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The Excursionist
The anti-Eat Pray Love – A darkly comic novel about travel, the need to visit as much of the planet as possible and the pressure to have meaningful experiences when you get there.
A brilliant book for anyone who loves to or wants to travel, The Excursionist is both a celebration of visiting new places and a reminder that wherever you go you take yourself with you.
Newly single Jack Kaganagh longs to visit one hundred countries and the join the Travelers' Century Club before his landmark birthday. There is just one problem: Jack's enthusiasm for travel is matched only by his unsuitability to do so.
Travelling alone for the first time following the death of his partner, Kay, he flies to the Coronation Islands, fumbling around in dreamily faraway places in order to tick off his last three countries. He soon discovers that the more of the world he sees, the less he understands. A satirical, darkly comic novel that doesn't just ask big questions about life, The Excursionist makes you want to jump on the plane in search of white sands and turquoise waters.
A brilliant book for anyone who loves to or wants to travel, The Excursionist is both a celebration of visiting new places and a reminder that wherever you go you take yourself with you.
Newly single Jack Kaganagh longs to visit one hundred countries and the join the Travelers' Century Club before his landmark birthday. There is just one problem: Jack's enthusiasm for travel is matched only by his unsuitability to do so.
Travelling alone for the first time following the death of his partner, Kay, he flies to the Coronation Islands, fumbling around in dreamily faraway places in order to tick off his last three countries. He soon discovers that the more of the world he sees, the less he understands. A satirical, darkly comic novel that doesn't just ask big questions about life, The Excursionist makes you want to jump on the plane in search of white sands and turquoise waters.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 31, 2017
I'm the first to review this novel on GR and I wish I had fonder things to say or type. I found it on Netgalley, was drawn in by the title, the cover, the summary. I adore travelogues, cheapest easier way to travel. The way this book was written it might have been fiction or a first person account, unknown author makes it all the more ambiguous. I might have preferred the latter. Anyway, as is it's a fairly pedestrian story of a crochety cranky not particularly nice man set to complete a mission of visiting 100 countries before his 45th birthday. The protagonist is a well to do Englishman whose fiancé had tragically disappeared during one of his trips. He travels to a remote place in the Indian ocean, but doesn't seem to derive any particular joy out of his exploits, it's more along the lines of putting checks on a list. Main problem is that he lacks the leading man charisma required to sustain a first person narrative and isn't quite as funny as he thinks, although there is a decent amount of humor to be found here. There is sort of a character arc as seen in the end, but not quite enough to care. This isn't the travelogue to send you dreaming of far away locales or exotic adventures. It's a decent enough book, especially for a first effort, it read very quickly, but it wasn't in any way extraordinary or exceptional and didn't really live up to its promise. Thanks Netgalley.
May 19, 2017
Travel Fiction May Be The Best Travel Writing
In 1985 Jan Morris, the brilliant Welsh travel writer, published "Last Letters From Hav", a book that so exquisitely described the beauty, wonder, history, politics, culture, and appeal of "Hav", an entirely fictional place, that hopeful travelers besieged travel agencies for years trying to arrange visits there. That book came to mind as I read this wonderful addition to the fake-travel genre.
Thinking about other travel memoirs by authors I admire, (Theroux, Bryson, Eric Newby, and so on), it occurred to me that fictional memoirs offer so much more opportunity for exploration and satire and entertainment. Nonfiction practitioners are limited to what they experience, their own preconceptions, and their own attitudes and personalities, and the best they can hope for is that they have enough interesting experiences to elaborate on, dress up, or exaggerate into book length. But a fiction writer has an unlimited canvas upon which to work. Create a hero, invent a fictional world, and then introduce whatever events and supporting characters seem interesting.
That's what you get here. There is sly and deadpan commentary as well as antic buffoonery. Hotels, travel agents, airlines, the traveling public, travel connoisseurs - they all get comic treatment. Travelers of all levels of experience and style will find themselves identifying with certain experiences and nodding along with the hero's withering observations. This is pointed and perceptive stuff. Of course, part of the joke is that Kavanagh shares many of the less appealing characteristics that he mocks in others, but for me that just added another, maybe more subtle, layer to the satire.
