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snooks77's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
clmckinney's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of a father traveling to pick up his son to bring back for the holidays. It is a narrative of parents and children. It is subtle and powerful. It really packed a punch. I continue to be amazed by Irish authors. I just love their warmth. This one gets a 4.2/5.
bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
2019 Winner of the Kerry Group Irish Book Award
Traveling in a Strange Land is David Park’s 11th published work. His first seven books were written when he was a secondary school teacher in Belfast. [b:The Light of Amsterdam|13449104|The Light of Amsterdam|David Park|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328145775s/13449104.jpg|18969860] (2012) was his first novel after leaving teaching to write full time. His latest novel tells the story of Tom, a father and professional photographer, probably around 50, who grew up in and around Belfast. Tom leaves the family home three days before Christmas to pick up his son, Luke. Luke is stranded in England after a blizzard led to cancelled flights and he is sick, possibly with flu. Tom undertakes the drive from Belfast to Sunderland (about 240 miles, including a ferry across the Irish Sea) in the snowstorm. Christmas is a holiday cherished by his wife, and his younger daughter, and Luke is alone in his shared house, as all his roommates have left for their own homes.
The reader learns Tom has another reason to be so compelled to make this trip, and this story unfolds through the novel. He is a father driven by deep remorse, sadness, and guilt. On his treacherous journey, despite his focus on safely reaching his destination, he notices others who need help. Tom stops to help. Others would pass by assuming someone else will take care of the person struggling or in danger.
The snow is relentless and the whiteout creates a canvas for Tom’s memories and regrets. As he drives through the blinding storm, he thinks about the ways in which parenting is a treacherous journey, but without a GPS (Sat Nav) or the tracks of other cars to guide you. At times, he imagines he sees someone in his life he has lost. Tom is a man seeking redemption, and there are allusions throughout to religious symbols, with the most potent revealed at the end of the novel. I cannot recall another portrayal of a father’s anguish that was as profound as this one.
Snow is a powerful image. A wonderful article on the Eve Proofreads blog titled “Snow in Literature” (https://eveproofreads.com/2013/01/18/snow-in-literature/ ) describes snow as a “symbolic tool”. Snow is “a metaphor for purity” in [b:Snow Country|19194997|Snow Country|Yasunari Kawabata|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386211829s/19194997.jpg|1855151] by Yasunari Kawabata. In Edith Wharton’s [b:Ethan Frome|5246|Ethan Frome|Edith Wharton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389822254s/5246.jpg|132919], the snow of a New England winter represents the sad and bleak life of the characters. C.S. Lewis, Park’s fellow Belfast native (both grew up in Protestant East Belfast), famously wrote about a land of snow, Narnia.
For me, the most moving portrayal of the relationship of snow and memory is the ending of James Joyce’s The Dead. It is another entry into the emotion of this poignant novel.
Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, further westwards, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling too upon every part of the lonely churchyard where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.
This novel is profound and moving. It may even take your breath away.
Traveling in a Strange Land is David Park’s 11th published work. His first seven books were written when he was a secondary school teacher in Belfast. [b:The Light of Amsterdam|13449104|The Light of Amsterdam|David Park|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328145775s/13449104.jpg|18969860] (2012) was his first novel after leaving teaching to write full time. His latest novel tells the story of Tom, a father and professional photographer, probably around 50, who grew up in and around Belfast. Tom leaves the family home three days before Christmas to pick up his son, Luke. Luke is stranded in England after a blizzard led to cancelled flights and he is sick, possibly with flu. Tom undertakes the drive from Belfast to Sunderland (about 240 miles, including a ferry across the Irish Sea) in the snowstorm. Christmas is a holiday cherished by his wife, and his younger daughter, and Luke is alone in his shared house, as all his roommates have left for their own homes.
The reader learns Tom has another reason to be so compelled to make this trip, and this story unfolds through the novel. He is a father driven by deep remorse, sadness, and guilt. On his treacherous journey, despite his focus on safely reaching his destination, he notices others who need help. Tom stops to help. Others would pass by assuming someone else will take care of the person struggling or in danger.
