Customer Reviews

Haunted Traveller

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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The book was thrown my way by someone who read my review of The Beach on this very sight. He raved in a couple short lines about what an amazing book "Haunted Traveller" was... Haunting is more like it. Fragments that create a lucid dreamlike world for adults. This is quite a novel.

I have been reading Barry Yourgrau since Man Jumps out of an Airplane and he is one brilliant, funny guy. The Haunted Traveler is definitely his most ambitious and best book so far. He writes in these short short stories, like three pages each. In this book the stories are closely linked, with the same main character and there's a thematic building going on throughout. It feels almost like a novel. It's just an amazingly satisfying reading experience, both rich and entertaining. I loved it. I love Barry Yourgrau and I love this book.

Hadn't heard of this Barry Y'grau before, a friend turned me on to the book. Pretty amazing, indeed. Book flap copy talks about "Paul Bowles meets Monty Python" (wha?) & "lovechild of Joseph Campbell and Anais Nin" (wha? wha?)-- but all a feeble honrable attempt to give a handle on work like nothing else this one reader has ever read. Fantastical travel, I'd have to call it, mixing humor with spooky and well, plain amazing. Book flap says "postmodern"... which is like saying David Cronenberg is, well, postmodern. Oh well, yes. If you like travel writing at all, climb on board this strange wild astounding book. He has a couple others out, I shall be giving a crack at those too.

I read most of Haunted Traveller while waiting for a train, about to embark on a several hour journey. I'm usually excited by traveling, but after reading these stories, I felt as if I had already taken wonderful journey--and had the urge to return my ticket...Terrific, imaginative fiction