Perhaps even better than the jokes and commentary is the fact that our fictional hero, Jack Kavanagh, is much more interesting than most real non-fiction memoirists. The real authors have whatever personal baggage life has given them - daddy issues, marriage issues, general grumpiness, world weary dismay. But Kavanagh, having been created out of thin air, is a more layered, and surprising, protagonist. Even as we play along with and enjoy his whinging and grim despair we find that a more interesting and sympathetic character is being teased out. At some point we realize that this is, in part, a meditation on loneliness disguised as a travel comedy.
In any event, I thought this had enough good lines, enough fine moments, and such a well realized fictional setting that I was happy to bump it up on my list of fake travelogues. A nice, if slightly off the beaten path, find.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
In 1985 Jan Morris, the brilliant Welsh travel writer, published "Last Letters From Hav", a book that so exquisitely described the beauty, wonder, history, politics, culture, and appeal of "Hav", an entirely fictional place, that hopeful travelers besieged travel agencies for years trying to arrange visits there. That book came to mind as I read this wonderful addition to the fake-travel genre.
Thinking about other travel memoirs by authors I admire, (Theroux, Bryson, Eric Newby, and so on), it occurred to me that fictional memoirs offer so much more opportunity for exploration and satire and entertainment. Nonfiction practitioners are limited to what they experience, their own preconceptions, and their own attitudes and personalities, and the best they can hope for is that they have enough interesting experiences to elaborate on, dress up, or exaggerate into book length. But a fiction writer has an unlimited canvas upon which to work. Create a hero, invent a fictional world, and then introduce whatever events and supporting characters seem interesting.
That's what you get here. There is sly and deadpan commentary as well as antic buffoonery. Hotels, travel agents, airlines, the traveling public, travel connoisseurs - they all get comic treatment. Travelers of all levels of experience and style will find themselves identifying with certain experiences and nodding along with the hero's withering observations. This is pointed and perceptive stuff. Of course, part of the joke is that Kavanagh shares many of the less appealing characteristics that he mocks in others, but for me that just added another, maybe more subtle, layer to the satire.
Perhaps even better than the jokes and commentary is the fact that our fictional hero, Jack Kavanagh, is much more interesting than most real non-fiction memoirists. The real authors have whatever personal baggage life has given them - daddy issues, marriage issues, general grumpiness, world weary dismay. But Kavanagh, having been created out of thin air, is a more layered, and surprising, protagonist. Even as we play along with and enjoy his whinging and grim despair we find that a more interesting and sympathetic character is being teased out. At some point we realize that this is, in part, a meditation on loneliness disguised as a travel comedy.
In any event, I thought this had enough good lines, enough fine moments, and such a well realized fictional setting that I was happy to bump it up on my list of fake travelogues. A nice, if slightly off the beaten path, find.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
December 7, 2019
Meh. I very seldom feel so apathetic about a book. There is almost always something that I find to either gush over or rant about, but not here. I was excited to read The Excursionist - travelogue, humorous - but came away without a strong impression one way or the other. Honestly, I had forgotten the beginning by the time I reached the end, and it took me less than a week to finish it. This is the story of an unknown narrator who is trying to visit the last three countries needed to enter the 100-country club. He visits three fictional islands in the Indian Ocean and meets a variety of characters, none of whom are particularly interesting. Throughout, the narrator muses on his past, particularly his former fiance. There is a lot of "poor me, I'm traveling alone" with a few moments of self discovery. Overall, I'm lukewarm.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley.
May 19, 2017
The Excursionist .... a satirical tale of travel and tourism in the 21st century.
Meet Jack Kaganagh, he is about to visit countries 98,99 and 100 on his personal hit list. Journey with him as he tells us in his own words about why he is where he is and share his holiday with him.
I found this book an absolute delight and laughed at loud too many times to mention. I think my wry smiles and nods of agreement as I was reading would have been enough to annoy Jack ,who I perceived as a cross between Jack Dee and Michael McIntyre.
