Official Review: Cardamom Days by Derek Darke

[samuyama]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cardamom Days" by Derek Darke.]

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“Cardamom Days” by Derek Darke documents the adventures of Derek and his wife Carol over the course of 400 days traveling the Indian Subcontinent. Derek gives a detailed account of places seen, people met, and things experienced over what can only be described as “the experience of a lifetime.”

This was a fascinating read, but it took me a long time to get through the whole book. I got an interesting, first-hand glimpse of what it would be like to visit an entirely new culture, but I couldn’t handle doing it for more than a couple chapters at a time. Derek does a fantastic job of documenting their journey each step of the way, and he sneaks in a subtle kind of British humor throughout. However, I was never emotionally moved at any point in the story, it was as if what I was reading was meant more to be a factual documentation.

The book is a diligently written journal and reading it was quite like that. The feeling was that I was reading about someone else’s life and it didn’t have much to do with me. Although it was interesting (two people spent 400 days backpacking around India for christ’s sake!), if I were reading it while waiting in the lounge for the doctor I wouldn’t have trouble putting it down and going about my life.

There was one scene that seemed to keep getting repeated, that of some Indian man wanting you to buy something for a ridiculous price, brushing him off, and then finding the exact same thing for a tenth of the price 10 minutes later. That and other scenarios were really fascinating to read about, they express how different ‘normal’ can be across the world. What I found myself wanting more of was an understanding as to why people act in different ways. What goes through someone’s head that enlightens them in the understanding that when someone asks to be driven to a hotel, what they really want is lunch at your Uncle’s restaurant.

My official rating for this book would be 3 out of 4 stars, but my personal rating would be 2.5 out of 4. I can imagine a good number of people would enjoy reading of Derek and Carol’s experiences. They have a rare form of courage to take action on what millions only dream of, despite the many possible dangers and infinite uncertainties. I’m sure many could use their story to find their own courage to have their own adventure, and even use it as a guide for how to travel around India. However, I personally had a hard time reading through it. It took a lot of discipline. I can’t imagine the challenge of condensing 400 days of life-altering experiences to 126 pages, but for me it was still too long. I love stories, but “Cardamom Days” felt more like a report.

To conclude, I only offer my admiration and a tip of my hat to Derek and Carol for what they accomplished. Truly a remarkable journey that only a high level of courage and passion could survive. Their experience opened my eyes to what’s possible for my wife and I, and I look forward to our own adventures over the years.

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[derekdarke]

I think this is a very fair review. 4 out of 4 would have been a dream but 3 out of 4 accurately reflects the reviewers experience of his reading. Condensing the adventures of 400 days into 126 pages proved a challenge and my aim was to give a taste of the diversity we came upon during our travels and of the people we met. I hope the book provides the reader with some insight into what we encountered along with some tips and a few smiles. Happy travelling.

[sahmoun2778]

Well written review. Thank you.

[samuyama]

Derek, thank you for your comments. I was going to ask what your thoughts were.