A House in Bali Paperback – May 15, 2000

I chose this book because it was recommended online as a good read for first time travelers to Bali. I'm very grateful for that recommendation. As a first time traveler to Indonesia & Bali, House of Bali gave me an inciteful look into the Balinese culture & a very good understanding of the work & memorization involved in the gamelan music & lalong dancing. I had a much better appreciation when I had the pleasure of viewing & listening to both during wonderful performance s on the Island. The book flows well & is a very easy read. I highly recommend it if you're planning a trip to Bali. I started it before my trip & read it throughout my Bali adventure. It was a great travel companion.

An elegant book, beautifully written, covering three long visits to Bali over the 1930s. A memoir really, he describes his experiences finding his way around Bali, building a home, exploring, friending many Balinese, high and low. As he begins his exploration of Balinese music he observes and takes notes, then shifts into exploration seeking obscure instruments and musicians in hidden corners of the island, and finally a participant in the culture he is observing as he helps revitalize musical groups and styles, and supports a promising dancer. The portraits of Bali, his friends, the island, its music and its central place in culture is a treasure. Along with Miguel and Rosa Covarrubias' contemporary "Island of Bali" a must if you'd like to get a sense of Bali as it was first discovered by appreciative western visitors. And did I mention it's beautifully written? A joy.

Having just traveled to Bali, this glimpse of a very much different and yet very recognizable Bali of the past was an absolute delight. Well written and charming.

For anyone interested in what Bali was like in the 'old days', (the 1930's) this book is a treasure. Skillful prose, and insightful on a human level. This is my ideal in a travel book, if I may term it that.Though the Bali of McPhee is gone forever, read it before you visit the Island.

I read this while in Bali. As a musician, this was dear to my heart. I liked this book for its insight into Balinese culture and history.

Beautifully written.

Descriptive of the essence of Balinese music and the people. Read before you travel to Bali while listening to the music.

Couldn't finish it. The writing was decent but the subject just wasn't very interesting to me. A musician would probably like this more. Also, it's pretty outdated. These days, Bali is nothing like it was the time the book is set. I would recommend this book to a musician, especially one interested in gamelan music, otherwise it can be a bit boring for the layperson.

Fascinating insight into the Bali of the 1930s. Not just concerned with music, but lots of local information, color and detail.

This was a lucky find ...... a copy of the original with the same layout and lots of wonderful photos.

Es ist mittlerweile schon ein paar Jahre her, dass ich dieses Buch gelesen habe. Ich war schön öfter auf Bali. Das Buch ist ein wahrer Schatz für jeden, den die Geschichte von Bali und Bali vor der Ankunft der Moderne interessiert. Es ist möglich, Orte wiederzuerkennen, die Beschreibung der Orte und Riten, der Tänze ist faszinierend. Mir hat das Buch unheimlich gut gefallen.

immediately transported me to the old Bali. Fantasy required.i liked the part describing the locals life and surroundings also the house situation.i skipped the part describing about the music arrangement and stuff.

It's a time-machine capsule for a journey through space and time, to a real place, not along ago, that seems distant and different from anything now.