Are You Experienced? - Softcover

Sutcliffe, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140283587 ISBN 13: 9780140283587

Publisher: Penguin, 1999

Synopsis

The hilarious international bestseller about a young man's misadventures in India. Liz travels to India because she wants to find herself. Dave travels to India because he wants to get Liz in bed. Liz loves India, hugs the beggars, and is well on her way to finding her tantric center. Dave, however, realizes that he hates Liz, and has bad karma toward his fellow travelers: Jeremy, whose spiritual journey is aided by checks from Dad; Jonah, who hasn't worn shoes in a decade; and Fee and Caz, fresh from leper-washing in Udaipur. . . . With refreshing honesty and a healthy dose of cynicism, William Sutcliffe offers a transatlantic, nineties version of On the Road that intrepid travelers and confirmed stay-at-homes will enjoy in equal measure. "Very, very funny."--The Times (London) "A laugh-out-loud novel."--Marie Claire "Hilarious . . . Sure to be a favorite with young world-travelers on the road in search of their identity."--Publishers Weekly "Raucous, irreverent, and dead-on funny."--Kirkus Reviews

About this title

Product Description:

Dave Greenford has heard the old cliche about how when you arrive in India, it's like stepping into an oven. But, somehow, this doesn't prepare him for the realization that when he arrives in India, it is like stepping into an oven.He is there because his friend Liz -- who he hopes will turn out to be more than just a friend -- has the summer off. And what better way to spend her time than searching for her tantric center?For Dave, however, the spiritual side of India is hidden by the daily frustrations of travel itself. A fourteen-hour bumpy bus ride, food-poisoning (and the ever-constant threat of malaria), child beggars, and a bossy and uninterested Liz can turn even the greatest of Asian adventures into the Vacation from Hell. Despite "(the) general belief that a long and unpleasant holiday was of crucial importance to one's development as a human being, " Dave wants to go back home to England. How he finally gets there is what makes Are You Experienced? so much fun.

Review:

For anyone with the slightest curiosity about travelling, or even if you've been, William Sutcliffe's tremendously funny Are You Experienced? will have you in stitches. The protagonist is Dave, a 19-year-old Londoner on a gap year before starting university. He had no intention of leaving Europe, until his best mate James, who's about to go on a trek through the Himalayas, challenges him. "Do you want to learn Fwench David? Something pwactical for your CV?" he taunts when he hears Dave is going to be a waiter at a Swiss ski resort.

Admitting his fears, ("Suffering, danger and poverty are all fine by me, but dirt and disease are two things I happen to hate") Dave is determined to prove he's not a coward and accepts an invitation to go to India with James's girlfriend Liz (in anticipation of consummating their burgeoning relationship). But by the time they get on the plane it all goes downhill. Bickering constantly, their adaption to India couldn't be more different. Liz embraces it--hugging beggars and wearing saris, while Dave's dry-humoured rants, scepticism and fear of the unknown eventually drive her away in search of her "centre".

The characters the pair meet along the way draw upon all the old hippy-traveller stereotypes, but there's also a few new ones in keeping with the times. There's Ranj--a British-born Indian who hates Indians; Jez--a public-school-educated undergraduate whose travels are being funded by daddy; and Caz and Fee who experience the side-effects of "Intimate Yoga".

While this story is ultimately a funny piece of fiction, it also addresses more serious considerations, such as cultural stereotypes, peer pressures and making life-changing decisions.

This book is irresistible and seasoned travellers will empathise with the situations Dave finds himself in, (his graphic description of a bout of Dehli-belly is guaranteed to make you feel sorry for him, and nauseous too). Be prepared to laugh out loud. --Angela Boodoo

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0140283587
• ISBN 13: 9780140283587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256