In the depths of winter, my
first New England one in a decade, I find that more often than not the roads are
a mess on my days off. I am stuck at home looking for a way to come through this
unusually wet winter; I survive on books. The deeper we get into the season the
more I wish to escape to someplace warm and far away. So it is through these
books that I have gone off, while still seated in my chair with the old wool
blanket under my chin.
Travels from Another Era:
A Room with a View, EM Forester, 1908
This classic follows Lucy Honey Church to Florence, England and finally back to
England as she negotiates the social norms of Edwardian English along with her
own more liberal feelings about love and passion.
The Immoralist, Andre Gide, 1902
Set in Italy and Algeria, The Immoralist follows the internal moral battles of
Michael as he shifts his life from the study of ancient ruins to searching out
the hedonistic pleasures of living life for the moment. Gide not only takes the
reader through the ancient Roman ruins in Italy and the streets of Biskra, but
he also brings us into the internal conflict that Michael goes through.
Around the World:
The Female Nomad, Rita Golden Gelman, 2002
In 1986, children’s book author Rita Golden Gelman, almost fifty, divorced her
husband and got rid of most of her possession to live on the road. In the Female
Nomad, Gelman talks about how she made her way around the world and the
connections she made along the way. While she may not know the languages, Gelman
connects with the different communities that she stays with by learning to cook
with the women. Her descriptions of making tortilla’s from scratch and the Thai
stews filled with coconut and lime leaves will make anyone hungry.
The Great Railway Bazaar, Paul Theroux, 1977
I first read this book while I was dutifully waiting for my son to be born. This
memoir of a train trip from England to Japan, leads you on an adventure through
Iran and India and many other spots. Like my pregnancy, Theroux starts out fresh
and excited but as the trip continues he becomes more disillusioned by what he
sees. The book seemed to match my feelings as I read it.
Alone Abroad:
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey Into Bhutan, Jamie Zeppa, 2000.
Jamie Zeppa spent three years in the country of Bhutan as a volunteer teacher of
English. As one of the few foreigners in the country she learns how to live
among the people without any previous knowledge of the country and its culture.
This is a rare view of a country that holds its isolation paramount, letting in
few outsiders.
Finally I will leave you with one of my favorite authors, Isabel Allende. Women
traveling on their own, has become one of her more recent themes. Ines of My
Soul and Daughter of Fortune both tell the story of women traveling alone in
times when it was not common. Ines of My Soul focuses on a woman who leaves
Spain for the New World and her role as a conquistadora, through Peru and Chile.
Her earlier book Daughter of Fortune tells the story of Eliza, an English woman
from Chile who heads to the United States during the time of the railway
expansion, following her love, and father to her soon to be born child. This is
her tale of learning a new place alone, and the world she creates for herself
there.
Here I have only mentioned the books that are closest to my heart, but when it
comes to travel, there are so many more out there for you to explore and enjoy.
I hope that you can find time to sit down for a while with your own book.