The Yoga of Max’s Discontent

The Yoga of Max's Discontent by Karan Bajaj
Published by Riverhead Books on May 3rd 2016
Genres: Fiction, General Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Kindle Book
Source: the author Karan Bajaj, NetGalley & Riverhead Books

In this captivating and surprising novel of spiritual discovery—a No. 1 bestseller in India—a young American travels to India and finds himself tested physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Max Pzoras is the poster child for the American Dream. The child of Greek immigrants who grew up in a dangerous New York housing project, he triumphed over his upbringing and became a successful Wall Street analyst. Yet on the frigid December night he’s involved in a violent street scuffle, Max begins to confront questions about suffering and mortality that have dogged him since his mother’s death.
His search takes him to the farthest reaches of India, where he encounters a mysterious night market, almost freezes to death on a hike up the Himalayas, and finds himself in an ashram in a drought-stricken village in South India. As Max seeks answers to questions that have bedeviled him—can yogis walk on water and live for 200 years without aging? Can a flesh-and-blood man ever achieve nirvana?—he struggles to overcome his skepticism and the pull of family tugging him home. In an ultimate bid for answers, he embarks on a dangerous solitary meditation in a freezing Himalayan cave, where his physical and spiritual endurance is put to its most extreme test.
By turns a gripping adventure story and a journey of tremendous inner transformation, The Yoga of Max's Discontent is a contemporary take on man's classic quest for transcendence.

**Special thanks to the author Karan Bajaj, NetGalley & Riverhead Books for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

The Yoga of Max’s Discontent is a spiritual discovery read. It’s different from the books I am used to. However, it’s a very thrilling and enriching read.
In The Yoga of Max’s Discontent Max is the perfect young American man walking on the path of success. Max is a very successful Wall Street analyst who could make it into the business society of America. He managed to overcome his hard upbringing situation as the child of Greek immigrants living in very difficult surroundings. He focused on his career and was gaining the rewards of his efforts. On one chilly cold night, he meets an Indian man selling food on the street. The man’s endurance captures Max’s attention. Talking to that man was a changing point in Max’s life. He got to know about Yogis and how they had supernatural capabilities that put them above nature. Their search for the unifying one power behind everything in the world bewildered him. Later, he couldn’t get this idea out of his mind. He needed answers. He tried to reach out for people who could tell him more about it. Captured by these thoughts, Max abandons his life in New York and heads to India in a tremendous adventure of searching for truth and for his real soul.
The content of the book was enriching to me. I haven’t been to India before. However, the author was so good at describing India. The places and people came so lively in his book that I felt I was walking along those paths and feeling India. It was also so adventurous to me. It wasn’t actually an adventure book, but it was so different from the books I used to read. I knew nothing about the spiritual life in India, about Yogis and about meditation. Though the Yogis abilities were hard to believe to me, yet I was so much interested to know about this side of India.
I liked the narration style of the author. It was so interesting and captivating. Being used to reading fast paced mysteries and thrillers I thought it would be somehow hard to me to stay focused on a spiritual book. Yet I found this book so interesting to read.
However, I still have one issue with this book. When it comes to the capabilities of the Yogis and the powers granted through meditation, I found it hard to believe. I know the book is fictional so it was OK to extend the boundaries, but that got me confused sometimes regarding what was real about Yogis and what was fictional.
Overall, I liked The Yoga of Max’s Discontent. It was a different type of books for me and I got to know more about India, Indian Yoga and meditation.