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adventurous
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
1.5 stars
At my last book club meeting, when we were trying to decide on our next read, I was fully behind this story. The blurb sounded interesting and I was hoping for a story that would speak to me, the way Cheryl Strayed’s Wild inspired me to want to do more. I’m not at all pleased to admit that I had to force myself to finish this book. I did not enjoy but a few bits and pieces.
Kate Harris’ tale started strong; I was very optimistic after just the first chapter. Things quickly went downhill from there for me, though. The writer came across as entitled to me, although there is nothing in particular that she wrote about her formative years that would make me think that. It wasn’t until the last chapter or two of this book before it became somewhat clear that she did actually care about the people she came across in her travels. In most cases, I felt that they were all just a means to an end. Even her travelling companion, Mel, didn’t seem all that important to her. Ms. Harris came across as a “me, me, me” type of person. Where I admire that she had a goal in mind and wanted to reach that goal, she never acknowledged that the people that helped her along the way with food and/or lodging were taking a HUGE financial hit when they did so. The people on her path live with very little, but are amazingly generous and welcoming. I’m sure it would have upset them if she had refused their hospitality. Yet it seems she never reciprocated their kindness, either financially or with helping in other little ways. Perhaps she did but didn’t write about that, but if that’s the case I feel she left the humanity aspect out of her story.
I don’t feel I got to know the author in any deep way with this book…which is odd for an memoir. I’m sure the reason I find her to be entitled, condescending, and selfish is that she doesn’t let the reader see her real self. What was she thinking while on this journey? She tells about other people, historical figures, that have taken the same journey and written about their travels. She gives bits and pieces of history of some of the areas she passes through, like an old history professor who cannot keep his train of thought going in one direction. It comes across and dry and lacking feeling.
There are very few personal anecdotes about things that happen to her along the way or the people and places she visits. The handful of times the author tells her personal stories (such as in the first chapter) are wonderful, there just aren’t enough of these gems in a book that’s over 300 pages long. I’m not asking her to make stuff up. But if there wasn’t more that happened on this trip, why bother writing about the journey? The thing is, I feel there were a lot of stories to be told. They were alluded to here and there, but never fleshed out to a satisfactory tale. Instead, Ms. Harris would go off on a tangent about Marco Polo or some other explorer.
Sometimes, after discussing a book at book club, I can start seeing facets of a story I didn’t see on my own. Maybe that will happen with this one. We shall see.
This full review, as well as insight from other members of my book club, can be found at All In Good Time.
At my last book club meeting, when we were trying to decide on our next read, I was fully behind this story. The blurb sounded interesting and I was hoping for a story that would speak to me, the way Cheryl Strayed’s Wild inspired me to want to do more. I’m not at all pleased to admit that I had to force myself to finish this book. I did not enjoy but a few bits and pieces.
Kate Harris’ tale started strong; I was very optimistic after just the first chapter. Things quickly went downhill from there for me, though. The writer came across as entitled to me, although there is nothing in particular that she wrote about her formative years that would make me think that. It wasn’t until the last chapter or two of this book before it became somewhat clear that she did actually care about the people she came across in her travels. In most cases, I felt that they were all just a means to an end. Even her travelling companion, Mel, didn’t seem all that important to her. Ms. Harris came across as a “me, me, me” type of person. Where I admire that she had a goal in mind and wanted to reach that goal, she never acknowledged that the people that helped her along the way with food and/or lodging were taking a HUGE financial hit when they did so. The people on her path live with very little, but are amazingly generous and welcoming. I’m sure it would have upset them if she had refused their hospitality. Yet it seems she never reciprocated their kindness, either financially or with helping in other little ways. Perhaps she did but didn’t write about that, but if that’s the case I feel she left the humanity aspect out of her story.
I don’t feel I got to know the author in any deep way with this book…which is odd for an memoir. I’m sure the reason I find her to be entitled, condescending, and selfish is that she doesn’t let the reader see her real self. What was she thinking while on this journey? She tells about other people, historical figures, that have taken the same journey and written about their travels. She gives bits and pieces of history of some of the areas she passes through, like an old history professor who cannot keep his train of thought going in one direction. It comes across and dry and lacking feeling.
There are very few personal anecdotes about things that happen to her along the way or the people and places she visits. The handful of times the author tells her personal stories (such as in the first chapter) are wonderful, there just aren’t enough of these gems in a book that’s over 300 pages long. I’m not asking her to make stuff up. But if there wasn’t more that happened on this trip, why bother writing about the journey? The thing is, I feel there were a lot of stories to be told. They were alluded to here and there, but never fleshed out to a satisfactory tale. Instead, Ms. Harris would go off on a tangent about Marco Polo or some other explorer.
Sometimes, after discussing a book at book club, I can start seeing facets of a story I didn’t see on my own. Maybe that will happen with this one. We shall see.
This full review, as well as insight from other members of my book club, can be found at All In Good Time.
I'm having a hard time rating this one. There were passages that made me feel so seen, that so well reflected my feelings of the world and the meaning I derive from parts of it. There were also bits that struck me as pretentious and self-serving. In the end, we're all flawed beings, and I think Kate would agree.
Good things about this book:
-Beautiful prose
-Quoted from a ton of well-chosen and also beautifully written other books, many of which I now also want to read (especially Rumi, Darwin and Annie Dillard)
-Had a lot to say about the emotional experiences of long-term travel, which I found resonant. Lots to underline in this book.
