WILL UNWOUND #698: “Journey Books”
March 5, 2012The concept of life as a journey is very popular in America. We are a restless people, always on the go. What will post apocalyptic archeologists say about us? My guess is that from the size of our garages and the extensiveness of our freeway system they will correctly conclude that we were driven by our cars; not vice-versa. And if much of our literature survives, they will see that we envisioned ourselves as travelers on a journey not just to a spot on the map but also to a place in the metaphysical universe of the abstract.
We all fancy ourselves on a journey toward something that we can’t find by typing in zip codes to mapquest or calibrating our gps gadgets. No, our destinations are bigger than a mere geographical place. Our “life journeys” are about self discovery. What’s involved with self discovery? Tension, crisis, anxiety, danger, adversity, hardship, and tragedy. These are the life experiences that tell us who we really are. I don’t suppose that we learn much about ourselves by sitting on a beach and watching the tide roll in. It’s when times go all wrong that truth stares us in the face.
To me the best “journey” books are the ones filled with adversity. We all have our favorites. I’ve listed my top ten in my latest Booklist article: The Manley Arts: Notable Journeys.
Question of the Day: What are your favorite journey books?
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: the movie was as powerful as the book.
Cathi…great choice. Very compelling story.
It’s been a while, but I loved Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. It reminds you to get off the Expressways and take the back roads.
A terrific book, as is his “River-horse.” It’s a pity that such writers fade from memory, but that’s better than never having had a day in the sun, I suppose.
The LC heading for him is ‘Heat Moon, William Least.’ Not what first occurs to one, but I assume ‘Heat Moon’ is his family name.
His surname was Trogdon or some such — he has a story somewhere about how the Least Heat Moon persona was developed. I heard him a few times on public radio interviews. If you have an hour you can hear him here:
(http://authorsontourlive.com/william-least-heat-moon-podcasts-roads-to-quoz/ )
Alice, I almost put this on one my list. America needs to keep reading this book.
“Old Glory” by Jonathan Raban. An account of a journey in a small boat down the length of the Mississippi from its origins in Minnesota to the Gulf.
“On the road” by Jack Kerouac. I know, I know, Truman Capote said it was more typing than writing but it still jumps off the page (which is more than one could say for lots of Tru’s work).
“Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov.
“Travels with Charley” by John Steinbeck.
… and that’s just America.
Michael, for the past 5 years I keep telling myself “You need to read Lolita; you need to read Lolita…” Maybe this will be the month.
Bleah, I hated it. But maybe that’s because I read it as a college student. I just couldn’t get over Nabokov’s characterization of Lolita, even if it was supposed to be as seen through the eyes of Humbert Humbert. Way too creepy and sleazy for me.
“The Grapes of Wrath” by Steinbeck rattled me to the core. I’d only read it once, but it was a journey I couldn’t imagine at 15. Now I wonder if I shouldn’t read it again.
Cristy, I read this is high school and it was the best “required” book I ever read. Still resonates in the back of my mind.
There are all kinds of journeys… as for journeys in books, how about Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. Incredible doesn’t begin to describe it. Another favorite is Travels in West Africa
by Mary Kingsley. Who would have thought a Victorian spinster…
Susan, I love the Kingsley book but have not read Endurance. Sounds like a new “must read!”
I just looked up the Kingsley book. I can’t believe I never heard of it before!! Just added it to my Goodreads “to-read” list.
The Amber series by Roger Zelasney – travel through the multi-verse
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne – 7 seas enough for you? nuff said
The Mars Series by Edgar Rice Borroughs – you just left home – guess what, a sword is a good thing to have!
Dune by Frank Herbert – How’s that exile from your home world going for you?
The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test by Thomas Wolfe – Welcome to the 1960′s with a vengence, if you remember the 60′s you weren’t in the scene.
The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling – Westerners messing about with the East. A good travel story about, the hustle and the fate of hustlers.
Lost Horizon – my very favorite aside from King Solomon’s Mines.
I could go on…
Oh yes Dune, so many different journeys in that story.
