Insightful and well-written
In this very clearly written work Ortner does two things very well. On the one hand she explains the processes and social and historical developments that preceded the building of the celibate Buddhist monasteries in Sherpa society. On the other hand she uses her fieldwork among the Sherpas to illustrate her Practice Theory, her answer to the age-old structure-agency debate.
Although the start of the book may be too abstract for some students, she keeps repeating the central points of her theory and thoughts and finishes with a concluding chapter that more than makes up for it.
I am a student of Religious Studies myself and I must say I found her exposition of 'how structure structures action' on pages 126-129 particularly lucid and would recommend it to any student of the social sciences.
Ortner has a very accessible way of writing and although the introduction is complex, in the rest of the book she manages to get her points and theoretical framework across very clearly. Her use of many examples from her fieldwork and her telling of many Sherpa stories provides an accessible and pleasant illustration to her overall argument.
All in all I'm very glad I read this book and now better understand not only Sherpa society, but some of the inherent theoretical and methodological concerns of anthropology.