Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This isn’t really a book- more like a collection of letters you’d receive from a crazy friend who goes on all sorts of bewildering adventures. As someone who is currently fascinated by Ireland, when I saw the cover on amazon, I thought this book would provide a more detailed glimpse into the two nations mentioned in the title- India and Ireland. Nope, nope, nope. Neither of them make any appearances, sparing a few pages.
The experiences that Dervla has as she cycles her way through the mountains and valleys are fascinating. Through all of the challenges she faces, there’s an upbeat optimism to her that never fades. At one point I was tempted to pick up my cycle and set of for some far away country, only to recall that I can’t even ride a bicycle on the cemented roads of my city. And the last time I checked, my cycle had a flat tire which still hasn’t been repaired.
As this book is essentially a collection of letters she wrote during her journey, she is unabashedly honest. She speaks her mind and doesn’t censor her observations. This is a good thing, but it made the reading experience a tad bit difficult because almost all the time I was in disagreement with her.
Overall it’s an interesting read.
So 3 stars for Dervla and Roz (her bicycle)
The experiences that Dervla has as she cycles her way through the mountains and valleys are fascinating. Through all of the challenges she faces, there’s an upbeat optimism to her that never fades. At one point I was tempted to pick up my cycle and set of for some far away country, only to recall that I can’t even ride a bicycle on the cemented roads of my city. And the last time I checked, my cycle had a flat tire which still hasn’t been repaired.
As this book is essentially a collection of letters she wrote during her journey, she is unabashedly honest. She speaks her mind and doesn’t censor her observations. This is a good thing, but it made the reading experience a tad bit difficult because almost all the time I was in disagreement with her.
Overall it’s an interesting read.
So 3 stars for Dervla and Roz (her bicycle)
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
A really enjoyable, diary style travel memoir. A compelling view of the middle east, west and south Asia during a turbulent time full of changes. Very accessible, and while dated, that just lends to the picture of the history of these regions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry
Minor: Racial slurs
This wasn't quite what I expected. This is basically a compilation of Murphy's letters she sent home from her travels, so there wasn't much back story into her personal life and her motivations to do such a daring feat for a woman of this time period. I loved the descriptions of each place she visited, but it kept me wanting more than it was offering. I have to abandon it for now for greener pastures.
A fascinating account from one of my favourite travel writers. He later work is a bit overly political but this is her first and its her journal entries she made this crazy trip.
Dervla Murphy is a badass.
Intriguing to compare this to [b:The Cruel Way: Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford|19322066|The Cruel Way Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford, 1939|Ella Maillart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386635505s/19322066.jpg|1595081] by Ella Maillart; she and Schwarzenbach went to some of the same places in 1939 vs. Murphy's 1963 trip.
So glad GoogleMaps exists so I can look at satellite photos and follow her path! The mountains and passes and gorges and -- so much beauty currently out of reach (or bombed out of existence, in the case of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, etc.).
Now to read the follow-up, [b:Tibetan Foothold|1419346|Tibetan Foothold|Dervla Murphy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271203167s/1419346.jpg|1409738], and see what happens to her in India.
Intriguing to compare this to [b:The Cruel Way: Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford|19322066|The Cruel Way Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford, 1939|Ella Maillart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386635505s/19322066.jpg|1595081] by Ella Maillart; she and Schwarzenbach went to some of the same places in 1939 vs. Murphy's 1963 trip.
So glad GoogleMaps exists so I can look at satellite photos and follow her path! The mountains and passes and gorges and -- so much beauty currently out of reach (or bombed out of existence, in the case of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, etc.).
Now to read the follow-up, [b:Tibetan Foothold|1419346|Tibetan Foothold|Dervla Murphy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271203167s/1419346.jpg|1409738], and see what happens to her in India.
Finished....oh thank goodness! I'm so glad that I'm done this book. The only thing that kept me pushing through was the fact that I was reading it for a class.
