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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
funny
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A great travelogue with the potential to inspire anyone with the "bug" to get back out on the road and maybe even write about it. I read it near the end of my own 5 week trip and even though I was looking forward to getting back home and relaxing, this had me wanting to stay out and keep wandering.
Steinbeck's journey presents an interesting precursor to the contemporary RV method of traveling so common among people of all stripes. In the hierarchy of "wanderer" styles, this book (and its associated experiences) certainly falls into the upper/upper-middle class compared to the decidedly much more DIY and barely-scraping-by styles of train hopper, hitchhiker, or hobo travel experiences. So it's not exactly "hardcore" traveling so to speak, and pretty tame as far as "adventures" go. In fact it's all pretty luxurious as far as I'm concerned, like glamping vs backpacking, though that doesn't detract from it being a good read.
Some parts are probably not 100% "true", as some interactions seem potentially designed to bring out certain (interesting) commentary that probably had just been needing an excuse or some thin context to put to paper. Of course even if a writer tries to faithfully reproduce exact events or encounters, their memories are rarely 100% "true" either. But some of the dialogue has that kind of "not quite the way someone would actually talk" feel to it which I've seen in numerous fictional books, as if it were thought up by the author either to fill out an ill-remembered conversation or is just completely made up.
Overall I found Steinbeck's thoughts and character mostly agreeable. Reading this 60+ years after it was published, it's fascinating to see how accurate some of his general observations were, and how familiar the development trends of that era are & how much further along they've come.
Steinbeck's journey presents an interesting precursor to the contemporary RV method of traveling so common among people of all stripes. In the hierarchy of "wanderer" styles, this book (and its associated experiences) certainly falls into the upper/upper-middle class compared to the decidedly much more DIY and barely-scraping-by styles of train hopper, hitchhiker, or hobo travel experiences. So it's not exactly "hardcore" traveling so to speak, and pretty tame as far as "adventures" go. In fact it's all pretty luxurious as far as I'm concerned, like glamping vs backpacking, though that doesn't detract from it being a good read.
Some parts are probably not 100% "true", as some interactions seem potentially designed to bring out certain (interesting) commentary that probably had just been needing an excuse or some thin context to put to paper. Of course even if a writer tries to faithfully reproduce exact events or encounters, their memories are rarely 100% "true" either. But some of the dialogue has that kind of "not quite the way someone would actually talk" feel to it which I've seen in numerous fictional books, as if it were thought up by the author either to fill out an ill-remembered conversation or is just completely made up.
Overall I found Steinbeck's thoughts and character mostly agreeable. Reading this 60+ years after it was published, it's fascinating to see how accurate some of his general observations were, and how familiar the development trends of that era are & how much further along they've come.