Book Review: Cyclogeography

Book title: Cyclogeography – Journeys of a London Bicycle Courier

Author: Jon Day

Publication: Notting Hill Editions

Format: Hardcover

Blurb:

Cyclogeography is an essay about the bicycle in the cultural imagination and a portrait of London seen from the saddle. The bicycle enables us to feel a landscape, rather than just see it, and in the great tradition of the psychogeographers, Day attempts to depart from the map and reclaim the streets of the city.
Informed by several grinding years spent as a bicycle courier, Day lifts the lid on the solitary life of the courier. Travelling the unmapped byways, short-cuts and edgelands of the city, couriers are the declining, invisible workforce of the city. The parcels they deliver – either commonplace or illicit – keep the city – and capitalism – running.

‘This is a street-smart, super-sharp exploration of the “soft city” as seen from the saddle; Jon Day has written a bold and clever book about the zone where capital and cycling collide. It fascinated me from first page to last.’ – Robert Macfarlane

‘Magically good. Jon Day conjures the secret city of the cyclist, revealing himself over the course of his swooping journeys as an astonishing writer, capable of dizzyingly elegant and thrilling flights of thought.’ – Olivia Laing

My Rating: 4/5

Review: I think I am glad I found Notting Hill Editions this year. I did receive Cyclogeography sometime back in November. I have been trying to read this book for a long time. I did pick up this one last week and completed it in a day. A journey about the bicycle couriers running in London over a decade. The author has described nooks and corners of London, and a distinct smell that every city beholds in itself.

You learn the secret smells of the city, summer’s burnt metallic tang, the sweetness of petrol, the earthy comfort of freshly laid tarmac

It is a really interesting read about a profession which lets you travel, but yet you miss out on a lot of moments. A distinctive culture running in the courier community about race day has been described in the book. It has been mentioned in the book that “Cycle couriers live as parasites on the city.” It has shaped in bringing a sense of happiness in poverty, well it is quite a personal opinion while I was reading this beauty. The book is a small read which would help you learn about London and professions that have died down the lane. I have been mesmerized reading these books by Notting Hill Editions. I am really looking forward to read some more books from the publication.

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