The House is Full of Yogis

by Will Hodgkinson

A witty memoir about the trials of adolescence, the tribulations of family life and the embarrassment that ensues from having larger-than-life parents Neville and Liz Hodgkinson bought into the Thatcherite dream of home ownership, aspiration and advancement. The first children of their working class parents to go to university and have professional careers, they lived in a semi-detached house in Richmond, sent their sons Tom and Will to private school, and went on holiday to Greece once a year. Neville was an award-winning science writer and Liz was a high-earning tabloid hack. Then a disastrous boat holiday, followed by a life-threatening bout of food poisoning from a contaminated turkey, led to the search for a new way of life. Nev joined the Brahma Kumaris, who believe evolution is a myth, time is circular, and a forthcoming Armageddon will make way for a new Golden Age. Out went drunken
dinner parties and Victorian décor schemes; in came large women in saris meditating in the living room and lurid paintings of smiling deities on the walls. Liz took the arrival of the Brahma Kumaris as a chance to wage all-out war on convention, from announcing her newfound celibacy on prime time television to writing books that questioned the value of getting married and raising children. By an unfortunate coincidence, this dramatic and highly public transformation of the self coincided with the onset of Will’s adolescence. This is his story.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2014

About the author

Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London. He has written for The Guardian,The Independent and Vogue.Hodgkinson presents the Sky Arts TV show Songbook, in which he interviews contemporary songwriters.

Written in 2014, The House Is Full Of Yogis is his memoir.

Abridged from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 3 out of 5]

All gravy, no meat, nor onions or garlic. That describes both the diet of the Brahma Kumaris and this book. I read it because I was briefly involved with (and in the bad graces of) the same set of Brahma Kumaris but a decade or so later in the 90s.

One summer, back in the UK with my son, my house-mate, Lizzie, announced she had joined the Brahma Kumaris and would be moving out to live with them in their big Edwardian-style house just a short walk away. Lizzie was a teacher and deliberately androgenous looking with her short hair and boyish clothes. She was always confused whether she was heterosexual or a lesbian and had vague feelings of guilt about this. Perhaps joining a cult where all the women were princesses who wore white and never had sex of any kind was her solution.

She invited us to a Brahma Kumari garden party. The garden, huge and lovely, had all sorts of stands set up, one for food, another for massage, a little 'altar' with the point of light surrounded by a deep orange egg-shape for meditation, ones to entertain children and the one where I disgraced myself.

The main crowd were gathered around the levitation stand. One person was sitting down taking names and so I put mine down (I always say 'yes' to anything adventurous) and pushed forward to see what was happening. Some guy was lying down and there were all these Brahma Kumaris laying their hands on and meditating very hard (apparently) when there was a cheer. The 'victim' had levitated. All had seen him rise up into the air. Except me.

Had I missed the moment? I didn't say anything but watched the next person. It took quite a while, it wasn't a production line of one a minute into the air, back down, onto the next one on the list. This was heavy spirituality, man. The next one also levitated and I didn't see that either. Everyone was overjoyed and smiling and nodding, wasn't it wonderful? I said I didn't seem him levitate, I said he didn't move at all. They tried to persuade me that I had seen it (huh?) and then said I didn't have the right frame of mind, I wasn't spiritual enough otherwise I would have seen it. Oh bollocks.

Anyway they wouldn't let me have my go at being levitated, and Lizzie drifted over in her white goddess outfit and suggested that it might be a good time for Daniel and I to leave. So we did, but we went by the cake table first and got some really nice jam sponge.

The next time Lizzie came to visit it was to tell us that she was going home to live with her parents in Surrey as she had MS. The Brahma Kumaris with their celibacy and strange ideas on food have continued to flourish on the contributions of their overwhelmingly middle-class and therefore quite high earning members. They've built a 'World University' for all to travel to and take courses. I wonder if there is a course in levitation? Or perhaps the most spiritual of yogis just fly in all by themselves.

The book was a story of growing up in a well-off, professional household - boarding school, bad holidays with the parents, camping with bullies, thieving, first girlfriends, losing virginity, university... The only thing out of the ordinary was his father, after nearly dying from food poisoning gave up his life (and ultimately money) to the Brahma Kumaris and his mother was a contentious Daily Mail journalist.

It was an ok book, nothing special, quite a lot of it bored me. Best thing about it was the writing, the author is a music journalist (as I was) and that might make a good book one day. Two and a half stars, rounded up because, you know, thanks for the memory.