I thought that Dervla's adventures were interesting, and that she was incredibly eager to get into the craziest situations, but I'm not a fan of her form of storytelling...at all. I understand it's in diary form, but I would have much preferred the focus to be on the environment, the different things that she describes as being beautiful, so basically the things she sees. We get the most extraneous details on her meals, and on the people she stays with. The food part would have been good if she'd just described the crazy dishes, but for the most part she eats eggs, which honestly, really isn't interesting...I can eat eggs, too. She describes how everything stinks, but when she sees something beautiful she says it's beautiful and doesn't really elaborate, at least not as much as I would have liked. If I'm going to endure reading through a book where I'm told everything she eats, I would at the very least like to have the amazing things she's seen described...as those are the actual details that I'd want to hear about.
Also, I didn't really like Dervla. I know I don't know her, and I feel like I'm kind of being mean by saying that. However, I'm talking about her as the narrator, and as this is her travel "diary" I'm taking most of what she says at face value, and some of her comments I found to be incredibly judgmental, or I felt like they seriously underplayed certain situations. In fact, she seemed more sympathetic with the starving animals than she did with the starving people half of the time, and when she gives her food to a starving man she actually says she wishes she hadn't given it to him because then she didn't have food. So she missed one meal, and this man is starving, yet she still wishes she hadn't shared. This wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't been getting basically everything free in her travels. In most of the countries she travels through they don't let their guests pay for anything, so she gets free food, free shelter, free bicycle repairs...and even free cigarettes, but she can't share one measly meal with a starving man without regret...I'm sorry, but that's just awful. There were also some comments that just seriously rubbed me the wrong way. It's probably a good thing people don't share their every thought in every day life because when you're being honest as Dervla seemed to be in this book...you say some things that really don't make you look good.
So, I didn't like this book. In fact, my prof said he didn't even like this book...at least not the first time he read it, but personally, I won't be giving it another chance. While Dervla is an amazing traveler, and I'm sure she's the life of the party, I don't think she's all that great at writing about it. If you really like travel writing, and don't mind maybe reading a book a few times you'll probably like this way more than I did, but for me...it was definitely a miss.
I thought that Dervla's adventures were interesting, and that she was incredibly eager to get into the craziest situations, but I'm not a fan of her form of storytelling...at all. I understand it's in diary form, but I would have much preferred the focus to be on the environment, the different things that she describes as being beautiful, so basically the things she sees. We get the most extraneous details on her meals, and on the people she stays with. The food part would have been good if she'd just described the crazy dishes, but for the most part she eats eggs, which honestly, really isn't interesting...I can eat eggs, too. She describes how everything stinks, but when she sees something beautiful she says it's beautiful and doesn't really elaborate, at least not as much as I would have liked. If I'm going to endure reading through a book where I'm told everything she eats, I would at the very least like to have the amazing things she's seen described...as those are the actual details that I'd want to hear about.
Also, I didn't really like Dervla. I know I don't know her, and I feel like I'm kind of being mean by saying that. However, I'm talking about her as the narrator, and as this is her travel "diary" I'm taking most of what she says at face value, and some of her comments I found to be incredibly judgmental, or I felt like they seriously underplayed certain situations. In fact, she seemed more sympathetic with the starving animals than she did with the starving people half of the time, and when she gives her food to a starving man she actually says she wishes she hadn't given it to him because then she didn't have food. So she missed one meal, and this man is starving, yet she still wishes she hadn't shared. This wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't been getting basically everything free in her travels. In most of the countries she travels through they don't let their guests pay for anything, so she gets free food, free shelter, free bicycle repairs...and even free cigarettes, but she can't share one measly meal with a starving man without regret...I'm sorry, but that's just awful. There were also some comments that just seriously rubbed me the wrong way. It's probably a good thing people don't share their every thought in every day life because when you're being honest as Dervla seemed to be in this book...you say some things that really don't make you look good.
So, I didn't like this book. In fact, my prof said he didn't even like this book...at least not the first time he read it, but personally, I won't be giving it another chance. While Dervla is an amazing traveler, and I'm sure she's the life of the party, I don't think she's all that great at writing about it. If you really like travel writing, and don't mind maybe reading a book a few times you'll probably like this way more than I did, but for me...it was definitely a miss.
A fascinating account from one of my favourite travel writers. He later work is a bit overly political but this is her first and its her journal entries she made this crazy trip.