Butcher's Crossing - John Williams
[An excellent starting off book! This quick read about the fading of the American West follows a young Eastern college boy on a tragic hunting expedition for the last remaining herds of bison hidden in an untouched Rockie's glen. A good companion read for some historical perspective would be Andrew Isenberg's Destruction of the Bison. I can't wait to read Stoner by John Williams]
The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll - Alvaro Mutis
[This collection of very entertaining stories follow Maqroll, a man with no country, through his adventures on and off tramp steamers around the world. So steamy! Highly recommended]
The Traveler's Tree - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Patrick Fermor was definitely one of the best travel writers out there. I have been making a slow study of travel writing for many years and have done Chatwin, Iyer, Theroux, and many others so I was excited to get hold of the NYRB Classics Fermor library. I plan on reading all of his writings this winter and, hopefully, the final part of his European trilogy will come out this year. The Traveler's Tree was a bit tedious at times but presents a very unique view of the Caribbean in the mid-20th century as power was being transferred to self rule from colonial rule.]
A Time of Gifts - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[At 19, Fermor set off on foot through pre-WWII Europe from the Netherlands to Constantinople. This first book sees him through Holland and Germany, following the Danube all the way to Romania. Fortuitous wanderings!]
Between the Woods and the Water - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Book Two! But he doesn't get to Constantinople (spoiler alert). This book reflects less wandering and more of a detailed study of Danube history through Romania and Transylvani as the young Fermor stays with Barons and friends. Very good.]
A Time to Keep Silence - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Short little study of life in a few European monasteries. Reflecting on silence and religious study. Sweet and simple]
A High Wind in Jamaica - Richard Hughes
[This is a strange book and I did not particularly like it while reading. Upon reflection, however, I like it more and more! Some kids from an estate in Jamaica get kidnapped by strange pirates on their way to school in England. Weird.]
The Radiance of the King - Camara Laye
[This book, written in Africa in the 50's, turns the expected European African novel actions on their head. Clarence, a European man in debt and out of luck everywhere, is sold by a beggar to an aging village chieftan to serve as a baby making machine. He is everywhere duped and bewildered. This book is great and highly recommended.]
The Long Ships - Frans G. Bengtsson
[Epic viking sagas! Need I say more? Highly entertaining and provides everything one might expect from a Viking narrative. I wish there were more stories of Red Orm and his clan.]
Tun Huang -Yasushi Inoue
[Hsing-te misses his exam and is compelled into wandering the western frontier of the empire by a woman and a piece of paper. A new threat to imperial China is being born and Hsing-te gets caught up in the war hard. This is a historical supposition explaining the possible origin of the thousands of Buddhist scrolls found centuries later hidden in the Tun Huang caves. Not my fav book thus far in the odyssey.]
More books coming soon! Just gotta get reading.