[Julie Mccann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Will, his dad and his friend. His mum & brother less so. A fabulously humorous and heartbreaking autobiography of an adolescent boy doing his best to make sense of the increasingly bizarre world around him.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will and Tom Hodgkinson are wonderful writers and quite funny as well. Will's "Guitar Man" and "Song Man" are exceptional books, and so is this memoir. I'm drawn to eccentric families, for obvious reasons, if one read my memoir. But yes, this is really good.

[Lee Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spotted this in a charity shop recently and was very keen to read it - I actually write for The Idler, a magazine edited by Will's brother Tom. I've read most of Tom's stuff and was aware that their father had joined an Indian religious movement, but I didn't know much of the story.

When Will was young, his dad had a really serious bout of food poisoning that nearly killed him, and when he recovered, he devoted his life to the Brahma Kumaris, a new religious movement that promoted peace and fulfilment through meditation. He took it extremely seriously indeed, and this book tells the story of the impact that had on the Hodgkinson family - some positive, some negative, often quite funny but a little tragic in places. Will was a kid I can relate to, struggling to make sense of a complex and confusing world, where people seemed absolutely determined to make very silly decisions.

His parents eventually divorced, and took very different paths in life. Will himself nearly got involved in the Brahma Kumaris himself, seeing attractive qualities in their practices, but ultimately decided it was not for him. Late on in the book, he describes the fates of the members he got to know as a kid - almost all of them had walked away, some with significant regrets. But his father remained, parting with almost all of his money and possessions.

I can really relate to the environment Tom and Will grew up in. They lived in Richmond, a town I knew well as I grew up in nearby Kingston, in a similarly middle-class, high-achieving culture (although my parents never had much money). Will's stories are often funny and I found myself nodding and laughing at a number of points, as I found myself in similarly awkward and ridiculous situations.

There's something pretty bittersweet about it all, and Will makes a number of good points about how religions can take over the lives of their followers. I completely understand them, because I was that person. As a lonely and not particularly happy fifteen-year-old, I became a very committed Christian. It all went alright for a while, but at the age of eighteen, I did a year out with an organisation now widely known to have been spiritually abusive and very demanding of its members. It did me a lot of damage, and I'm now in therapy to try and resolve that. I'm also seeking justice and change from the people responsible. It's a tough business, but I do feel I'm getting closer to closure after a very long time.

So...I found it quite sobering to read Will's reflections on what high-demand religion can do to the family and friends of those caught up in it. My parents never said anything, and they're dead now so I'll never know what they made of it all, but I'm sure they must have found the way I changed to be very worrying. I do also know that I dragged my kids into an environment I far rather I'd kept them away from, and I regret that now. Reading the experiences of normal teenagers is a bit painful, because just as I was on the verge of discovering independence and life, I threw it all away and adopted some ideas and attitudes that now horrify me. Maybe one day I'll write a book of my own about it - it's too late to worry about a lot of this now, I guess I just need to make sure I live the rest of my life the way I want to, and be nice to that naive kid I was, who bit off more than he could chew.

Well written, honest, funny, bittersweet and a whole heap of other worthwhile and good things. I ploughed through it easily in a couple of days, but I think it'll stay with me for a while.

[Bookworm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps it was funny only to the author. Will Hodgkinson, son of a two well to do parents (science writer and tabloid reporter), lived a fairly privileged life--going to private school, visiting Greece for holiday once a year, and the like. But his dad, Nev, came down with a severe case of food poisoning and joined the Brahma Kumaris , where he makes vegetarian food, destroys the relatively well life the family has.
 
This was advertised as a hilarious book and I put it on my list because of an NPR interview that made it sound hilarious. But it really isn't. Having just recently read 'Gone Clear' (which is about Scientology), I couldn't help be somewhat disturbed at some of the behaviors and patterns the author's father displayed, including giving away large amounts of money to the BKs (as Hodgkinson often calls them), deciding to sell the family's house, etc.
 
Hodgkinson's mother at the end finally puts her foot down and divorces Nev because he attempted to create a will where if she died after he did, proceeds from the house sale would go to the BKs. And she points out various aspects that made her think it was a cult: not being allowed to have sex with anyone (whereas in others you can have sex with as many people as you want!) that the BKs were more important to him than his own family (Nev cuts both Will and Will's brother Tom out of the will and leaves his estate to the BKs).
 
I could not understand how this was supposed to be funny, although the author and his brother don't seem to be much badly off for it. I didn't get why mom (mum since they're British :] ) Liz put up with this or how could Nev not understand he put the BKs ahead of his own children.
 
