Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing and Inspirational- I loved it!
Review: This book will jump-start you out of your boring life, and make you want to book a flight somewhere- anywhere! I read this book in the span of two days- I couldn't put it down. At the end, I got online and started researching trips to developing countries. Why not? The author has an uncanny ability to make friends wherever she goes, and she also makes the reader feel like they can too- a great book, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: This book inspires one to take a chance on an aspiration and just get up and do it. She writes frankly and offers an insight into cultures that is refreshing and honest about her own reactions to them. Thoroughly enjoyed dipping into it and savouring the tales.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating stories, lacking in some parts
Review: Rita Golden Gelman decides at age 48 to live her life in a completely different manner. She splits up with her husband, sells her house and possessions, and goes on the road - for 15 years. She lives up to her promise to herself to try life another way - by traveling to exotic places, and taking up residence in other people's homes, learning their languages and their customs, their recipes and their spiritual practices. She goes to Mexico, where she lives in a Zapotec village, then to Guatamala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Israel, the Galagapos Islands, Indonesia (Yogyaharta, Borneo, Bali, and Irian Jaya), Canada, New Zealand, and Thailand. Her most detailed accout is in Indonesia, as she spent most of her time there (specifically, Bali), and it was obviously the most meaningful and life-changing experience of all of them.Rita's experiences are amazing - unlike most travelers, she really succeeds in adapting to her new environments, making friends easily and finding worthwhile projects where both she and the people she meet can benefit. She not only learns from the people she meets, but often embraces their beliefs and culture as if it were her own - thus, throughout her journey she undergoes a major character transformation. Though I was entertained while reading her stories and could not help but admire her courage and devotion to her new way of life, I could not help but feel there was something lacking in her story. There were large and noticeable gaps, which interrupted the flow of the story - it was obvious that she had gone back and tried to recreate moments that she didn't entirely remember. Thus, some of the stories were not as fresh as they could have been. (She even acknowledges gaps at the end of the book). Unfortunately, at times it gives the book the feel of a summary more than the real thing. Also, I think her style of writing (lots of short sentences, over-explanation and repetition in areas, stating the obvious), might be the style of a writer who is stuck in between the role of children's author and adult author. Because of that, at times it was hard for me to get into the book. However, if you can get past that and focus on the stories and countries themselves, this book is immensely educational. It is also worth mentioning that she lives in Nicaragua and visits El Salvador at a volatile time for both countries, so she gives a very unique perspective to the countries themselves and what the people there were experiencing. I think this book is also successful in that it will encourage other women to explore their own travel dreams that may have been buried away because of their lives at home they think they can't give up. Another thing that gave this book more intrigue than other travel books of its kind is that Rita visits and lives in places that very few travelers go. A lot of these places are far off the tourist track - particularly third world countries where she really sees incredible poverty and malnutrition, political upheaval, displaced indigents, and spiritual myths and ceremonies. She sees it all. And Rita is not a tourist - she's a traveler. I hope she continues to write about her experiences as they occur, so her next written account(s) will avoid the gaps. It's definitely worth checking out!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but lacking
Review: As a traveler who enjoys the out of the way, slightly risky, meet the people experience, I applaud Rita's get-up-and-go. But I found her "journal" lacking the emotional depth of the best travel writing. She uses the present tense which is certainly "a la mode" these days, but it becomes a bit grinding with her short
sentences.
Rating:
Summary: A Tribute to Wanderlust and Humanity
Review: Gelman's book, "Tales of a Female Nomad," is a testament to the human spirit, courage, and to our basic need to connect with others. It is a very personal account of her life as she goes through a divorce and discovers her individual self, without her husband, and through her numerous adventures. She goes to many places: Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Israel, Galapagos Islands, Indonesia, New Zealand, Canada, and Thailand. What surprises me about Gelman's style is her very personal approach. She reveals intimate details, especially about fears and insecurities, which made me I more and more drawn to her story. It is though she is inviting the reader to be a friend and to share her experiences. She travels unconventionally - without much of a plan and not just to capital cities. Her stories of the people she has met warms the heart and reveals a beautiful humanity that is shared among all cultures. This book is wonderful for anyone, but I strongly recommend it to women all ages and walks of life. Shows how one can live their dream and take the road not taken.
Rating:
Summary: Rainy weekend reading
Review: I was lucky to have had this book recommended to me ... I bought Rita's book and was off for many exotic adventures, new friends, struggling through up hill climbing, (both physical and emtional)l and lots of inspiration. Best book of the Millineum!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting glimpse but missing something
Review: Ms. Gelman has provided an interesting glimpse into the cultures and customs of the lands she has visited. The nerve and determination that she demonstrated in leaving behind her world of modern comforts is inspiring. However, I felt rather detached from Ms. Gelman as a character in her own life. Perhaps this is a function of the non-fictional nature of this work, but I wanted to "know" Rita Gelman better. There were references to the fact that Ms. Gelman's friends and family in the States thought she was running away from "real life" after her divorce. Why were they wrong? Why could Ms. Gelman find more community and adopt "family" all over the world but continue to periodically leave it all behind? Overall, I admire Ms. Gelman's ability to lead a nomadic lifestyle but even after reading her book, I don't really understand it.
Rating:
Summary: Tales of a Female Nomad
Review: I love this book. I am not finished yet, almost,trying not to read it so fast. Ms. Gelman makes her travels seem so very interesting. I do wish she wouldve put in some pictures of some of the places and people she met along the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, entertaining read for those that love to travel
Review: This book saved me on my long flight back from Australia. Having lived as a local in many countries, it brought back the excitement of discovery, the frustration and the constant self-learning that one experiences through this type of life. After reading the book, I invited Rita to stay with me during her North American tour, and to my surprise she accepted my offer -- showing me that she really HAS embraced this nomadic lifestyle that she writes about. I agree with some of the other readers that her writing can be too simplistic at times and it often leaves you feeling like important details have been left out. It often feels like she is trying to convince you and herself that she is happy with this lifestyle, when at times you feel like she is avoiding acknowledging the loneliness and challenges of her post-divorce life. However, I do recommend this book for the armchair traveller, the gypsy in all of us who have traveled or wish to travel similar roads. If nothing else, this is an inspirational insight into the joys of experiencing new cultures.
Rating:
Summary: Theory on ratings
Review: I bought this book on a Friday evening, gobbled it up except for two chapters, finished it first thing in the morning, and lent it out by that afternoon. I was very interested in the reading the reviews that gave lesser ratings to this book. There were comments on poor or simplistic writing style and insufficient narrative or description of people and places... how utterly fascinating. We all look at the world through different filters; thus the details Rita chose to share were those that were meaningful to her. She spends quite a few pages describing the long endearing antics she went through to avoid eating alone in a restaurant when she first arrived in Mexico... while she compresses 8 or so years in Bali into a chapter or so. This is the journey of a woman who reinvents herself at 48--it is the story of courage, of connection in far away places, of incredible growth, of living "successfully" as a single person. It is about Nicaragua, Bali, the Galapagos etc only as it relates to her story, and since *her* story is the one I needed to hear (as a 31 year old single female), I was very satisfied, inspired and grateful for the sharing.
|