The snow is relentless and the whiteout creates a canvas for Tom’s memories and regrets. As he drives through the blinding storm, he thinks about the ways in which parenting is a treacherous journey, but without a GPS (Sat Nav) or the tracks of other cars to guide you. At times, he imagines he sees someone in his life he has lost. Tom is a man seeking redemption, and there are allusions throughout to religious symbols, with the most potent revealed at the end of the novel. I cannot recall another portrayal of a father’s anguish that was as profound as this one.
Snow is a powerful image. A wonderful article on the Eve Proofreads blog titled “Snow in Literature” (https://eveproofreads.com/2013/01/18/snow-in-literature/ ) describes snow as a “symbolic tool”. Snow is “a metaphor for purity” in [b:Snow Country|19194997|Snow Country|Yasunari Kawabata|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386211829s/19194997.jpg|1855151] by Yasunari Kawabata. In Edith Wharton’s [b:Ethan Frome|5246|Ethan Frome|Edith Wharton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389822254s/5246.jpg|132919], the snow of a New England winter represents the sad and bleak life of the characters. C.S. Lewis, Park’s fellow Belfast native (both grew up in Protestant East Belfast), famously wrote about a land of snow, Narnia.
For me, the most moving portrayal of the relationship of snow and memory is the ending of James Joyce’s The Dead. It is another entry into the emotion of this poignant novel.
Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, further westwards, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling too upon every part of the lonely churchyard where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.
This novel is profound and moving. It may even take your breath away.
alex_papas7's review against another edition
5.0
Το μοναχικό ταξίδι ενός πατέρα για να φέρει τον γιο του πίσω στο σπίτι για τα Χριστούγεννα.. φαινομενικά μοναχικό, γεμάτο όμως μνήμες, τύψεις και εικόνες.
Υπέροχη γλώσσα, αφηγηματική γραφή (θέλει λίγο χρόνο).
Κάθε πρόταση την αισθάνεσαι, την ζεις... τόσα νοήματα , μηνύματα.
Στο τέλος νομίζεις πως έχεις κάνει και εσύ το ταξίδι μαζί του
Συγκλονιστικό..
Υπέροχη γλώσσα, αφηγηματική γραφή (θέλει λίγο χρόνο).
Κάθε πρόταση την αισθάνεσαι, την ζεις... τόσα νοήματα , μηνύματα.
Στο τέλος νομίζεις πως έχεις κάνει και εσύ το ταξίδι μαζί του
Συγκλονιστικό..
happyjellyreads's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
singh_reads_kanwar2's review against another edition
3.0
A perfect journey of a father which turn into a memory lane for him, when he lost his younger son to the fight of drugs and how he shower his love tobhis family now, shows the redemption of father, love of family, helpful nature to the others in need, and memory of pain which effect him the most throughout the journey....
The wife obliged her husband to get back her son home and ask him to go to his college hostel for Christmas celebration because she came to know he was not well, all the way during the journey father helped every person was in need of help and keep recalling his memories of the past , even though journey was tiring and long he take for his wife wishes and he want to tell his son his feelings and also want to share his boy wishes and feeling like a man to man conversation with him, all the time his thoughts ran for his dead son and how they lost him to drugs and how it effects there familyand how equation of the family life changes after that incident, he was guilty for what happened and Don't want to happen again in nearby future.
Cover of the book is great even though i got the proof copy of the book it is good to read them..
The wife obliged her husband to get back her son home and ask him to go to his college hostel for Christmas celebration because she came to know he was not well, all the way during the journey father helped every person was in need of help and keep recalling his memories of the past , even though journey was tiring and long he take for his wife wishes and he want to tell his son his feelings and also want to share his boy wishes and feeling like a man to man conversation with him, all the time his thoughts ran for his dead son and how they lost him to drugs and how it effects there familyand how equation of the family life changes after that incident, he was guilty for what happened and Don't want to happen again in nearby future.