Here is Jack talking :
"They took me under their patronage and introduced me to Bernd Poric , the pasty faced Swiss German manager, who in a bizarre twist , didn't have a sense of humour"
If you enjoy travel, if you like a laugh whilst you read this is highly recommended. It may even be worth reading before you book that next holiday.
Meet Jack Kaganagh, he is about to visit countries 98,99 and 100 on his personal hit list. Journey with him as he tells us in his own words about why he is where he is and share his holiday with him.
I found this book an absolute delight and laughed at loud too many times to mention. I think my wry smiles and nods of agreement as I was reading would have been enough to annoy Jack ,who I perceived as a cross between Jack Dee and Michael McIntyre.
Here is Jack talking :
"They took me under their patronage and introduced me to Bernd Poric , the pasty faced Swiss German manager, who in a bizarre twist , didn't have a sense of humour"
If you enjoy travel, if you like a laugh whilst you read this is highly recommended. It may even be worth reading before you book that next holiday.
May 19, 2017
Well written and thoughtful, introspective but satirical, the self deprecating hero will appeal to us Brits.. Literary fiction/travel/humour at its most effective.
Not just a fiction travel novel but one person's exploration of himself, what one needs to be happy, we are all trying to work out who we are and what makes us happy.
‘So you’re the clever fella who thinks he can find love in places rather than in people,’ Anne said....
This work highlights the importance of the relationships we make with other people,
"Or is it the case that the more you travel, the more you realise that actually we’re all the same."
There is also an exploration of materialism throughout, the need to have more of everything, in this case visits to other countries, to justify ourselves. Does this lead to happiness?
May 14, 2017
The Excursionist is a really interesting read for anyone who loves to travel or is a frequent traveller. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Read more of this review here: http://www.bookerworm.com/reviews/119...
Read more of this review here: http://www.bookerworm.com/reviews/119...
September 21, 2017
A novel about Jack, a man determined to visit 100 countries before his 35th birthday, all so he can join the Traveler’s Century Club.
Ugh, this book. It’s glaringly self-published, which I do not inherently object to – I'm all for self-publishing! But hire an editor, dude. It’s not typos or grammar mistakes that give it away (the book’s actually remarkably free of those)(which I suppose is damning with faint praise, but I am totally here to damn this book), but a constant stream of contradictions and just... well, odd choices. The one that leapt out to me most strikingly was when the narrator, in describing the Traveler’s Club, sticks the URL right in the middle of the text:
One down and two to go. Now all I had to do was to get to Kilrush and then to Fulgary and I could join the Travelers’ Century Club. See www.travelerscenturyclub.org for further details.
This would maybe even have been not so weird if it had come in the introduction, the first time the reader is told about this goal, or in the endnotes. But no, none of the above. This quote instead comes from the end of chapter ten, when the Traveler’s Club has been mentioned multiple times without needing an URL.
It’s minor, I know, but similar minor annoyances pop up constantly throughout the text. Jack only needs to visit three more countries, so he heads to the (fictional) islands of Placentia, Kilrush and Fulgary. The fact that these are separate countries is the entire point of the book. And yet the flights between them are repeatedly described as "domestic". In addition, it’s implied Placentia and Fulgary are still considered UK territories. Granted, other people probably aren’t as fascinated by the debate over what “counts” as a country as much as I happen to be (I blame this game, on which I spend way too much of my free time), but when it’s the central premise of your story, it needs at least a little consideration.
I could forgive all of the above if Jack was a character I enjoyed spending time with. Instead he’s a complete and total asshole. He condescends and mistreats service employees, he shallowly judges fellow tourists, he rates all women by their attractiveness and sulks when they don’t want to sleep with him. Every time he interacted with any other living creature I wanted to punch him.
For example, discussing his job as a stockbroker: Getting a job in the City is like getting a girl. The less interest and enthusiasm you show, the better chance you have.
