The author of Video Night in Kathmandu ups the ante on himself in this sublimely evocative and acerbically funny tour through the world's loneliest and most eccentric places. From Iceland to Bhutan to Argentina, Iyer remains both uncannily observant and hilarious.
Falling Off the Map
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Time journalist Iyer's cosmopolitan travelogue explores the cultural isolation of such regions as North Korea, Iceland and Bhutan.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Only some of the "lonely places" covered in this book (North Korea, Argentina, Cuba, Iceland, Bhutan, Vietnam, Paraguay, Australia) are isolated by geography, but all are culturally or politically isolated. That few tourist itineraries include these misfit countries increases their sense of being alone in the world. Iyer, a journalist for Time and Conde Nast Traveler , writes in a cool, ironic style similar to that of the late Bruce Chatwin. His essays are more impressionistic than informative and seem intended for armchair travelers rather than adventurers. At times, Iyer is a bit too detached, too unruffled by what he experiences. He does not fully convey to us the strangeness of the strange places he has visited. Despite the lack of emotion, Iyer's impressions make interesting reading. Recommended for public libraries.
- Mary C. Kalfatovic, Telesec Lib. Svces., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Mary C. Kalfatovic, Telesec Lib. Svces., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Pico Iyer's prose caught my eye in his Time Magazine columns where he did a good job showing us how recognizable the exotic has become. This collection, his first in book form, again reiterates that the most difficult aspect of long distance travel is not any longer how to get there, how to dodge danger or how to find your way back but how to avoid to bump into the same features you left 10,000 miles and 6 timezones earlier. Showing through many examples, sometimes hilarious and sometimes profoundly sad how globalisation regurgitates the same marketing ideas dressed in different flags it really makes its point that the era of the curious gentleman(woman) traveler looking for exotic shores has been overtaken by the vastly less romantic quest to escape the onslaught of canned icons in any neck of the woods.
The book also does a nice job of illuminating the paradoxical quest of the overfed and understimulated prestigious first world traveler trying to find hidden corners where there is still some sort of exploration possible and where not all laws of our structured civilization apply only to be greeted by the not so happy natives who are dying to know how to join the West or in the least purchase its most potent logos.
The book also does a nice job of illuminating the paradoxical quest of the overfed and understimulated prestigious first world traveler trying to find hidden corners where there is still some sort of exploration possible and where not all laws of our structured civilization apply only to be greeted by the not so happy natives who are dying to know how to join the West or in the least purchase its most potent logos.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have to admit I'm a sucker for all travel narratives. I have a serious travel jones myself, and since I'm not in a position to jet all over the world right now, I have to armchair travel. Pico Iyer was recommended highly to me by a fellow armchair traveler so I set about this book with some high expectations.
The downside of this book is that he's writing about a number of places I'm likely not to visit-North Korea, Cuba, Paraguay-but after a few chapters my disappointment at reading about "lonely places" that will remain unvisited by me gradually fell away as Iyer's style became more comfortable for me.
He refers to classic travel writers frequently, and if you haven't read these authors, some of the references lose their impact, but Iyer's observations are so detailed, so full of atmosphere, that you don't necessarily get a picture of the country he's visiting, but a total feeling that's larger than the individual portraits he presents. I get the feeling he genuinely loves the people and the places he's visited and doesn't see them as part of some journalistic assignment he has to get through.
The downside of this book is that he's writing about a number of places I'm likely not to visit-North Korea, Cuba, Paraguay-but after a few chapters my disappointment at reading about "lonely places" that will remain unvisited by me gradually fell away as Iyer's style became more comfortable for me.
He refers to classic travel writers frequently, and if you haven't read these authors, some of the references lose their impact, but Iyer's observations are so detailed, so full of atmosphere, that you don't necessarily get a picture of the country he's visiting, but a total feeling that's larger than the individual portraits he presents. I get the feeling he genuinely loves the people and the places he's visited and doesn't see them as part of some journalistic assignment he has to get through.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The easiest read of the three books of Iyer's that I have read. Five of his eight destinations were places about which I had never read anything other than a description in the almanac. What makes Iyer's writing so appealing to me is that he accepts with equanimity the poor conditions that other top travel writers, such as Paul Theroux, devote such energy to bemoaning. Even if it weren't so well written, I would recommend this book for the originality of its material.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review
Interesting book about little-known places, written in the quirky manner Iyer seems to like. Yet, the content in interesting and one can learn a thing or two.
Published 24 days ago by John Fordice
5.0 out of 5 stars
falling for travelogues
Once upon a time I found in my hand a book of unusual caliber: journeys of discovery to some of the world's lonely places. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Joe Boudreault
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent style
This review would have been 5 stars but the Paraguay chapter could have been a bit more accurate. I have lived off and on since 1990 in Asuncion. Read more
Published on March 3, 2011 by James H.Connett
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dated but Worthwhile
Since the stories in this book are mostly over twenty years old, they tend to be more like an historical or anthropological examination of these places that Iyer visited in the... Read more
Published on April 16, 2009 by Grey Wolffe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Journalistic impressions of off-the-beaten-track locales
"Falling Off the Map" is a collection of the impressions of a journalist who visits locations isolated by location, politics or culture. Read more
Published on April 8, 2009 by Mark E. Baxter
3.0 out of 5 stars
Compare his essays with Cahill and O'Rourke
Pico Iyer has a poetic style, Tim Cahill is compassionate, and P.J. O'Rourke is down and dirty. But all three have written excellent travel essays, sometimes on the same places. Read more
Published on June 21, 2008 by NewDiane
4.0 out of 5 stars
Witty and Insightful ...
Pico's short book is full of sharp and witty humor conjugated with intelligent insightful observations. Read more
Published on August 8, 2005 by Sharad Yadav
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great ideas for an intrepid traveller.
Pico Iyer has a keen eye and great facility with words, and therefore his books always make for great reading. Read more
Published on May 11, 2005 by "KB" Kamla Srinivasan
1.0 out of 5 stars
Has Iyer Ever Really Left His Desk?
This guy either makes up things as he goes along or doesn't actually go along! For instance, he said garden fences and TV antenna are banned in Canberra Australia, which is... Read more
Published on April 11, 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
Falling off my chair, giggling:)
What can you say about essayist Pico Iyer, whose humor truly shines through in this collection of eight expeditions to places never visited? North Korea. Iceland. Bhutan. Read more
Published on August 24, 2001 by Theodore E. Kim
