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abeanbg's review
3.0
This never really caught me. Honestly, a lot of the references that Fermor was so full of were rather lost on me. I did not have an early 20th Century British Public School background and have little sense of what that might've entailed, so I'll just have to write this one off.
_bb's review
3.0
I enjoyed this first half of his travelogue and intend to read the second book. While the writing is often dense and slow paced (the small font size doesn't help) it's in a casual, pleasant way. Like overhearing an interesting story in a cafe. Sometimes I skimmed, but not with bad feeling, the digressions of extensive information and detail (about artists, architecture, history, etc) that I know aren't going to stick in my mind. He comes off well as a traveler and person. The kind you'd be happy to sit next to on a bus, plane or train and be amazed and humbled by their stories.
If it's to be believed that the excerpts from his journal in the later part of the book are direct and mostly unedited, then he had a talent for writing that was well developed early on.
If it's to be believed that the excerpts from his journal in the later part of the book are direct and mostly unedited, then he had a talent for writing that was well developed early on.
j_ata's review
My deepest apologies, Patrick, but I lack the time and the right mindset to continue on this leisurely journey with you at present... I'll catch up with you again sometime in the future, I swear, as I enjoyed immensely the time we were able to spend together up until this point!
kvw123's review against another edition
2.0
Fajna podróż i w zasadzie tylko za to należy się jakaś gwiazdka. Druga za tłumaczenie - nie wątpię, że było to wyzwanie i jestem wdzięczny, że ten klasyk literatury podróżniczej ukazał się wreszcie po polsku.
Sposób prowadzenia narracji jest jednak dla mnie nieznośny, przeintelektualizowany do poziomu, w którym można zacząć się zastanawiać, czy autorowi przyświecał cel inny niż pokazanie czytelnikowi jego miejsca w hierarchii bytów. Efekt? Moim zdaniem totalna nuda.
O wiele ciekawszy przykład historycznej literatury podróżniczej to chociażby „Oswajanie świata” Nicolasa Bouviera (dzięki której to książce dowiedziałem się o Patricku Leigh Fermorze, swoją drogą). Mniej rozważań o niczym, więcej prawdziwego świata, a wciąż pisane z dużą świadomością i erudycją.
Sposób prowadzenia narracji jest jednak dla mnie nieznośny, przeintelektualizowany do poziomu, w którym można zacząć się zastanawiać, czy autorowi przyświecał cel inny niż pokazanie czytelnikowi jego miejsca w hierarchii bytów. Efekt? Moim zdaniem totalna nuda.
O wiele ciekawszy przykład historycznej literatury podróżniczej to chociażby „Oswajanie świata” Nicolasa Bouviera (dzięki której to książce dowiedziałem się o Patricku Leigh Fermorze, swoją drogą). Mniej rozważań o niczym, więcej prawdziwego świata, a wciąż pisane z dużą świadomością i erudycją.
llimllib's review
3.0
Pretty interesting tales of pre-WWII Europe (especially Germany), but the book kind of wanders and is repetitive at the same time. I may pick it up and finish the second half at a later date, when the first half isn't so fresh in my mind.
mattroche's review
5.0
A brilliant story by a type of man that simply does not exist any longer about a world in our recent past that no longer exists. Classically trained, well-read, erudite, and curious, our protagonist narrates a journey by foot through a barely post-feudal Europe of farms and manors that is looking down the barrel of the modern world.
His prose reflects incredible range, suggesting a bookish scholar huddled in his library amid Horace and Shakespeare, yet his story is one of the wandering storyteller - a man of action and of the people. The juxtaposition is unique and compelling.
His prose reflects incredible range, suggesting a bookish scholar huddled in his library amid Horace and Shakespeare, yet his story is one of the wandering storyteller - a man of action and of the people. The juxtaposition is unique and compelling.
charity_royall_331's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful find! Fermor is an eloquent guide, painting vivid pictures of the scenes and people he meets on this trek across Europe. The narrative is bright and cheerful, but because it is happening in 1933, there is an undercurrent of the evil that is beginning to unfold.
modox's review
3.0
Simultaneously charming and utterly irritating. It describes a journey that you feel just couldn't happen in modern day Europe. Though as pronounced as the time gap is, the class gap creates even more distance, certainly for me. There are odd hints at a self awareness of this, but most of the book suggests otherwise. Parts of it are fascinating, but he has a tendency to go on huge tangents that aren't necessarily to do with his actual experiences.
Last note, I listened to the audiobook and the narration is absolutely spot on, exactly the voice that you would expect.
Last note, I listened to the audiobook and the narration is absolutely spot on, exactly the voice that you would expect.