Autoren-Bilder

Craig Joseph Danner

Autor von Himalayan Dhaba

2 Werke 100 Mitglieder 2 Rezensionen

Werke von Craig Joseph Danner

Himalayan Dhaba (2001) 94 Exemplare
The Fires of Edgarville (2009) 6 Exemplare

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Wissenswertes

Geburtstag
20th c.
Geschlecht
male
Nationalität
USA
Geburtsort
Oregon, USA
Wohnorte
Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
Ausbildung
The Evergreen State College, B.A., 1985
Berufe
doctor
Preise und Auszeichnungen
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Awards, shortlisted, 2002
Kurzbiographie
In 1991, Danner and his wife sold their house, medical practices, and possessions to travel to a remote village in the Indian Himalayas to help a gifted Indian surgeon -- in exchange for teaching them how to provide health care using basic tools and medicines.

"This man was doing amazing things with very little in the way of equipment and modern medicines, and we wanted to learn from him. Unfortunately, when we got there, he had left three days earlier, for a nine month training program in Uganda," explained Danner.

Language and cultural barriers didn't stop the adventurous duo from forging ahead, often by themselves. Not all their work was as successful as the all-night surgery. On one occasion, they helplessly watched a young woman die of an infection they could have treated back home, and, in another series of cases, they tried, in vain, to find a cure for a mysterious epidemic of kidney failure that killed three boys.

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Rezensionen

Not even 25 pages into this book, I was on Google Earth searching for the towns and landmarks mentioned within. It is based on real places, and it is hard to believe the characters are not real as well. Summaries suggest that the protagonist is a doctor named Mary who leaves her life behind in the United States; however, I feel that the real protagonist is the small, unnamed Himalayan town loosely based on the real town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Mary is a central figure but so is Amod, the waiter, Meena, a struggling young woman, Philip, an injured tourist, Ravi, a surgical patient, Tamding, a hospital employee, Antone, an opioid addict, and Kali, a stray dog.

It is a rare author who can create morally gray, imperfect characters that the reader still cares about. I was even concerned for the "villian" of the story.

Also, I did not find this to be one of those stories where a Westerner goes to India to "find themselves". Mary went to India because she had no other place to be. She does struggle with her purpose there, but Himalayan Dhaba lacks the preachiness, predictability, and somewhat racist stereotypes of those other tales.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Notice: the story depicts sexual assault, violence, surgical procedures, and tragic deaths-- It is not overly graphic, however, but I feel is included to show real life in the area for better or worse.
… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
kootibkiteer | 1 weitere Rezension | May 1, 2023 |
A newly-widowed woman physician goes to the small Himalayan town her husband loved, and works in thier hospital. Spiritual and humanistic, with good picture of life in this mountain village, and a lively plot.
 
Gekennzeichnet
EricaKline | 1 weitere Rezension | Oct 26, 2006 |

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Auszeichnungen

Statistikseite

Werke
2
Mitglieder
100
Beliebtheit
#190,120
Bewertung
½ 3.5
Rezensionen
2
ISBNs
5

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