The Saint of Kathmandu: and Other Tales of the Sacred in Distant Lands

by Sarah Levine

With the deft evocations of a master storyteller and the exhaustive knowledge of a scholar, LeVine takes us on a quest to understand the role of religious belief in everyday life around the globe. She writes of uneasy relations between Islam and spirit possession in a Nigerian town; of a Nepalese teenager's flight from an arranged marriage to become a feminist Buddhist nun; of Mexican women taking the Virgin Mary as their role model; and of American Zen Buddhists struggling to maintain their community despite a deeply flawed teacher. These stories and more give a larger picture of religious faith, one that has little to do with doctrine or philosophical abstractions.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Levine shares stories of encountering the sacred, sharing her reactions and the explanations of the people she visits in each culture. Not a systematic exploration of world religions, it is a lived exploration, and lived religion is far more interesting - and messier and often bewildering - than abstract theological and ethical principles or systematic theologies. Interesting, and leads to the question for religious people: what would someone from another religion and culture experience visiting you?

[Yasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Narratives about unchanging faith might reassure us about the unchanging nature of the world’s faithful, but it does nothing to alleviate the drastic political and economic changes they endure."
My review is at:
http://www.yasminnair.net/content/sar...

[Jac · Rating 2 out of 5]

not really my thing - but a it presents stories of oddities in many faiths around the globe in a way that teaches you about faith without being preachy

[Krista Bolan]

I couldn't get through this book.