River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra (The Hungry Student) - Hardcover

Shand, Mark

3.7

171 ratings by Goodreads

9780316860352: River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra (The Hungry Student)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316860352 ISBN 13: 9780316860352

Publisher: Little, Brown, 2002

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

The Brahmaputra is one of the world's great rivers. Beginning as a tiny glacial stream in Western Tibet it flows through India and Bangladesh before gushing out into the Bay
of Bengal.
Unable to reach the northern part of the river due to Chinese intransigence, Mark Shand nonetheless set out to attempt what no foreigner had ever done: complete the huge journey from the unexplored jungles of the Indo-Tibet border to the largest river delta in the world.
RIVER DOG is a chronicle of that journey, a remarkable story encompassing sublime landscapes - in Assam where the River begins to broaden into its full majesty - and rather odd encounters - including a bizarre group of identical-looking monks in Majuli (the largest river island in the world). But it is also a celebration -- of a river that flows with mystery and legend, the men who have set out to discover it and a rather charming canine travelling companion called Bhaiti.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

The Brahmaputra is one of Asia's longest rivers, and tracing its course from Tibet to Bangladesh is perhaps "the last great Asian adventure". Undeterred, Mark Shand set out to do just that, and River Dog tells of his journey accompanied by Indian friends and a dog called Bhaiti.

Shand's previous book, Travels on My Elephant, told of travelling in India by elephant; after this experience, he writes, he could not imagine travelling without an animal. Enter Bhaiti--the true hero of River Dog--whose experiences sniffing after bitches and saving his master from death by snakebite provide Shand's wit with plenty of opportunities to make its mark. As they progress, a touching bond develops between Shand and Bhaiti, with the author laughing along with his dog at his own stumbling progress--a 48-year-old not averse to sharing in the odd joint or opium bong, the false stereotype of the intrepid explorer is cleverly undone by Shand through his candour and the self-deprecating title of his book.

Shand certainly comes across as an old travelling hand. As he ventures through India his alcohol consumption increases daily, but fortunately by now Shand and company are travelling by boat and not on foot. Moving into Bangladesh, Shand becomes more observant; this is a new country to him, which gives his writing a freshness that is absent earlier in the book, and the narrative soon culminates with the team's arrival at the Bay of Bengal. Shand's excitement at reaching the sea is real enough, but he is subsequently prevented from completing the journey in Tibet by the Chinese authorities; although this undermines the "epic" nature of the journey, River Dog remains an entertaining account of a river voyage made by an unlikely team of one man and his dog.--Toby Green

Review:

A rare blend of humour, humanity and eloquent description. At its heart is Shand himself, an adventurer with strains of brilliant madness running through his veins (LITERARY REVIEW)

Travel writing at its best. RIVER DOG takes us on a journey where the tempo never flags (MAIL ON SUNDAY)

Old-fashioned, ripping stuff (TLS)

Shand finds comic potential in every situation. Utterly readable (HARPERS & QUEEN)

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.