Describing his ex-wife: I was still paying for my ex-wife’s house. She had taken me for a mug, then a Merc, then a million. I did quite well out of the divorce settlement; I kept most of the back garden and some of the roof tiles. I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t come home to find somebody else’s kippers under the grill. I should have twigged when he helped move her stuff out when she ‘just needed some space’. […] And if I said no to her demands, I would get a call saying my daughter was ill or had been invited to a toddler’s party on the day I was supposed to visit. Her other trick was to pretend I had got the dates or the times wrong. It was easier just to give up. People only change in books or in films, not in real life. I stopped seeing my daughter as regularly when my folks told me she had started to call Graham ‘Daddy’.*
Interacting with a flight attendant: ‘Could I please have one of those bottles of fizzy mineral water?’ I said.
‘I am sorry, sir, we are not allowed to give them out.’ She bent down so close to my face I was worried she was going to kiss me.
‘I don’t want to bother you all the time, asking you for water. Can you leave me the bottle; I don’t want to make a nuisance of myself.’
‘I am afraid we can’t do that, sir.’
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘It’s against regulations. I am sorry, sir.’
‘But your in-flight magazine says quite clearly on page twenty-eight, that passengers should make sure they remain hydrated.’
‘I know, sir. I am sorry but they are the regulations.’
‘I am only asking for a bottle of fizzy water. I have spent thousands of pounds flying Business Class with you. I’m thirsty,’ I said.
‘I am sorry, sir. It’s the rules.’
‘The rules… what airline has rules to prevent passengers from drinking water? Why advertise what a great service you provide, if you won’t give water to a thirsty passenger? What’s the point of pouring an eggcup-sized measure of water if I can jug down full glasses of wine? You do this because, as you know, the less weight you carry the less fuel you need, which means lower fuel costs and better profit.’ And with this, the hostess began to take away my empties.
I could have given you more egregious examples, but I chose these because they all occur before page 35. (And the text of the book doesn’t start until page 8!) Now you too have a sense of the density of Jack’s dickishness.
Though I've got to mention one more: at the end of the book, it’s revealed that Jack’s dead girlfriend who disappeared forever, possibly murdered, cheated on him shortly before her death. When Jack finds out this information, he explicitly decides not to go to the police with it, because, hey, it helped him get over her. Your hero, ladies and gentlemen!
I felt better about not being with her but I also wish I hadn’t wasted so much time thinking about her. I still didn’t know how Kay died but I suspect Naz may have had something to do with it. With forearms like Naz, it wouldn’t have been difficult to squeeze the life out of her. But I didn’t actually know what had happened to her. And for the first time, I wasn’t particularly bothered either. Should I go to the police? And tell them what exactly? I decided, rightly or wrongly, to move on.
Ughhhhh, this book, y’all. This book. I got it for free and that was still too much money.
* The daughter never gets a name, appears on screen, or is even mentioned beyond one more passing notice that she exists. I’m definitely convinced Jack is a worthwhile father.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
Ugh, this book. It’s glaringly self-published, which I do not inherently object to – I'm all for self-publishing! But hire an editor, dude. It’s not typos or grammar mistakes that give it away (the book’s actually remarkably free of those)(which I suppose is damning with faint praise, but I am totally here to damn this book), but a constant stream of contradictions and just... well, odd choices. The one that leapt out to me most strikingly was when the narrator, in describing the Traveler’s Club, sticks the URL right in the middle of the text:
One down and two to go. Now all I had to do was to get to Kilrush and then to Fulgary and I could join the Travelers’ Century Club. See www.travelerscenturyclub.org for further details.
This would maybe even have been not so weird if it had come in the introduction, the first time the reader is told about this goal, or in the endnotes. But no, none of the above. This quote instead comes from the end of chapter ten, when the Traveler’s Club has been mentioned multiple times without needing an URL.
It’s minor, I know, but similar minor annoyances pop up constantly throughout the text. Jack only needs to visit three more countries, so he heads to the (fictional) islands of Placentia, Kilrush and Fulgary. The fact that these are separate countries is the entire point of the book. And yet the flights between them are repeatedly described as "domestic". In addition, it’s implied Placentia and Fulgary are still considered UK territories. Granted, other people probably aren’t as fascinated by the debate over what “counts” as a country as much as I happen to be (I blame this game, on which I spend way too much of my free time), but when it’s the central premise of your story, it needs at least a little consideration.
I could forgive all of the above if Jack was a character I enjoyed spending time with. Instead he’s a complete and total asshole. He condescends and mistreats service employees, he shallowly judges fellow tourists, he rates all women by their attractiveness and sulks when they don’t want to sleep with him. Every time he interacted with any other living creature I wanted to punch him.
For example, discussing his job as a stockbroker: Getting a job in the City is like getting a girl. The less interest and enthusiasm you show, the better chance you have.
Describing his ex-wife: I was still paying for my ex-wife’s house. She had taken me for a mug, then a Merc, then a million. I did quite well out of the divorce settlement; I kept most of the back garden and some of the roof tiles. I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t come home to find somebody else’s kippers under the grill. I should have twigged when he helped move her stuff out when she ‘just needed some space’. […] And if I said no to her demands, I would get a call saying my daughter was ill or had been invited to a toddler’s party on the day I was supposed to visit. Her other trick was to pretend I had got the dates or the times wrong. It was easier just to give up. People only change in books or in films, not in real life. I stopped seeing my daughter as regularly when my folks told me she had started to call Graham ‘Daddy’.*
Interacting with a flight attendant: ‘Could I please have one of those bottles of fizzy mineral water?’ I said.
‘I am sorry, sir, we are not allowed to give them out.’ She bent down so close to my face I was worried she was going to kiss me.
‘I don’t want to bother you all the time, asking you for water. Can you leave me the bottle; I don’t want to make a nuisance of myself.’
‘I am afraid we can’t do that, sir.’
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘It’s against regulations. I am sorry, sir.’
‘But your in-flight magazine says quite clearly on page twenty-eight, that passengers should make sure they remain hydrated.’
‘I know, sir. I am sorry but they are the regulations.’
‘I am only asking for a bottle of fizzy water. I have spent thousands of pounds flying Business Class with you. I’m thirsty,’ I said.
‘I am sorry, sir. It’s the rules.’
‘The rules… what airline has rules to prevent passengers from drinking water? Why advertise what a great service you provide, if you won’t give water to a thirsty passenger? What’s the point of pouring an eggcup-sized measure of water if I can jug down full glasses of wine? You do this because, as you know, the less weight you carry the less fuel you need, which means lower fuel costs and better profit.’ And with this, the hostess began to take away my empties.
I could have given you more egregious examples, but I chose these because they all occur before page 35. (And the text of the book doesn’t start until page 8!) Now you too have a sense of the density of Jack’s dickishness.
Though I've got to mention one more: at the end of the book, it’s revealed that Jack’s dead girlfriend who disappeared forever, possibly murdered, cheated on him shortly before her death. When Jack finds out this information, he explicitly decides not to go to the police with it, because, hey, it helped him get over her. Your hero, ladies and gentlemen!
I felt better about not being with her but I also wish I hadn’t wasted so much time thinking about her. I still didn’t know how Kay died but I suspect Naz may have had something to do with it. With forearms like Naz, it wouldn’t have been difficult to squeeze the life out of her. But I didn’t actually know what had happened to her. And for the first time, I wasn’t particularly bothered either. Should I go to the police? And tell them what exactly? I decided, rightly or wrongly, to move on.
Ughhhhh, this book, y’all. This book. I got it for free and that was still too much money.
* The daughter never gets a name, appears on screen, or is even mentioned beyond one more passing notice that she exists. I’m definitely convinced Jack is a worthwhile father.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
May 8, 2017
The blurb on Good reads says this is a darkly comic book. I'd like for someone to point out where those bits are because I couldn't find them. I nearly gave this book up after the first few chapters. I found the writing to not be very good. But I persevered and once we got past the bitter chapter about his ex-wife and the amount of money he earns as a stockbroker it settled down a bit more into what I wanted - a travel story.
I think the biggest problem is Jack himself. I know he's suffering because his fiancee died but blimey he's miserable. It permeates throughout the whole book to the point I felt miserable reading it. I don;t want to get to the last few chapters before he discovers the meaning of life. I spent more time wishing he'd just go home if he hated traveling alone that much.
