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Travel To the G-Spot -- The Guide Book

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 19 ratings · 10 reviews

Danny Gladstone is a travel writer with a problem; he’s dying. Determined to make sense out of what just happened to his life, he looks back through some of his stories from around the world to figure out how he reached this disturbing closing chapter.

Along the way, he recounts a childhood of coddled captivity in the suburbs and not being allowed to cross the big streets...more

ebook, 270 pages

Published March 11th 2012 by Buddha Enterprises

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Sep 12, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel, humour, reviewed, kindle-freebies, by-gr-friends, 2012

Travel to the G-Spot--The Guide Book is a novel by Steve Cohen, an award-winning travel writer and photographer. He combines gritty realism, sharp social satire, awkward comedy and a smooth, confident writing style.

Danny Gladstone is a boy like those found in many a Jewish Bildungsroman. Within his family, he is spoiled by a loving but domineering matriarch, Nana Belle. Outside of his family, he is more or less a loser and must do what he can to make his way in the world. And so he does. So far,...more Travel to the G-Spot--The Guide Book is a novel by Steve Cohen, an award-winning travel writer and photographer. He combines gritty realism, sharp social satire, awkward comedy and a smooth, confident writing style.

Danny Gladstone is a boy like those found in many a Jewish Bildungsroman. Within his family, he is spoiled by a loving but domineering matriarch, Nana Belle. Outside of his family, he is more or less a loser and must do what he can to make his way in the world. And so he does. So far, so good.

He ends up as a canny, if rather jaded, travel writer, one who knows the ropes and can manipulate the system to get all kinds of perks and freebies. Although from the suggestive cover [note: this applies to the first edition] you might expect a recital of sexual conquests by a traveling lothario who finds a willing lover in every port, there is surprisingly little sex in this novel.

The main perk in Danny's world (besides the all-expenses-paid trips, that is) is not sex, but drugs. There are so many instances of him smoking or ingesting various mind-blowing substances, referred to semi-euphemistically as "herb," that it's a wonder he isn't bundled off to a padded room in the Betty Ford Center. But he manages to tell his story with wry coherence.

Danny's family sometimes gets to accompany him on his trips. He is married to a woman whom he refers to as "God"--in fact we never find out her actual name. The implication being, of course, that she issues arbitrary commands which must be obeyed and metes out wrath and punishment when Danny transgresses. (I must confess that the comedic blurring of the distinction between his wife and the Almighty, managed slyly with phrases such as "with God's help," was for my taste pushing the sarcasm too far.)

He also has a son, Yang, whom he loves very much. His attempts at father-son bonding are sometimes successful but often turn out horribly badly. So it is a relief to Danny as well as to the reader when Yang turns out to be normal (more or less), in spite of exposure to his father's foibles, and the traumatic experiences accidentally unleashed on him during some of the trips.

Where Cohen shines is the chapters where he exposes the artificiality of travel writing. The chapters in the middle of the book come in pairs. First we get a nearly ideal trip, where the writer, guided by friendly, obliging and incredibly informative natives, enjoys fascinating adventures. These usually involve breathtaking panoramic views of landscape, an invigorating few days roughing it in the bush or tasting delightfully exotic cuisine, and perhaps also a golden opportunity to experience heartwarming "quality time" with his son.

But we find out that most of these stories, written in a glib, journalistic fashion, peppered with charm, carefully documented geographical features, travel tips and contact information, are fundamentally false. Well, maybe they're not so much false as lacking a firm basis in Danny's own experiences. The contrast between the stories Danny submits (related in the first chapters of the pairs) and what really happened (narrated in the second chapters of the pairs) is what provides the greatest comedy in the novel.

Despite all the bizarre situations, there's also a deeper, more serious side to this story, as Danny worries about Yang and ponders the dreams he couldn't pursue. The burning question for him is why he has embarked on this seemingly endless search for the elusive moment of elation which he calls the the G-spot.