-A thrilling travel narrative to live through vicariously while living under lockdown, but also harrowing enough to make you grateful to still be in your armchair-- exactly how good travel writing should make you feel.
-Made me want to go to and learn more about all of these places!
-Described travel off the beaten track (despite, as she mentions, following what is essentially the worlds oldest trade route); told about a lot of places you seldom ever hear about. How much travel writing have you read about Rome? Lots, right? But not a hell of a lot about Tajikistan, I'll bet!
Things I took issue with:
-Obviously author can't help this, but she does come across as incredibly privileged. I don't think she was necessarily unaware of it, either, but it did sometimes bum me out... this was not one of the travel memoirs where you're like, "I could do that!" because no way could most people afford to do that. I mean, she was a Rhodes scholar! It sounds like she spent every single university vacation in a different country! Not to be bitter, but dude...
-The language of exploration and discovery is obviously entrenched in the history of colonialism and imperialism, and though Harris acknowledges this, I don't think she did so enough. For example, the name "Columbus" should not just stand alone on a page as a synonym for exploring new horizons. This book is not alone in this kind of thing. I have read very few travel memoirs that don't participate in neocolonial discourses (should I even say "neocolonial," since round one of colonialism never actually ended, so what we have now is not really a comeback but a continuation?), but I do think that she could have done more to avoid playing into those, and to acknowledge that like... historically exploration has been bad. And not like "Marco Polo cared more about material wealth than about how amazing the mountains were" bad. Like, BAD bad. Anyways. Do better, travel writers!
-Beautiful prose
-Quoted from a ton of well-chosen and also beautifully written other books, many of which I now also want to read (especially Rumi, Darwin and Annie Dillard)
-Had a lot to say about the emotional experiences of long-term travel, which I found resonant. Lots to underline in this book.
-A thrilling travel narrative to live through vicariously while living under lockdown, but also harrowing enough to make you grateful to still be in your armchair-- exactly how good travel writing should make you feel.
-Made me want to go to and learn more about all of these places!
-Described travel off the beaten track (despite, as she mentions, following what is essentially the worlds oldest trade route); told about a lot of places you seldom ever hear about. How much travel writing have you read about Rome? Lots, right? But not a hell of a lot about Tajikistan, I'll bet!
Things I took issue with:
-Obviously author can't help this, but she does come across as incredibly privileged. I don't think she was necessarily unaware of it, either, but it did sometimes bum me out... this was not one of the travel memoirs where you're like, "I could do that!" because no way could most people afford to do that. I mean, she was a Rhodes scholar! It sounds like she spent every single university vacation in a different country! Not to be bitter, but dude...
-The language of exploration and discovery is obviously entrenched in the history of colonialism and imperialism, and though Harris acknowledges this, I don't think she did so enough. For example, the name "Columbus" should not just stand alone on a page as a synonym for exploring new horizons. This book is not alone in this kind of thing. I have read very few travel memoirs that don't participate in neocolonial discourses (should I even say "neocolonial," since round one of colonialism never actually ended, so what we have now is not really a comeback but a continuation?), but I do think that she could have done more to avoid playing into those, and to acknowledge that like... historically exploration has been bad. And not like "Marco Polo cared more about material wealth than about how amazing the mountains were" bad. Like, BAD bad. Anyways. Do better, travel writers!
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book definitely had the feel of a bike trip to it. Harris alternated between descriptions of the trip and random musings on whatever caught her fancy (which was often explorers). That tracks with my experiences riding long trips. Your brain goes off on the weirdest tangents when you're riding for hours at a time. Or, you focus on how terrible the road is. Kate and Mel definitely rode in some rough terrain. The roads weren't maintained or it was up mountains (or both) as they climbed to the Tibetan Plateau. Or they were on the only highway through the area, so they were constantly dodging the draft of big trucks. Not pleasant.
I did enjoy the stories about dinner with locals. We've hosted cyclists on trips via Warm Showers, and it's always fascinating to hear people's stories. Of course, sharing stories is made more difficult when you don't share a language, as often happened with Kate and Mel. Nevertheless, kindness is universal. The politics of the area certainly added to the complexity of traveling there. Getting visas didn't always go smoothly, and they weren't even supposed to be in the Chinese-controlled Tibet without a guide. In these days of not being able to travel because of the global pandemic, I appreciated hearing of someone else's travels. I don't think I'd want to do the same trip (way to many mountains for my taste), but I do harbor the desire to bike across the U.S. Luckily, biking isn't just a young-person's game.
I did enjoy the stories about dinner with locals. We've hosted cyclists on trips via Warm Showers, and it's always fascinating to hear people's stories. Of course, sharing stories is made more difficult when you don't share a language, as often happened with Kate and Mel. Nevertheless, kindness is universal. The politics of the area certainly added to the complexity of traveling there. Getting visas didn't always go smoothly, and they weren't even supposed to be in the Chinese-controlled Tibet without a guide. In these days of not being able to travel because of the global pandemic, I appreciated hearing of someone else's travels. I don't think I'd want to do the same trip (way to many mountains for my taste), but I do harbor the desire to bike across the U.S. Luckily, biking isn't just a young-person's game.
On va se le dire, lire des récits de voyages est un excellent moyen de s'évader durant la pandémie. Celui-ci était parsemé de réflexions sur l'exploration et le concept de frontières, et il décrit une région du monde dont je ne savais pas grand chose avant de plonger dans le livre. J'ai beaucoup aimé!
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2018/03/28/lands-of-lost-borders-a-journey-on-the-silk-road-by-kate-harris
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced