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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I enjoyed this, it's written fully knowing that these are glimpses of the last gasp of an old world. These are remote places, just at the moment the outside world and its modernity are beginning to touch them. It's nicely written and often perceptive.
However.
It has to be noted the book is a product of its time. The n-word appears twice, there are various generalisations and sweeping statements on the qualities of groups of people. These are often kind, always sincere and seldom harsh. But they nonetheless are very dated and sound colonial.
"Yet they are a fine race of people, talk and well built, in complete contrast to their weedy, vegetarian Hindu neighbors. Also, of course, they are very astute businessmen and very unscrupulous money lenders. One of their racial characteristics is a stroke of mechanical genius; I'm told that most Indian bus and truck drivers in every state are sikhs"
However.
It has to be noted the book is a product of its time. The n-word appears twice, there are various generalisations and sweeping statements on the qualities of groups of people. These are often kind, always sincere and seldom harsh. But they nonetheless are very dated and sound colonial.
"Yet they are a fine race of people, talk and well built, in complete contrast to their weedy, vegetarian Hindu neighbors. Also, of course, they are very astute businessmen and very unscrupulous money lenders. One of their racial characteristics is a stroke of mechanical genius; I'm told that most Indian bus and truck drivers in every state are sikhs"
Let's just hop on a bike and cycle from Ireland to India, shall we? Murphy can be best described as nonchalant as she faces black ice, illness, fractured ribs, near starvation, and more. But she also waxes rhapsodic about the landscapes and people she meets, particularly in Afghanistan (where I would love to go but likely never will). She and her bike, Roz (for Don Quixote's horse Rozinante) are the closest of companions for an unforgettable journey. A very frank recounting of her adventures, unaldulterated by second thoughts, as far as I can tell. Refreshing and astonishing.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This book was about a single woman in 1963 riding her bike from Ireland to India. This was rather unheard of at the time, especially through a Muslim country. The book is written in journal format. She was keeping a journal and mailing it back to friends in Ireland along the way.
The story was really interesting and I enjoyed reading her account of the countryside, her experiences and the cultural differences. She talked a lot about the people she met. They were all brutally poor and starving, yet fed her and took her in wherever she went.
She ran into a lot of roadblocks--horrible weather (intense desert heat, freezing weather in the mountains), bike tires bursting, dysentery, insect bites, customs agents not allowing her passage to just name a few. Yet her experience was entirely positive.
Good book!
The story was really interesting and I enjoyed reading her account of the countryside, her experiences and the cultural differences. She talked a lot about the people she met. They were all brutally poor and starving, yet fed her and took her in wherever she went.
She ran into a lot of roadblocks--horrible weather (intense desert heat, freezing weather in the mountains), bike tires bursting, dysentery, insect bites, customs agents not allowing her passage to just name a few. Yet her experience was entirely positive.
Good book!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Full Tilt a mid Twentieth century bicycle excursion across South Asia
I have mixed feelings about this book. I was excited to read it. It makes me sad that countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are unwise for me to visit. I was looking forward to the virtual tour.
The travel writing is excellent, but some of the author's choices and opinions are ones that I profoundly disagree with. She is brave but somewhat reckless and she gets into real trouble sometimes, including rape attempts and getting lost on glaciers. She freely expresses her opinion about the countries she visits. I wish she had more solidarity with women in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She is privileged as a visitor to socialize with men who keep their wives and daughters in seclusion. Sometimes I agree with her opinions about what she sees, but frequently I don't.
It is clear from her narrative just how different the mid Twentieth century was from the twenty first. It is interesting to cross borders with her into Iran under the Shah and post partition Pakistan and India. But I am not sure we could be friends.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I was excited to read it. It makes me sad that countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are unwise for me to visit. I was looking forward to the virtual tour.
The travel writing is excellent, but some of the author's choices and opinions are ones that I profoundly disagree with. She is brave but somewhat reckless and she gets into real trouble sometimes, including rape attempts and getting lost on glaciers. She freely expresses her opinion about the countries she visits. I wish she had more solidarity with women in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She is privileged as a visitor to socialize with men who keep their wives and daughters in seclusion. Sometimes I agree with her opinions about what she sees, but frequently I don't.
It is clear from her narrative just how different the mid Twentieth century was from the twenty first. It is interesting to cross borders with her into Iran under the Shah and post partition Pakistan and India. But I am not sure we could be friends.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced