Customer Reviews

One Room in a Castle : Letters from Spain, France and Greece

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This is like opening a treasure and discovering all the beauty of the world around us, and the worlds within us. Karen shoots from the heart, she gives us her thoughts, her stories, her people. It's not a travel book, not a rough guide to anywhere, it's a search. Karen is searching for herself, discovering herself, discovering all the parts of herself as she travels. We are all of us, many things to many people, but we all need to learn how to be happy in our own skin, and Karen is definitely searching. Sure she goes to Greece, France and Spain and paints us accurate pictures of the places and people she encounters, but the bigger search is within herself.

Karen Connelly does a wonderful job of recreating the experiences and thoughts she had while on her journeys through France, Greece and Spain. One Room In A Castle is a textured, rich account of the cultures in which Karen Connelly connected. Although I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting these countries, I truly felt, as I read the poetry and prose, a love for the land, people and experience which compelled the writing in the first place. Travel Literature, at it's best, is absolutely captivating, taking the reader to the core of the experience. Karen Connelly does this in ONE ROOM IN A CASTLE. I highly recommend the text to anyone interested in Travel Literature.

This is a travel book in more ways than one. Connelly provides interesting stories of her travels in Spain, France, and Greece (and a little at-home time in Canada). She also opens up her own life and experiences, sharing her observations, insecurities, and pleasures, along with short fiction and poetry along the way. Connelly's approach to travel writing reminds me of my favorite Mary Morris travel books and I've given it as a gift to friends who also enjoyed Morris's books.