RECENT DEVELOPMENT: A revised and updated edition of this novel is now available on Amazon.(less)

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Oct 15, 2012 Jim Gullo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ah, the glories of eBooks, where you can slap together any and all kinds of experimental work, empty your filing cabinets of old stuff you wrote years ago, and maybe make a few bucks off of Kindle downloads. I'm not complaining; I applaud Steve Cohen for figuring out a way to dust off his old travel stories from newspapers and magazines and re-purpose them, as they say. I too have made a living as a travel writer, which he absolutely eviscerates here by indulging a whim that many of us in this p...more Ah, the glories of eBooks, where you can slap together any and all kinds of experimental work, empty your filing cabinets of old stuff you wrote years ago, and maybe make a few bucks off of Kindle downloads. I'm not complaining; I applaud Steve Cohen for figuring out a way to dust off his old travel stories from newspapers and magazines and re-purpose them, as they say. I too have made a living as a travel writer, which he absolutely eviscerates here by indulging a whim that many of us in this profession have entertained at one time or another: What if we published, side by side, the "real" story of what happened on that trip to Jamaica next to the breezy, swaying-palm-trees-and-colorful-locals version that we sell to make a few bucks to justify the free trip we received from the local tourist board? Because of this choice, half of Cohen's book consists of old, fairly deadly boring articles about visiting exotic locales -- the kind of generic "travel writing" that doesn't win any awards -- but then he follows up each trip with a chapter on how he spent the entire week in Jamaica stoned out of his mind, or in bed with the p.r. lady, or feeling like a miserable turd for accepting another sponsored trip. And I could relate to every word of it; I've experienced the exact same feelings, sometimes in the exact same places (like the Arctic Circle). This also being an eBook means that it wasn't edited or polished much: Cohen makes some breathtakingly bad choices, beginning with calling the book a "novel" by inserting a hasty frame ("I'm dying, and this is my story") that is never developed; utterly icing us readers by calling his wife "God" (we never get a real name) and his son "Yang" (ditto) so we can't possibly relate to them, and even suggesting in the title that his travel writing was inspired and sought out hidden truths about the destinations. They didn't. But for an inside look at the psyches and inner demons of a whole class of people who have made careers out of pursuing free trips, and for some funny stories of what really happened at that 4-star resort, this book is worth the five bucks to slap it onto a Kindle.(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 René rated it 2 of 5 stars

What’s interesting about this book isn't what it is but rather what it could have been. The format, especially, opens all sorts of possibilities: a travel writer who has rescinded his profession and offers up a selection of his travel writing, each article shadowed by a followup chapter that gives the real story behind the official, clean one.

The narrator throws a few clues to where the narrative could go: an estranged son who grows distant as he grows into adulthood, a bitter wife whose reproac...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Saul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor

I was advised by a close friend to read this book, and I'm happy to say it was well worth it. It's funny. No, it's more than that. It's hilarious. In fact, I found myself laughing so hard that I had to put it down and rest at times.

It's been a while since a book has had that effect upon me.

I myself found the book's central theme, the truth behind travel stories, quite fascinating. Cohen has done a marvelous job showing how the bizarre life of travel writers can become utterly screwed-up as work...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Chella rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit, when I read the first few chapters I was wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. This is definately not the kind of book I like to read but I was determined to give it a chance. Danny Gladstone is a travel writer who is dying. He reminisces about his travels to different countries and the people he encounters on these trips. Had Mr. Gladstone been a "real" person and not a fictitious character I would have loved to have met him! He is hilarious! I found myself laughing...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Linda Parkinson-Hardman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by this book as I wanted to know what it was that drove the inner travel writer to express themselves. What I got was a funny, alternative and very valuable insight into, what can only be described as a very murky world indeed. The real stories which link the whole thing together are what makes it work; for that alone I’d recommend anyone hoping to enter this world read it, before it’s too late and you’re in too deep.

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Oct 21, 2012 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is a hilarious riot of a rant by Danny Gladstone, the supposedly travel writer protagonist. Danny talks about the various exploits he had to go through as a travel writer. Apart from the opening and closing chapters, the book takes a back-and-forth format of a chapter professionally written for travel magazines and newspapers… after which followed by the next chapter detailing the 'actual' account that had happened during the travel assignment. These 'actual' accounts contain the funni...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, humour, travel

I've got to admit when I started reading this I wasn't overly convinced I was going to enjoy it but as the book went on I found myself getting thoroughly engrossed and strangely attached to Danny Gladstone, our narrator and disillusioned travel writer. The style of the book is to give the 'official version' of Danny's travel writing experiences then to give the real version of what happened, warts and all. This is a very humourous read that gives a sneaky insight into the world of travel writing...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Caren Stein rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The ramblings of Danny Gladstone on his many adventures could easily be a sub-title. I felt like I was at each destination. Very funny and often dry. A very enjoyable read!

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