The Sacrament of the Goddess: Love, War, and Nepal
A Book Review by Sahadev Poudel
Keeping a beautiful town Beni Bazar in the background, The Sacrament of the Goddess by Joe Neimczura, tells a heart touching story of contemporary Nepali society through the eyes of a young American doctor and a young Nepali woman.
Matt, a recently graduate medical student goes to Nepal as a volunteer to work in a hospital, where he falls in love with a young Nepali woman. Their love evolves like in a romantic film. And yes there’s so called civil war in Nepal and it affecting everyone.
As a professional nurse and author of two books Joe Niemczura brings doctors, nurses, and other characters in the charitable hospital in Beni. Joe’s first book was The Hospital at the End of the World, a memoir about his first trip to Nepal as a nurse educator. In The Sacrament of the Goddess, I see some images of The Hospital at the End of the World. He describes how Nepali health workers work during the civil war with a limited accessories in the hospital and show us how they co-operate with Maoists insurgents’ and Army officials. Joe creates a wonderful hospital in Beni Bazar full with friendly staffs. They also represent powerful characters of Nepali society. In a painful canvas Joe tells not only a soulful story of a Nepali young woman and an American doctor but also shows Maoist’s authoritarian rule, story of kidnap, death and Sushila and Matt’s conflict. Every pages of The Sacrament of the Goddess tell something new about Nepali culture.
The peaceful ending of the story represents the peaceful ending of the civil war.
Anyone who is interested to know Nepali life, culture, Maoist’s war, and hospital’s working condition Nepal, The Sacrament of the Goddess could be like a guide book too.
You can also hear a conversation with Joe Neimczura on Himali Sworharu’s Open Mic. He is also reading a short segment from his novel.
You may get more info on Amazon
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