AN AMERICAN IN SEARCH OF GOD
This is the first book I ever wrote. If the response was not as encouraging as it turned out to be, I probably would not have gone on to write several more, as you can see. This book is all about finding common ground where, in all reasonable expectations, there is very little likelihood of there being any. John, an Oxford-educated American who marches to the beat of a different drummer, journeys to Southeast Asia to meet Mah Step, of the Sakhi tribe, with whom he has been chatting on the Internet. The book recounts their experiences and about the contrasts and commonalities they find in their different (I’d rather not use the term, alien) cultures, including religion.Don’t let the title mislead you, as it has some, including the first publisher who classified it under ‘religion’. This is not a religious book at all, except in the sense of finding others and finding oneself.
Why the name? Read the book to find out the George Bernard Shaw connection.
To buy an e-book edition of this book, please select the format of your choice, and click the ‘Purchase‘ button. For assistance with choosing a format, please go to the ‘Which Format?’ tab.
Reviews
Great read! [2007/12/14] www.buybooksontheweb.com
P. Mohapatra
Good clean reading. Interesting stories of cultural differences. Masterly writing. Highly recommended.
John Hewerdine (excerpts from a longer review)
Abie Alexander set his story in a fictional tribal area slightly further East than Meghalaya and Assam. He has lived in Nagaland and Mizoram and visited Cambodia and Thailand so there is a logic in this. Clearly these experiences have enabled him to embellished the story but my impression is that most of the chore content of the book is located firmly in the Eastern Khasi Hills. If you would like a taste, not only of the places but of Abie’s personal experience of his interaction with the people of Meghalaya, or would like to explore his desire to “place Western values and perceptions against Eastern traditions in as non-judgemental a way as possible”, whilst at the same time sampling something of my own experience of life in the Khasi Hills, you could do worse than to buy a copy of this intriguing book.
A Berwyn Book Club book of the month selection, February 2009.
Copyright © 2007 Abie Alexander Category: FIC019000 Fiction/Literary
First Published: 2007 Infinity Publishing, Pennsylvania, USA
0-7414-4383-X [Paperback] $15.95 277 pagesAmazon Kindle
B00R6OVO4Y [MOBI] 2014AA Books, Maryland, USA
978-1-946593-00-9 [EPUB] 2017 978-1-946593-01-6 [AZW3] 2017
978-1-946593-02-3 [MOBI] 2017 978-1-946593-03-0 [PDF] 2017Barnes & Noble Nook Press
2940157534844 [EPUB] 2017
The back-cover blurb
The heartwarming story of an American’s serendipitous journey to a remote Asian village in search of happiness and meaning in life.
John’s experiences in the eight weeks he spends in that “Shangri-La” and his exploratory discussions with his friend Mah Step lead him to reevaluate his values and life-goals.
The initial novelty transforms into experiential living that provides John insight into age-old existential questions and the clarification of beliefs and values. John is captivated as much by the simplicity and authenticity of tribal life as he is by Mah Step’s sister, the unspoilt and genuine Nora.
An offbeat, evocative story that is as inspiring as it is thought provoking.