It wasn't an enjoyable book at all. There are some parts that are mildly amusing but I agree with a few other reviews: the author isn't great at comedic writing and many parts of the story came out to be rather sad than anything else. Skip it.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

No doubt most children believe that part of a parent's role is to embarrass them. Will Hodkinson's father Nev did it in spectacular style.

Will lived his early years with his older brother Tom in what sounded a fairly ordinary, middle class, suburban home in Richmond. Both parents were successful journalists. However, a dodgy chicken risotto at a dinner party changed everything - Nev had such a severe bout of food poisoning that he was hospitalised for several days and nearly died. As he recovered he fell under the spell of the Brahma Kumaris religious cult, resulting in him giving up his job, meditating and drifting around in white 'pyjamas' and sandals.

The father that he once had disappeared forever, and Will never stops mourning this throughout the book. Gone are the frozen pizzas and takeaways, being told off for not doing his maths homework, being checked up on whenever he goes out on his BMX bike, and all the family outings with his dad that he loved so much.

Instead he has a father who spends hours preparing vegetarian food, turning rooms into meditation areas, evangelising about the spiritual path, and of course filling the house with Yogis

The Brahma Kumaris believe evolution is a myth, time is circular, and a forthcoming Armageddon will make way for a new Golden Age They also advocate celibacy - something Will finds impossible to consider as he approaches adolescence and falls in love with his friend's sister.

I could only imagine Will's horror when his father turned up at school in his white pyjamas “looking like a cross between Nicholas Parsons and Mahatma Gandhi”, to give his class a lecture on meditation.

Very funny in parts, but also deeply affecting and honest in the portrayal of a much loved father.

[Sophie Patrikios · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating story with so much comedy potential it's a shame to let someone without any comedic ability write it up, even if they are the person it happened to.

[Jim Dennison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. It was a reintroduction to reading ... which I’d kind of lost my mojo with the last couple years. I picked it up while idly browsing my late father-in-laws bookshelves while doing a house clearance. He was a BK himself in midlife and so there’s a personal connection and many parallels. What I loved about it is that it reads like fiction ... it could have been a Ken Loach play. Suburban 80s British life at its heartwarming and familiar best.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was described as, amongst other things, 'funny' and 'charming'. I didn't smile, let alone laugh, once and was far from charmed by this mind-numbing tale of an over-privileged family's tedious antics.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It must be hard for the son of two writers to sit down and write a book but when those parents were as batshit crazy as Will Hodgkinson's it would be a crime not to put your chilhood down on paper and let the world know why you are the way you are (and personally I have no idea how Will is, but there's no way he could have grown up 'normal', whatever that may be).

Liz and Nev Hodgkinson were living the aspirational middle-class 1980s dream when Nev got a mega-dose of food poisoning from a dodgy risotto and nearly died. Some might have vowed to stay away from chicken (or rice dishes) but Nev 'saw the light' and foresook normality to join a cult / sect /call it what you will called the Brahma Kumaris. A female-led group that was heavy on meditation and celibacy was clearly going to be a challenge for all the family.

Life both before and after Nev's Damascene conversion is wittily presented in 'The House is Full of Yogis'. From mum Liz getting carried away with feminism and nearly sinking the whole family on a pre-conversion river boat trip, to Nev giving up work to follow his new beliefs, nothing was ever entirely standard about family life. Throw in a highly progressive boarding school for Will where the less academically able kids of the well-to-do could go bonkers in the countryside, and you've got an amusing trip down memory lane.

I've seen reviews that have been very critical of Will's writing style. I don't really know what point was being made as I found it absolutely fine. The House if Full of Yogis is not high-literature but it's a fun read and an interesting look at how a family reacts to the father going more than a bit crazy renouncing most earthly pleasures whilst mum cranks out books on any subject the public will pay for. I rather enjoyed it.

[Sydne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts out funny but I got half way through and couldn't pick it up again. I realized that I didn't care about any of the characters.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as a GoodReads Giveaway.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mainly a boy's coming of age story, and it was well written in that aspect. The synopsis made it seem far more interesting than it was, though. And it wasn't particularly funny to me, either. It seems to me that Will's poor dad just needed a way to feel in control of his life, since his wife was so dismissive and belittling all the time. The cult was a way for him to build up a wall of protection from her. And it seemed that it did work for that. I would like to know if it was something he stuck with for the long haul. The end of the book doesn't really say.