John, interesting and eclectic list. In my old age I think I’m finally beginning to appreciate Kipling.
Two very different titles:
The children’s book “Walk Two Moons” by Sharon Creech. Salamanca and her grandparents retrace her mother’s route across the US in search of her.
“Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse.
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Epic journeys (with elves)!
Janeb…you are I are definitely on the same reading planet. Siddhartha, Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings are my constant companions.
For a very different type of journey book, and one that may affect you deeply, read Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome, by Liane Holliday Willey. If you have ever known anyone with Asperger’s, this account, written by a woman with Asperger’s, will open your eyes to the very different journey her life has been. Or, for some people, parts of it may sound unsettlingly familiar.
Wayne, this is certainly an intriguing endorsement. I really need to get “Normal.”
I’m just going to pretend I didn’t necessarily notice that you asked about ‘books’ and say that I think “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle” is sneakily astute; it’s sort of my generation’s Odyssey.
If the branch is slow this evening, I’ll try to think of an answer that will be more… widely respected.
Tim, tell me a little bit about Harold and kumar.
For non-fiction – I loved Beryl Markham’s West With the Night. Fiction would have to be The Lord of the Rings.
I agree…West with the Night is wonderful. Thanks, Ellen.
No one has voted for Twain yet — Following the Equator, Roughing It & of course Huckleberry Finn.
Roughing It, my favorite Twain!
Stan, I’m not familiar with Following the Equator. Can you tell us a little bit about it.
From wikipedia;
“Twain embarked on a year-long, around-the-world lecture tour in July 1895[33] to pay off his creditors in full, although he was no longer under any legal obligation to do so.[34] It would be a long, arduous journey and he was sick much of the time, mostly from a cold and a carbuncle. The itinerary took him to Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Mauritius, South Africa and England. Twain’s three months in India became the centerpiece of his 712-page book Following the Equator.”
It would be interesting to compare it to “The Innocents Abroad,” his other account of travel outside the U.S.
So many greats already listed! For today I’ll just add Thoreau’s WALDEN:
“I have traveled a good deal in Concord.”
An interesting comment on Thoreau’s point of view:
http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/what-henry-david-thoreau-taught-me-about-travel/
Wynette, we are definitely kindred spirits. Thoreau is a constant companion of mine. Thanks for this really great article.
American Gods, of course!
His Dark Materials. Many journeys in that series.
Heart of Darkness.
Oryx and Crake.
A Wizard of Earthsea.
Diana…How did Heart of Darkness sneak into your list? Very curious!
One can be very fond of speculative fiction AND classics, Will! A lot of great “classic” journey books had already been listed when I commented, so I decided to make my choices top-heavy with other genres. But I do love me some Conrad.
That’s very reassuring. Thanks.
How about poetry?
I love Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken among other journey type poems!
My absolute favorite poem. Modeled my life after it.
A Fine and Private Place, by Peter Beagle where an elderly recluse flees life only to find love, ghostly lovers, friendship and a snotty raven. Oh, and did I mention the book takes place in a cemetery?
I love cemeteries! This sounds perfect for me. Thanks, Deborah.
The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz, is a great journey story of Rawicz escape from a labor camp in Siberia, across the Gobi desert, to India.
Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, reminds me of the Odyssey, with the oddball characters Inman meets as he treks home to Ada.
And it’s interesting to compare the journeys (100 years apart) shown in River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana’s legendary voyage of death and discovery down the Amazon, by Buddy Levy, with The Mapmaker’s wife: a true tale of love, murder, & survival in the Amazon, by Robert Whitaker.
Deb…this is a wonderful list. I particularly like your comparison of Cold Mountain to The Odyssey.
Tortilla Curtain by T.C.Boyle is as relevant as today as when it was published in 1995. Also, a recent book, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. And I have always loved A Wrinkle in Time. Great topic, Will.
Carla…thanks for reminding us about Tortilla Curtain…great book.
I really enjoyed Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods.” It isn’t a terribly profound journey, but it’s a pretty entertaining read.
Just read that book. I loved it. Thanks, Sara.