The Voices of Marrakesh [7] February 2, 2009

“I came into contact with camels on three occasions, and each occasion ended tragically.” When this is the opening line of a very short travel narrative, how can you not be intrigued? The Voices of Marrakesh was written by Elias Canetti, the 1981 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I am thinking I would like to read one of his novels now since I really enjoyed his writing style. His words seemed expertly chosen and his writing was so honest. The book was only 103 pages but he packed many stories and fascinating characters into it. There were the camels, the beggar children, and the “holy man” who sucked on the coins given to him to tell the denomination. I especially enjoyed his description the the souks. He may as well have been writing about the bazaars in Istanbul. I felt so at home there.  His words just rang true. It was a very quick, pleasant, and interesting read (2386 pages to date). Some times it is the smaller reads like this, and Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place about Antigua, that give you the best picture of a time and place.

New Europe [3] January 18, 2009

I have finally finished New Europe by Michael Palin. I should probably start of by saying that I had no idea who this guy was until after I bought the book. He has done some popular travel miniseries for the BBC but is most well known for being one of the Monty Python gang. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail twelve years ago in my high school ceramics class. It was supposed to inspire us to make out own “holy grails” but I think it was mostly our teacher’s favorite film. I was not impressed. Maybe I should give it another try, but British humor is usually lost on me.

Having said this, I did enjoy the book. Palin travels all around “new Europe” better know as eastern Europe. From the Balkans to the Baltic with a short foray into Turkey as well. These are the countries that top my list of where I want to travel to next. He meets the most interesting cast of people and always seems to be in the right place at the right time for every festival and event. His writing is very smooth, easy to follow and I think his sense of humor is quite nice.

On the other hand I feel like this must be a companion book to the miniseries of the same name. So much seemed to be missing. As soon as he got somewhere he left. I am sure his coversations with people lasted much longer than a paragraph or two. I was constantly left wanting/expecting more. I think he could have done a much better job if he had not tried to cram 21 countries into 300 pages. I would love to see the miniseries sometime to see if I am correct. I am not sure I would recommend the book unless someone has traveled through the area and wants to reminisce. I have made it to 5 out of 21, but will hopefully change that in the near future.

Stay tunned for book number four, The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen. I am right on schedule with my 52 books and am happy to announce that I have 1009 pages read so far this year. I will keep a running tally