Cover of the book is great even though i got the proof copy of the book it is good to read them..
lukebryan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
David Park here has written a short novel that lays out a character-driven journey that develops its central character and his worldview in a narrative that features a small amount of plot, but is buoyed by its deft usage of character interactions and flashbacks. The alienness of the text is reflected by its foreign wintry setting, enough so that the conclusion makes sense in its own way. I thought it was brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit, Drug abuse, and Miscarriage
bookgirl_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Τ Α Ξ Ι Δ Ε Υ Ο Ν Τ Α Σ Σ Ε Ξ Ε Ν Η Γ Η /David Park
Η ιστορία ακολουθεί τον Τομ, έναν Βόρειο Ιρλανδό που κάνει ένα οδικό ταξίδι από το Μπέλφαστ στο Σάντερλαντ για να πάρει τον γιο του Λιουκ εγκαίρως για τις διακοπές των Χριστουγέννων. Ο καιρός είναι κακός, τα αεροδρόμια κλειστά και το ταξίδι ξεκινάει με τον Τομ να περιηγείται σε ένα παγωμένο τοπίο. Σε αυτό το έρημο περιβάλλον όμως δεν είναι μόνος του, αλλά με τις σκέψεις του, τα λάθη του, τις ενοχές του και υπάρχει αρκετός χρόνος για να σκεφτεί το παρελθόν, το παρόν αλλά και το μέλλον.
''Ταξιδεύω σε μια άγνωστη γη.
Ο κόσμος έξω απ' το αμάξι είναι παραδομένος στο χιόνι, τελείως αλλαγμένος-που όλα δείχνουν θαμμένα βαθιά''
Ένα όμορφο, στοχαστικό και μελαγχολικό μυθιστόρημα που με άγγιξε πάρα πολύ και μου έκανε την καρδιά κομμάτια. Δεν περίμενα ότι μέσα σε 200 σελίδες θα αποτύπωνε τόσο έντονα συναισθήματα και με τέτοια δύναμη. Θέλω να γράψω τόσα πολλά, αλλά νομίζω δεν χρειάζεται! Απλά αφήστε τα λόγια του συγγραφέα να σας κατακλύσουν με την διακριτική και απλή πρόζα του, που θα σας βάλει στην διαδικασία ΜΟΝΟ να νιώθετε!
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ!
Η ιστορία ακολουθεί τον Τομ, έναν Βόρειο Ιρλανδό που κάνει ένα οδικό ταξίδι από το Μπέλφαστ στο Σάντερλαντ για να πάρει τον γιο του Λιουκ εγκαίρως για τις διακοπές των Χριστουγέννων. Ο καιρός είναι κακός, τα αεροδρόμια κλειστά και το ταξίδι ξεκινάει με τον Τομ να περιηγείται σε ένα παγωμένο τοπίο. Σε αυτό το έρημο περιβάλλον όμως δεν είναι μόνος του, αλλά με τις σκέψεις του, τα λάθη του, τις ενοχές του και υπάρχει αρκετός χρόνος για να σκεφτεί το παρελθόν, το παρόν αλλά και το μέλλον.
''Ταξιδεύω σε μια άγνωστη γη.
Ο κόσμος έξω απ' το αμάξι είναι παραδομένος στο χιόνι, τελείως αλλαγμένος-που όλα δείχνουν θαμμένα βαθιά''
Ένα όμορφο, στοχαστικό και μελαγχολικό μυθιστόρημα που με άγγιξε πάρα πολύ και μου έκανε την καρδιά κομμάτια. Δεν περίμενα ότι μέσα σε 200 σελίδες θα αποτύπωνε τόσο έντονα συναισθήματα και με τέτοια δύναμη. Θέλω να γράψω τόσα πολλά, αλλά νομίζω δεν χρειάζεται! Απλά αφήστε τα λόγια του συγγραφέα να σας κατακλύσουν με την διακριτική και απλή πρόζα του, που θα σας βάλει στην διαδικασία ΜΟΝΟ να νιώθετε!
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ!
angiesm's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0