What do You think about A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels In The Far East (2002)?
As a premise for a travelogue, it's certainly an interesting one: warned by a Hong Kong fortune teller not to fly during 1993 or he will die, on a whim an Italian journalist decides to take the hint and forgo flying for an entire year. Obviously as Asian correspondent for a German magazine this presents certain problems - how can one ensure one can make it to the right place at the right time, when travelling there can take days or even weeks instead of hours, assuming that it is even possible to get there at all?Travelling through Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, China, Russia and back again by a whole host of methods - cars held together by wire, over-crowded trains, on foot and by mule, by cargo ship - Terzani sets out to step outside of the normal pace of modern life, to immerse himself in the life of the countries he is so used to simply flying over and simply slow down a little. In each country he visits seers, palmists, astrologers and fortune tellers, comparing their predictions, assessing their accuracy, exploring both his doubts and certainties.It also serves as an elegy for a certain way of life that Terzani feels is being lost in the inexorable encroach of 'progress', of modern life. A lot of unique cultures, mythology and folklore is being lost in the wake of globalization, the rush for a certain standardized Western way of life, in Asia and the Far East coming largely through the conduit of China and the Chinese diaspora. Terzani certainly seems to have quite a love-hate relationship with modern China and the Chinese.I really enjoyed this book, and it was certainly an interesting approach to a travel book. That said, I did find it patronising in places, a little sexist, and a little too romantic about the benefits of a certain traditional, rustic way of life. Progress and modernity isn't all bad, and whilst globalization has done a great deal of damage, it has brought benefits to a large proportion of the world. There is something to be said for keeping in touch with a country's roots and traditions, but sometimes it seems like Westerners (and Terzani is no exception) would prefer Asia to remain traditional and rustic, not for its own sake and the sake of its people, but so as to serve as some kind of idealised, exotic place for Westerners to escape to and dream about.
—Caroline
Reportage, diario di viaggio e autobiografia: Un indovino mi disse è un libro che difficilmente dimenticherete sullo scaffale. E leggerlo stimolerà il vostro apparato pensante, troppo spesso intorpidito da squallidi programmi televisivi che quotidianamente veicolano messaggi omologanti. Corrispondente dall'Asia del settimanale tedesco Der Spiegel, Tiziano Terzani viaggia per un'intero anno via mare e via terra, evitando di prendere l'aereo: un indovino cinese, infatti, lo aveva avvertito di non volare mai nel 1993 perché avrebbe corso il pericolo di morire. Lontano dal credere ciecamente a una simile profezia, il giornalista la trasforma in un'occasione per guardare il mondo da una prospettiva diversa, riscoprendolo. «Una buona occasione nella vita si presenta sempre. Il problema è saperla riconoscere e a volte non è facile.»L'Asia di Terzani è un continente che rischia di essere inghiottito dalla macchina capitalistica. Mentre la logica del profitto domina ogni comportamento umano e soffoca la straordinaria diversità culturale, piegandola a un'univoca interpretazione della realtà, c'è un'umanità che conserva gelosa le proprie radici, la propria identità. Gli interrogativi dell'autore, sulla vita e sulla morte, mettono in seria discussione il modello di sviluppo che oggi imperversa e che è stato imposto all'Asia come a tutta la periferia del mondo, con rare eccezioni. Il misticismo orientale – rivale della razionalità occidentale – sembra «poter aiutare chi vuole sfuggire alla prigionia dei consumi, ai bombardamenti della pubblicità, alla dittatura della televisione.» Ma l'autore non si fa illusioni e le sue sono parole amare, dettate dalla consapevolezza che ogni esperimento di segno contrario rispetto alla “modernizzazione” partorita dall'Occidente ha fallito. Ciononostante, Terzani ci rende partecipi di una lucida riflessione fuori dal coro.
—Chiara Baroni
An enlightening and entertaining look at Asia, the changes it is undergoing, and the superstitions that dictate much of life for many from Malaysia to Cambodia to China. After being told by a fortune-teller that he risked death if he took a plane in 1993, Terzani spent the earth traveling throughout Asia by land, visiting a local fortuneteller in every place he stopped. The resulting book is a bit of a cross between a travel memoir, a reflection on spirituality and superstition, and an examination of the politics and economic development in Asia. Terzani is a skilled writer, but this book is not without its flaws. Terzani is an obvious admirer of Asia as it used to be, before its "Westernization" and economic development. At times, this means he lacks objectivity and does not (in my view) delve into any of the negative repercussions of faith many Asian people have in fortunetellers and the occult, nor does he consider that the economic development may have had positive effects. Nevertheless, it is well-written and extremely interesting. Will be of particular interest to anyone who has lived in or traveled throughout Asia.
—Allison Jane Smith