I did like the descriptions of the islands. That's where I enjoy travel books. A chance to read about places I may never get to go to but also the descriptions of tourist places that you don't get in the brochures and guides as well as the non-touristy places. I enjoyed reading about the characters on the islands and how they made a living hawking tat the tourists buy and the horrid restaurants. I refuse to eat in the chains I can get in England when I travel so I enjoy hearing about the local cuisine and eateries.
I think it's the tone that put me off, he really does sound so miserable but not in a 'my fiancee's dead' kinda way just someone that doesn't seem that much fun to be around even when she was alive. The book just didn't gel for me. Not one I'd like to read again sadly
Free ARC on netgalley
I think the biggest problem is Jack himself. I know he's suffering because his fiancee died but blimey he's miserable. It permeates throughout the whole book to the point I felt miserable reading it. I don;t want to get to the last few chapters before he discovers the meaning of life. I spent more time wishing he'd just go home if he hated traveling alone that much.
I did like the descriptions of the islands. That's where I enjoy travel books. A chance to read about places I may never get to go to but also the descriptions of tourist places that you don't get in the brochures and guides as well as the non-touristy places. I enjoyed reading about the characters on the islands and how they made a living hawking tat the tourists buy and the horrid restaurants. I refuse to eat in the chains I can get in England when I travel so I enjoy hearing about the local cuisine and eateries.
I think it's the tone that put me off, he really does sound so miserable but not in a 'my fiancee's dead' kinda way just someone that doesn't seem that much fun to be around even when she was alive. The book just didn't gel for me. Not one I'd like to read again sadly
Free ARC on netgalley
August 4, 2017
Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I was really interested in the idea behind this book (Jack is about to visit his 98th, 99th and 100th countries so that he can join the Travellers Century Club) but in fact struggled to finish it at several points. Yes, the travel guide descriptions are amusing, mixed in with enough real facts that the line between reality and imagination becomes blurred, but I didn't empathise much with Jack, who seemed never to be happy, whether he was travelling at the cheap 'experience' end or the more deluxe, all inclusive resort. I know his background story is sad (no spoilers here) but he didn't appear to be learning anything about himself or his place in the world through his travels or his contact with people along the way, which I found frustrating.
I was really interested in the idea behind this book (Jack is about to visit his 98th, 99th and 100th countries so that he can join the Travellers Century Club) but in fact struggled to finish it at several points. Yes, the travel guide descriptions are amusing, mixed in with enough real facts that the line between reality and imagination becomes blurred, but I didn't empathise much with Jack, who seemed never to be happy, whether he was travelling at the cheap 'experience' end or the more deluxe, all inclusive resort. I know his background story is sad (no spoilers here) but he didn't appear to be learning anything about himself or his place in the world through his travels or his contact with people along the way, which I found frustrating.
May 20, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Jack Kaganagh has only three countries left before he can join an elite club of people who have visited 100 countries. This is his journey to visit these three countries before his next birthday. This darkly satirical travel novel is at times very insightful on the trend for travelling to places only to experience what you left at home or just to tick off locations from a ‘Places to visit before you die’ list. The disposable nature of travel when it is not done meaningfully is very much its focus. However, the cynicism can become a little wearing. The satire is at times very amusing but sometimes its darkness is quite depressing. I am glad I have read it but it would not be for everybody.
Jack Kaganagh has only three countries left before he can join an elite club of people who have visited 100 countries. This is his journey to visit these three countries before his next birthday. This darkly satirical travel novel is at times very insightful on the trend for travelling to places only to experience what you left at home or just to tick off locations from a ‘Places to visit before you die’ list. The disposable nature of travel when it is not done meaningfully is very much its focus. However, the cynicism can become a little wearing. The satire is at times very amusing but sometimes its darkness is quite depressing. I am glad I have read it but it would not be for everybody.
June 4, 2017
Like other readers on here I was drawn to this book by the title and the description. However, the book ultimately fell short. I really like the idea of a satirical travel novel, but this one is overburdened with it. The combination of the unlikable narrator and the tedious descriptions of the places was too much. There are parts that are genuinely funny, and I would probably assign excerpts to my students when I teach my travel literature class, but the whole work is just too much.
