Chasing the Monsoon, Alexander Frater
Chasing the Monsoon, Alexander Frater
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Chasing the Monsoon
A Modern Pilgrimage through India

Author: Alexander Frater

Narrator: Bernard Mayes

Unabridged: 11 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/01/2012

Synopsis

This is the inspiring story of how one man realized his dream of witnessing firsthand the most dramatic of meteorological events: the Indian monsoon.Alexander Frater spent the first six years of his life on a South Pacific island, where his father, the only doctor within a thousand square miles, encouraged his fascination and respect for the volatile play of the elements. Frater brings this heritage to his observations on the monsoon, following it from its burst on the beaches of Trivandrum through Delhi and Calcutta, across Bangladesh, to its finale in the town of Cherrapunji, the "wettest place on earth." With exceptional sensitivity and wit, Frater uses fact, impression, and anecdote to vividly describe his own experience of the monsoon while also illustrating the towering influence of nature over the lives of Indians.

About Alexander Frater

Alexander Frater is chief travel correspondent for the Observer in London and has written for the New Yorker, Punch, and others. He is also the author of numerous books, including Beyond the Blue Horizon.

About Bernard Mayes

Bernard Mayes is a teacher, administrator, corporate executive, broadcaster, actor, dramatist, and former international commentator on US culture. He is best known for his readings of historical classics.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nandakishore on May 29, 2017

This is, without doubt, the most fascinating travelogue I have ever read. Frater follows the monsoon from its genesis in Kerala up to Cherrapunji in Assam, the wettest place on earth: in the process, he gives fascinating insights about India, the monsoon, India + the monsoon (a strange entity!) and......more

Goodreads review by Piyush on December 30, 2024

India is an independent sovereign state free from the constraints of the British (read Brutish) rule, but now the descendants of the Britons are coming back, like many of their forebears, adoring the country - as a romantic ideal, turbulent, impoverished India still weaves its spell and the key to i......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne on April 24, 2022

This book was recommended to me many years ago by my Goodreads friend Nandakishore and, my to-read list being what it is (currently 800+), I only just got around to it. I’m glad I finally did though, so thanks, Nandakishore. This was entertaining and educational, sometimes amazing and often amusing,......more

Quotes

“A delightful, unusual travel book, full of amusing perceptions about India and its inescapable links with the past, recent and remote.” New York Times Book Review

“One of the most remarkable travel books in recent memory.” Newsweek

“Never since Somerset Maugham has rain seemed so romantic.” Observer (London)

“Frater, travel writer for the London Observer, follows India’s summer monsoon to the wettest place on Earth…An unusual adventure, and a fascinating look at modern India.” Kirkus Reviews

“An exuberant rollercoaster of a book, it reveals India in an extraordinary way.” Melvyn Bragg, English broadcaster and author

Awards

  • New York Times Notable Book
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