More and more women today are moving around the globe for reasons as numerous as their destinations. These stunning essays, almost all of which have never been previously published, reflect a unique genre of travel writing that will appeal to actual and arm-chair wanderers. Contributors include Alice Walker, Susan Musgrave, Margaret Atwood, E. Annie Proulx, Kirsti Simonsuuri, and others.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Despite a very witty introduction from Govier (Hearts of Flame) and some big-name contributors, this collection of travel essays remains unfocused and its juxtapositions of wildly differing subjects jarring. In a poignant examination of what it means to travel for pleasure, Clare Boylan accompanies her mother on the latter's first trip ever ("except to Blackpool on her honeymoon and three times to the maternity ward"). In the next entry, Wendy Law-Yone describes escaping from Burma in 1967 to be with her foreign husband. Susan Musgrave's essay about leaving her husband to travel to Panama with her drug-dealer boyfriend is fascinating, not because it is lurid but because it is so everyday. Irene Guilford retraces the steps her mother took in leaving Lithuania in 1944; and in a very different kind of homecoming, Michelene Adams returns to her birthplace in Trinidad and comes to terms with how she has become, in some aspects, a foreigner. Alice Walker's loose descriptions of photos from her trip to China are occasionally schmaltzy ("I must fly to see even more of the Earth I love"), but her images of African Americans traveling in that country (one of their Chinese hosts sings "Old Black Joe" to impress with her knowledge of African American culture) are incisive. E. Annie Proulx strikes a humorous tone in her recounting of an endless train ride during a book tour. Each essay is introduced by the author's own commentary about it, and few of these introductions add anything-except to obviate any surprise contained in the story itself.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Govier aimed to collect essays recalling the journeys or jaunts of some extraordinarily gifted women writers not associated with the travel genre. The resulting anthology proves exhilarating in its originality, distinguished not so much for its value as travel literature as for compelling vignettes that as often as not celebrate a resonant intimacy existing between travelers. Emerging from tales of visits to ancient, enthralling sites is one astonishing truth--the most insightful portrayals in these pages are not those of strangers encountered in strange lands but, rather, glimpses into one's own spirit and the psyche of known companions. Still, vastly entertaining reflections on youthful adventures are conjured up, along with quests of a different sort. Ann Beattie's participation in a Japanese group tour of California sights is just one facet of this supremely satisfying collection. Alice Joyce
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real-life travel,
By Julie (Milwaukee, WI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures (Paperback)
It's no coincidence that the women who wrote these selections do not belong to the travel writing genre per se. The essays are honest and are a picture of realistic travel. It's not the typical travel stuff that sells--not the waving palm trees and lush tropical islands--it's the nit and grit. What a relief. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me until I read this book. My travels just did not fit in with the Shangri-la, all-enlightening journeys that mainstream travel authors write about to appeal to an American audience. This is a great book, though I admit, it won't necessarily conjour up pictures of paradises that don't exist.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is not a travel collection. It's better than that.,
This review is from: Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures (Paperback)
Just today found my lost copy of Without a Guide. Lost for 10 years in a packed box, it had been a gift I'd treasured before heading off to parenthood and a series of moves. I could not remember the title. Could not remember the authors. Could remember the stories, however; and have spent hours typing in various keywords on Google trying to identify the lost book. Now, with the original copy back in hand, I came to Amazon to buy more and found a mediocre review that requires a response. "2 stars" and whinging about issues of gender while regarding this little book?! Get a complete Margaret Atwood anthology and be done with it. This is not just a set of travel stories, nor is it a femlit collection. It is a Canadian anthology of short stories written by female authors that happen to regard foreign places. It is a brilliant collection and I'm so glad to have found it again. Some stories are poignant, some are incredibly funny. The first person characters and places stay with you (truly). My favs were Through a Barren Land by Graham; In Fez without a Guide by Govier; and the haunting, haunting Highway to the Black Mountain by Sidhwa.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Contentious Discussion at Book Club,
By A Customer
This review is from: Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures (Paperback)
This is a group review, and we are far from agreement. The person who recommended this book loved it because she loves to travel and approaches travel as an adventure. For her, reading the book was like going to another country where she didn't understand the culture but was transported there by the stories. However, the remaining three members of the group read this book from a different frame of reference, and they had less favorable reactions. These readers admit they probably had higher expectations of quality from authors of this caliber. From a literary standpoint, many of the stories didn't measure up. In more than a few of the stories, the writers do not provide adequate context and detail. The stories did not transcend the level of travelogue to become a more meaningful exploration of either the place or the author's experience there. Furthermore, the issue of gender as it relates to travel is not clearly articulated. In these ways the editor's goal for the book were not met. However, there were several stories we liked: Robyn Davidson's "Alone Across the Outback," Ysenda Maxtone Graham's "Through a Barren Land," Wendy Law-Yone's "The Year of the Pigeon," and "Highway to the Black Mountains" by Bapsi Sidhwa. These stories moved us, providing more details and reflection on the meaning of the experience to the writer. Through our discussion of this book, we realized how difficult it is to write insightfully about travel. It was interesting to us to read about different places and different perspectives, but we wondered if there should be more to travel writing than this.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