[Kacey Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. It is really fascinating how many different ways there are to grow up. Crazy stories, a little discombobulated but entertaining. Memoirs are interesting because i tend to expect to like characters or have them grow in me. But in memoirs, sometimes people are just unlikable. Plenty of people to dislike but overall, i enjoyed this perspective. It made my crazy household seem totally calm....

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and even handed coming of age memoir. Will’s middle class family life is transformed when his father embraces the Brahma Kumaris. There was an air of authenticity about this tale of growing up in the midst of this culture clash which makes it all the more enjoyable.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting biographical story, often told as if funny - and it sometimes is - with tragic undertones.

[Gemma Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly amusing memoir of an over privileged boy growing up with a dad who joins a cult.

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this on the memoir shelf and the reviews seemed promising. I'm a huge fan of autobiography, but this one did not resonate. I'm glad Will Hodgkinson survived his unconventional adolescence and found a way to view his parents with a measure of love and acceptance, but the reviews that hailed this story as hilarious did not ring true for me.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won my copy of The House is Full of Yogis free as part of the First Reads program. My initial thoughts: a well-written memoir with hilarious, off-the-wall characters that remind me of Augusten Burroughs' family from Running With Scissors. I felt compelled to Google the author's mother, Liz Hodgkinson, because she is just so different from any other mother I have ever met. I grew up in the 80s, albeit in the USA and not in England, but I don't remember anyone I know resembling this cast of characters in the slightest. Is it weird to think of the people in a memoir as "characters" rather than real, live individuals? Bottom line: a really funny, witty read, but it made me wonder: how well could the author, now in his 40s, really remember that period of his life? How accurate does a memoir need to be? Maybe I'm a bit cynical because my memory is crap and I can't remember what I did or said yesterday let alone when I was 10, but Hodgkinson chronicles his childhood in such detail from facial expressions, to what people we wearing, to what they were eating or drinking, to what was said, that I just kept thinking, "This is a fantastic story, but is it accurate?"

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Hodgkinson's account of becoming a teen in London is clever and humorously written. Will's mother was a staunch feminist and his father Nev was an easy-going man and a great father. After a particularly bad bout of food poisoning, Nev goes off to Florida to recover and comes into contact with the Brahma Kumaris and life changes for the entire family. Suddenly, Nev takes on the calm meditating ways of the BK, the family moves to another home and Will is off to boarding school. The stories of what happens along the way from pre-teen to full fledged teen years is funny and interesting. The book got a little tedious in parts when describing the BK beliefs, but that information was necessary to understand the events in the story.

[Caity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Goodreads first reads program.

This is a great story about growing up in an unconventional household. When the book starts they are a more typical family of four. Both parents are journalists ans they have two sons one of whom is the author of this memoir. The family dynamic changes when the father Nev finds religion and their home literally fills with Yogis. It is really interesting to see how this changes the parents relationship as well as his relationships with his sons. This new found religion also changes the education Will receives which introduces some new and interesting characters. Overall this is a funny and fascinating memoir.

[Justangie88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about 20 pages from finishing, and I truly adore this book. The characters are all people you remember from your childhood - the older brother you're constantly in the shadow of, your first real crush, your best friend who always seems to be there without you ever realizing it. And you feel for Will because his life just happens to turn upside down at the exact moment when he feels the least stable. It's one of those books that is funny, warm and tender through and through. If you're reading it in public be prepared to embarrass yourself. You will laugh out loud.

[Leslie Soifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hodgkinson's story is outrageous and a great read. As a memoir, he sets the stage in the 80's in a suburban middle-class British family. His is a reflection of growing up in a relative normal family until his father becomes part of the Bramhma Kumaris and life the way Hodkinson knew turns upside down in comical, hilarious, disturbances and confusion. As an adolescent viewpoint is riddled with making sense of his entering into this new lifestage and starking contrast to his father's yogi lifestyle. A challenge to adopt two competing value systems and incorporate them into a healhty outcome.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining account by Will Hodgkinson who grew up in London in the 80s, and whose father became a convert to Brahma Kumaris. Some of the practices and beliefs of the Brahma Kumaris are outlined, along with a coming-of-age story set in a distinctive time and place. Never a dull moment and plenty of entertaining English humour.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart and hysterical coming of age story. I don't think I'd have handled the changes as well as Will as an adolescent and teenager, but I love his perspective, openness and honesty. And despite their family's many differences, their strong connection and (sometimes begrudging) acceptance of each other-- even now-- makes them a much tighter family unit than a lot I've known.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really funny book. It felt like a true representation of the author's feelings at the times he described and not like a grown-up reflection of his adolescence.

[Mary Buzard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out funny but grew tedious.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining.