In the Hot Unconscious: An Indian Journey

In the Hot Unconscious travels with the writer, Charles Foster, through India. As he crosses sacred rivers, navigates the Himalayas, and fights the heat of the south, he begins an even more compelling odyssey. He voyages within. In the noise and the echoing silence of India, Foster confronts his own religious presumptions, and wonders whether the mystical traditions of east and west can be married. Most of all, he questions what it means to be realized, and if his expedition can lead him to that still centre. As he shares the road with eccentric, storytelling fellowtravellers, Foster is changed by farce and reflection. His conversations are laced with Zen humour; his writing is numinous, shifting easily between buoyancy and contemplation. Ultimately, In the Hot Unconscious reaffirms T.S. Eliot’s stance, that the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time.