Thank you NetGalley for the ecopy of this book.
Thank you NetGalley for the ecopy of this book.
July 20, 2017
I enjoyed reading the book and imagining some of the scenes, but I could't help feeling it was keeping me from reading something more compelling. I also felt it quite incomplete. At times I couldn't work out if is partner was dead or had left him The ridiculous concept of having to fit in 100 countries for travel and the various compulsions that went with that were darkly funny. Not really my cup of tea.
May 20, 2017
I'm sorry, but I didn't connect with this novel at all. I thought it'd be interesting and engaging based on the description and cover art, but it was neither. I found the content way too depressing, morose, grumbly, and defeatist. If you're privileged enough to travel, especially to 100 countries, do not act like the protagonist. Yikes.
Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.
Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.
May 27, 2017
Received this free from Netgalley (thanks) and was looking forward to enjoying someone else's fictional travels but unfortunately the story didn't really grab me. The male protagonist is a fussy Brit trying to visit 100 countries before he reaches the age of 45. There is some dark humour and satire that lightens the book slightly but I really struggled to finish it unfortunately.
May 29, 2017
A sad tale of a self-conscious man who is too analytical to be able to relax or truly enjoy life. His travels are a mixture of tourist and observer of people in almost-real tropical island destinations. There is plenty of dark humour matched by introspective musings. Although the story is well-written throughout I found I began to long for a lighter touch and some more sympathetic characters.
July 8, 2021
One of those wonderful books which makes you laugh out loud, wherever you are. A light hearted look at travel and travel reviews, but with enough sadness to make it interesting. What a great imagination. I received a review copy, but may buy this for friends.
April 13, 2017
This was an interesting idea for a book.
I think a title like "what NOT to do when you go on holiday" or "How to behave like the Worst kind of tourist" would fit better, but honestly it was the title that caught in the first place.
Jack is travelling to 3 of the Coronation Islands for the sole purpose of visiting 100 counties and finally joining the Travelers' Century Club.
I couldn't really decide if all the situations he get into were annoying or simply hilarious. He started with an exploration of the natural beauties of the first island, went to the religious center of the Coronations and ended in a resort where his self-centered self met with equally self-centered guests.
He was difficult to like or to appreciate as a character. When he was not complaining about travelling alone (which was almost always), he was either trying to be open minded about his experience and failing in that, or trying to impose himself on others and failing in that also.
The story was funny in the way that it made me think of this kind of "travellers" who went to places only to be able to brag about them, the people that all these experiences had absolutely no impact on them. It was even funnier when you think of people you actually met and who fit in this category.
It was an enjoyable story, sometimes confusing, but it was a small change from the kind i usually read.
In a way it was a reminder that if you do not want to appreciate the world and really learn about it, travelling would be completely useless, no matter how many countries you add to your list.
I think a title like "what NOT to do when you go on holiday" or "How to behave like the Worst kind of tourist" would fit better, but honestly it was the title that caught in the first place.
Jack is travelling to 3 of the Coronation Islands for the sole purpose of visiting 100 counties and finally joining the Travelers' Century Club.
I couldn't really decide if all the situations he get into were annoying or simply hilarious. He started with an exploration of the natural beauties of the first island, went to the religious center of the Coronations and ended in a resort where his self-centered self met with equally self-centered guests.
He was difficult to like or to appreciate as a character. When he was not complaining about travelling alone (which was almost always), he was either trying to be open minded about his experience and failing in that, or trying to impose himself on others and failing in that also.
The story was funny in the way that it made me think of this kind of "travellers" who went to places only to be able to brag about them, the people that all these experiences had absolutely no impact on them. It was even funnier when you think of people you actually met and who fit in this category.
It was an enjoyable story, sometimes confusing, but it was a small change from the kind i usually read.
In a way it was a reminder that if you do not want to appreciate the world and really learn about it, travelling would be completely useless, no matter how many countries you add to your list.
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