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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
If you can get past the clunky language and repetitiveness, the Travels offer a fascinating glimpse at eastern cultures – and western prejudices – toward the end of the 13th century.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, but this was an oddly disappointing book. I say "oddly" because it has all the elements of what could be a great journey narrative: exotic locales, narratives of folk tales/myths, descriptions of battles, details of the customs of faraway (and sometimes lost) civilizations, etc. And yet...it was stale, repetitive, and at times, a little dull. Not even the "true stories that Polo heard from reliable sources" (i.e. outrageous legends and myths) could hold my interest peppered between monotonous, dry descriptions of landscapes and peoples that I thought would be fascinating. By the time I reached the crazy/funny stuff (the search for Adam, the mountain where one can "see" Noah's ark, the dog-people, etc.), I felt like the pay-off wasn't worth it.
I found the most interesting sections to be on Kubilai Khan and India, perhaps because these were the areas most familiar to Polo. In the case of the former, I soon wished I were instead reading a book on the history of the Khans!
I think the most concrete example this book's bait-and-switch comes when Polo mentions in passing his observation of a "unicorn," while telling readers that he would soon give us details later in the book. Well, I kept reading to see just where this might lead, only to find that Polo is describing *SPOILER ALERT* a fucking rhinoceros! Normally, this would make me chuckle; but by this point in Polo's narrative, I was just annoyed.
I found the most interesting sections to be on Kubilai Khan and India, perhaps because these were the areas most familiar to Polo. In the case of the former, I soon wished I were instead reading a book on the history of the Khans!
I think the most concrete example this book's bait-and-switch comes when Polo mentions in passing his observation of a "unicorn," while telling readers that he would soon give us details later in the book. Well, I kept reading to see just where this might lead, only to find that Polo is describing *SPOILER ALERT* a fucking rhinoceros! Normally, this would make me chuckle; but by this point in Polo's narrative, I was just annoyed.
#8: kollokvier, første semester.
Marco Polos beskrivelser af kontinentet Asien, hvor han som barn af en jordomrejser befandt sig meget af sit liv - både som barn og i voksenlivet. I denne udgave af The Travels of Marco Polo, bliver der løbende retter på Marco Polos beskrivelser, hvilket både får mig som læser til at tvivle på, hvorvidt Marco Polo taler sandt vedrørende hans færden på disse kanter. Derudover må man som læser også anderkende, at der på dette tidspunkt ikke eksisterede de samme forudsætninger og remedier til at måle afstande i forhold til landenes og byernes placering. Der er steder, hvor Marco Polo omtaler nogle lande som værende en af del af Asien, men hvor jeg som læser associerer beskrivelserne med Afrika. I henhold til dette ses det virkelig hvor uvidende mennesket var, når det kom til andres kulturer, da beskrivelserne af mennesker i både Asien og Afrika er meget racistiske og på ingen måder ville blive godtaget i dag.
Marco Polos beskrivelser af kontinentet Asien, hvor han som barn af en jordomrejser befandt sig meget af sit liv - både som barn og i voksenlivet. I denne udgave af The Travels of Marco Polo, bliver der løbende retter på Marco Polos beskrivelser, hvilket både får mig som læser til at tvivle på, hvorvidt Marco Polo taler sandt vedrørende hans færden på disse kanter. Derudover må man som læser også anderkende, at der på dette tidspunkt ikke eksisterede de samme forudsætninger og remedier til at måle afstande i forhold til landenes og byernes placering. Der er steder, hvor Marco Polo omtaler nogle lande som værende en af del af Asien, men hvor jeg som læser associerer beskrivelserne med Afrika. I henhold til dette ses det virkelig hvor uvidende mennesket var, når det kom til andres kulturer, da beskrivelserne af mennesker i både Asien og Afrika er meget racistiske og på ingen måder ville blive godtaget i dag.
A beautiful book. Did he experience what he says he did, it hardly matters. A man of wide understanding of the world, gives a simple and entertaining voyage in the middle ages. You can't go wrong for historical and geographical adventure and wonder.
Absolute classic of a book. Will always reccomend to anyone wanting to get some more books under their wing.
It is a systematic cataloging of villages, cities, and kingdoms throughout Persia, Asia, and India. Many of the entries would be of interest to historians but no one else because they are repetitive and just log the people's religion, what money they use, what they eat. It's not something you sit down and read for hours on end. But occasionally, the book zooms in and discusses a custom, a particular monarch, a marriage or death tradition, and it's interesting. Not surprisingly, the book shows how brutal the world was, especially toward women and girls. It's interesting to see how he describes things we find common knowledge, like what coal was, or figuring out that an "Indian nut" is a coconut, or a "camelopard" is a giraffe. The illustrations are a nice respite in the cataloging.
adventurous
funny
slow-paced