A Year In The World: Journeys Of A Passionate Traveller (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
A lyrical and enchanting and excellent book about travels in Europe. I was there with the author as she traveled, she is that descriptive and aware of the holy places. Her descriptions of starry nights brought me to my knees in awe as well as her attention to detail: architectural, holy places, holy encounters, books, nature, food! Absolutely gorgeous in scope and detail and love and passion. I want to go to the places she has gone, and rent a house for a while, and travel by private boat, and have a travel companion like her husband. She “presents a simpler, less frantic version of how to live one’s life.” Yes, resoundingly and inspiringly. I will love this book forever. It was one of my bookclub selections and I had so much fun planning the dinner and we did a little guessing game with imported european prizes I got from CostPlus World Market...Spain“I’m going to places where I have dreamed of living and will try to settle down in each, read the literature, look at the gardens, shop for what’s in season, try to feel at home.”- a holy approach to writing- seeing the people harvest oranges along streets for perfumes and soap-knew sevilla instinctively-duende- summoning of the life force spirit and the expression of that spirit“the impulse to create beauty where you draw water, where you stow your saffron, where you walk, that impulse is intrinsic to life, as it ever has been and will be, and from this place where such remains are gathered, we can only exit with a sense of renewal and joy.” “He couldn’t understand a world shameless and cruel enough to divide its people by color when color is in fact the sign of God’s artistic genius.” About Lorca "One of the flash epiphanies of travel, the realization that worlds you’d love vibrantly exist outside your ignorance of them. The vitality of many lives you know nothing about. The breeze lifting a blue curtain in a doorway billows just the same whether you are lucky enough to observe it or not. Travel gives such jolts. I could live in this town, so how is it I have never been here before?""I love the gods of the crossroads. Throughout the world, people have always recognized the metaphorical significance of the path chosen, the path forsaken." "There are reasons we congregate in these hot spots- to worship beauty and to feel its effects light up the electrolytes in the bloodstream." From 750 to the 12th century, the time was called Convivencia, or peaceful coexistence, where cultures and religions and sexes were at peace and art and culture and trade flourished. It is possible, peace, and it lasted for almost 400 years from Syria to Spain. PortugalFado (fate) the mysic whose saudade (a pervasive longing and reaching) rips out of the heart.British Isles“…the saturated- green air looked aquatic, as though someone had just pulled the plug, draining away the watery world and leaving swaying meadows, fields, trees, and hills washed and gleaming.”-hydrangeas everywhere…GreeceMartin Buber: “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.”“You’re well acquainted with A.D. I expect, the guide announces. Everything you’ll see today will all be B.C”
When I saw this book at the library one day and read the description I thought it would be a perfect book for mine and Tom’s little book club. It was my turn to chose the book and I thought we would both enjoy it.As I began to read I knew that this travel novel would provide us with a lot of tips and suggestions that we could take with us once we were able to spend A Year In The World.One passage that really stood out to me was, “The need to travel is a mysterious force. A desire to go runs through me equally with an intense desire to stay at home. an equal ad opposite thermodynamic principle. When I travel, I think of home and what it means. At home I’m dreaming of catching trains at night in the gray light of Old Europe, or pushing open shutters to see Florence awaken. The balance just slightly tips in the direction of the airport.” I felt like this paragraph described me to a “T”.As I continued reading however, I realized that this woman was nothing like me. I found her writing style to be very difficult to get into. At times her descriptions were fascinating but most of the time it was just to wordy.Because I found it so hard to read I ended up only reading the chapters about places that I was extremely interested in visiting, Morocco, Scotland and England. There were times, especially in the chapter on Scotland, that I got very frustrated. It was clear that this was a couple with unlimited funds and all of their friends who met them in Scotland were also intellectuals with bottomless bank accounts. I found it impossible to relate to any of them and found the author and all of her traveling companions to be extremely pretentious and boring. I mean seriously, who decides to put on their own production of Shakespeare when you could be enjoying the local fare at a nearby pub.
What do You think about A Year In The World: Journeys Of A Passionate Traveller (2007)?
I -almost- put this one down, so I get it. Honestly, I generally read very fast, this book forced me to slow down. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Worth a read for those who love to travel, love history, and love literature.
—Kathy Beatty
After disliking the movie, I was encouraged to read "Under the Tuscan Sun" and loved it. I found "Bella Tuscany" a couple years later and also enjoyed that read, so I had no problem buying "A Year in the World" for my Kindle. For me, it was worth it. We are travelers and have found every way of traveling imaginable so it was great to see another travelers perspective. I love enjoying the food, coffee, and sites of another country... but I also enjoy the days of sitting in an apartment and wishing all the other tourists would go away, so I could see the people in their "natural habitat." Relax people... it's a travel book. Her passions might be different than yours. One of the best parts of the book is how it's set off by chapters. If you don't like what she's telling you about one place, move on to the next. Maybe by the time you're done reading the parts you like, you'll be able to come back and enjoy bits and pieces of the parts you didn't. Travel is about growing. Are you flexible? Can you handle different peoples? Religions? Languages? Foods? You don't have to change your basic beliefs by understanding other people's cultures...or the way other's travel.
—Deb
Kathryn - you may want to read "Under the Tuscan Sun" first; its her most famous book (maybe you've seen the movie?) and if you love Italy (like I do) you'll be in heaven.
—Katie Dreyer
