India and its people. The walk ended too soon and I look forward to stories of his next adventure.

One of my favorite books. Losing my kindle gave me the excuse to buy it in paperback form and reread. Alastair has a beautiful way of writing. He puts a unique journey into a format that’s completely different from other travelogues. Not only takes on the “whys” of the open road, but also the “whys” of normal life that send him their in the first place. Highly recommend reading before a journey of your own.

I read this while I was on a trip and it kind of enhanced the whole adventure. Humphreys is a good, solid writer and he does take you along with him on his walk beside a river in India. The book is cleverly structured, too. It follows a day-in-the-life of his walk as well as the adventure as a whole. I got caught up in the romantic wanderlust of the piece. Would make an excellent gift book.

I loved this book. The writing sums up some really poignant points about adventure and life and challenge in such a simple and clear way that really spoke to me, and I felt like I was lost in the journey in India too. It made me look around and appreciate being present and enjoying everything you can deliciously devour in the day- the smell of the damp ground, the feel of the wind, the joy and struggle of working hard. My favourite quote is below, as I think it sums up well why we like to adventure (in whatever form), how it can define us, and why leaving your comfort zone is one of the best things you can do to grow, after all, we are what we repeatedly do... Thank you for writing and inspiring me to live life to the full Alastair!"Committing to something difficult is like stepping into a furnace, to blaze brightly and to emerge forged hard into someone distinct. It may not necessarily make me a better person but it does sharpen my focus on who and what I am".

This book is incredible. I have read Alistair’s book about micro-adventures and enjoyed it so much I thought I would try another.Alistair’s book enthralled me from the start. It is not a detailed narrative of the journey, it doesn’t contain tales of derring-do or high drama. Instead Alistair chose to write about the people he meets, his experiences, the food he eats, his daily routine, where he sleeps and the things he sees though an account of a single day.He has an amazing way with words, his prose is so eloquent, it’s easy to see in one’s mind’s eye what he is describing, which are the people and parts of India that I was certainly unfamiliar with.Alistair also reflects on the reasons behind himself and others deciding to embark on difficult journeys. I found it fascinating learning about what makes adventurers and what it is about them that is so different from us ordinary folk.Also this has got to be one of the most beautiful, poetic books I have ever read. I loved the quotations at the beginning of each chapter, they are both thought provoking and awesome in their simplicity.I absolutely loved the last sentence, it was brilliant and left me with a lump in my throat, a tear in my eye and a huge grin.Postscript=======Having enjoyed this book so much I have now read Moods of Future Joys and have nearly finish its sequel “Thunder and Sunshine” and would recommend them too.

Although the author mentioned that he felt at times like a pilgrim, justified by his simple life style; eating rice, sleeping under stars, and daily gruelling miles of walking, this is not a pilgrimage. He dips in and out of temples, ashrams and local festivals, staying for a moment, and then ducking out and on his way to the river source. He play acted at prayer, (a self confessed aetheist) while waxing lyrical at the divine, enchanting and uplifting chants of the monks and worshippers. I have not read his other books but no doubt they are worthy of their praise. However, it appears that celebrity may have trickled into his psyche enough to produce a typically introspective monologue on all the reasons we are here. Written thousands of times before, by every adventurer who ever walked this planet, thoughts, sensations and feelings,...all the same and yet repeated, as if brand new. Having travelled thousands of miles by bike and on foot, in the last 20 or 30 years, I am bored by reading the same introspective self analysis of 'why am a I here?'. Compared to all the other gushing reveiws no doubt mine will be in the minority.

I've read countless adventure and travel books and the majority fail to address the psychology of why we love to travel - a genuinely interesting subject matter. This book manages to explore our constant desire for travel in a clear and tangible way by following a simple walk across India.The journey itself is not as spectacular or 'epic' in comparison to his other adventures, yet it manages to perfectly capture the essence of an adventure. He really emphasizes key elements such as the 'get up and go' factor and I love it.Simple chapter headings, 'sunrise, dawn, challenge, alone' etc will keep the reader entranced and enthralled in this journey. As with all of Alastair Humphrey's books they are beautifully written, a rarity for this genre, it really does make such a difference to read, for the simple element of expression.If you are a 'traveller' (I use that expression reluctantly), or a more noble adventurer, then this is the book for you. I myself have done cycle touring and I could now comfortably settle down to life of cups of tea and heated car seats, this book reignites the spark in me to get back on the open road, and when I do, the first thing I do will be to pack this book.

Right at the start of this book Alastair Humphreys lists three things this book is not about.1. A book about India2. A chronological account of a coast-to-coast walk across southern India3. An epic adventure taleThis a very short book, about 100 pages, and it is none of the above-mentioned though elements of each of them do crop up in the narrative. It is easier to say what this book is not about than what it is about. I think it is about a journey into the mind of this adventurer who happens to be walking across India following the course of a river, coast to coast.Anyone who has travelled alone, outside their comfort zone whatever that might be, will very quickly get in tune with the mind, musings and thoughts of this book. The question why? is confronted from different perspectives. The seeking out of a challenge for its own sake, physical and psychological striving, and the achievement of the End.I was hooked from the I read the Author's Note referred to above and found it a thought-provoking read. It is a very personal insight into the mind of a solitary traveller and worthy of a second reading.