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Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey

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Through the centuries, people from all walks of life have heard the siren call of a pilgrimage, the lure to journey away from the familiar in search of understanding. But is a pilgrimage even possible these days for city-dwellers enmeshed in the pressures of work and family life? Or is there a way to be a pilgrim without leaving one’s life behind? James Attlee answers these questions with Isolarion , a thoughtful, streetwise, and personal account of his pilgrimage to a place he thought he already knew—the Cowley Road in Oxford, right outside his door.

Isolarion takes its title from a type of fifteenth-century map that isolates an area in order to present it in detail, and that’s what Attlee, sharp-eyed and armed with tape recorder and notebook, provides for Cowley Road. The former site of a leper hospital, a workhouse, and a medieval well said to have miraculous healing powers, Cowley Road has little to do with the dreaming spires of the tourist’s or student’s Oxford. What Attlee presents instead is a thoroughly modern, impressively cosmopolitan, and utterly organic collection of shops, restaurants, pubs, and religious establishments teeming with life and reflecting the multicultural makeup of the surrounding neighborhood.

From a sojourn in a sensory-deprivation tank to a furtive visit to an unmarked pornography emporium, Attlee investigates every aspect of the Cowley Road’s appealingly eclectic culture, where halal shops jostle with craft jewelers and reggae clubs pulsate alongside quiet churchyards. But the very diversity that is, for Attlee, the essence of Cowley Road’s appeal is under attack from well-meaning city planners and predatory developers. His pilgrimage is thus invested with will the messy glories of the Cowley Road be lost to creeping homogenization?

Drawing inspiration from sources ranging from Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy to contemporary art, Attlee is a charming and companionable guide who revels in the extraordinary embedded in the everyday. Isolarion is at once a road movie, a quixotic stand against uniformity, and a rousing hymn in praise of the complex, invigorating nature of the twenty-first-century city.

296 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2007

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James Attlee

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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Sophy H.
1,908 reviews113 followers
April 16, 2023
Hmmmmm!

This was a rather random and bizarre book that I think suffered from a case of the "I don't know what I want to be's"!

Attlee is looking at his neighbourhood in Cowley Road, East Oxford (a neighbourhood which he admits to not living in full time, often staying great swathes of the week in London for work) with a journeyman's eye. This journeyman seems intent on reminding us how terribly politically correct he is. He seems a little too obsessed with all religions, tries to justify how multicultural he is, reminds us he has a "regular Big Issue vendor" he frequents and keeps telling us of all the ethnicities that live in his locale. Ok we get it, you live in a multicultural area. What else? And that's it, Attlee doesn't seem to have much else to say apart from listing all the kebab shops, mosques and African, Asian and Russian mini-markets in within a square mile of where he lives!

I think there was a good idea somewhere in here but it was buried under what felt like multiple Trip Advisor reviews of local eateries and businesses.

All a bit pointless, unless that is you live on the Cowley Road ! 2 stars at most.
Profile Image for John Houghton.
75 reviews2 followers
November 27, 2016
A beautifully written combination of wandering philosophical treatise and love letter to a special but undervalued place.

The conceit is that the author James Attlee is embarking on a pilgrimage up and down his neighbourhood of the Cowley Road, the main Eastern thoroughfare out of Oxford. A place with a long but under-appreciated history, inevitably overshadowed by the glamour of central Oxford.

He may travel no further than a short cycle ride away, but over the course of 400 pages in the paperback version, Attlee roams across the history and demography of Cowley, the nature of pilgrimage, the meaning of faith in the modern world, the purpose of discovery and its relation to truth, and much more. This is a meditative book, but Attlee's brisk style conveys the reader along.

This is certainly not the only book of its kind. Psychogeography has enjoyed a revival in the past decade or so. Two factors set Isolarion apart from the rest of the genre. The first is Attlee's joy in conversations with people. He is not a passive observer, adopting a deliberately alienated pose. No, he goes out of his way to engage local activist, shopkeepers, and churchgoers, as well as his everyday neighbours. I found two conversations, both toward the end of the book, particularly moving. One with Margaret, the other with Ruth. I'll deliberately say no more - go read them for yourselves.

The second quality is Attlee's willingness to get involved in shaping the future of the Cowley. In contrast to Iain Sinclair's impotent rage about the way London is evolving, Attlee details his attendance at local visioning and planning sessions on the design and layout of the area. That preparedness to get involved, to influence decisions, elevates Isolarion above works that go no further dilettante-ish dalliances with a place.

There are occasional lapses into grumpy old man territory. Back in the day, students wanted to be Che Guevara, apparently, and now aspire only to be "Ross from Friends, sipping a cappuccino on a sofa in their preppy clothes".

Overall, however, Isolarion is a joy to read. It makes you want to explore the Cowley Road or, even better, start a pilgrimage on your own doorstep.

As the old saying goes, dig where you stand!
Profile Image for Penny.
342 reviews90 followers
September 18, 2017
4.5
The third James Attlee book that I've read and thoroughly enjoyed. 
Isolarion is a book about Oxford, or more specifically a book about Cowley Road in unfashionable East Oxford. A road he describes as "both unique and nothing special".
Attlee has the advantage of living in the area he writes about so his 'pilgrimage' is a series of journeys from his own front door. He visits many of the shops and small businesses, often trying to find the  human story behind the shop front. 
His visit to a spa where he tries out the flotation tank is very funny, and I loved the description of a furtive visit to a Private Shop too where he always seemed to see someone he knew before attempting to slip through the door.
I love the way his mind flits from subject to subject as his journey continues. I had no idea that we here in the UK publish so many books that thousands lie waiting for pulping. However pulping is expensive so unwanted books are now mixed with bitumen and used to make motorways. Apparently we might find the road a bit bumpy if we drive over erotic books!
However, my interest always dipped when he is reporting verbatim some of the conversations he has. Attlee's voice is always far more interesting. He's a wonderful writer!
Profile Image for Rob.
Author 6 books30 followers
May 12, 2013
Oxford's Cowley Road is without doubt somewhat overstated as a counter cultural enclave and certainly, it's no Prenzlauerberg or Haight-Ashbury. Attlee, however, does for this humble street what Iain Sinclair does for the footpaths and ley lines of East London and the result is highly satisfying.

The author jumps from shop to shop and business to business, emphasizing the small scale, multicultural nature of the locale as well as an alternative history a world away from the Dreaming Spires. Hence, chapters on the impact of the Cowley car works and immigration from Pakistan are interspersed with a battle to prevent gentrification in the shape of dubious street furniture and control freakery from do-gooders.

That the street is already three quarters of the way towards being fully upmarket is evidenced by property prices and the disappearance of a number of businesses Attlee describes. Overall, the book is persuasive manifesto for what the Cowley Road and and should continue to be.
Profile Image for Katie.
199 reviews3 followers
March 9, 2011
This is one of the most perfectly executed pieces of nonfiction I have ever read. The structure, which echoes the experience of a traveler (or "pilgrim") moving from storefront to storefront on the Cowley Road in Oxford is so masterful, and really elevates the concept of the many journeys that Attlee is chronicling, both through time and physical space. Since Oxford is personally my favorite and chosen space to escape from the rigors of my day-to-day life thousands of miles away, I loved reading about how someone who lives in my idyll can still find a way to explore it like a tourist would. Finally, I loved the quotes from Foucault and Said, like the historical criticism-loving nerd I am.

This is the free e-book of the month from UChicago Press for March, so it's a great time to check it out if my review intrigues you.
Profile Image for michelle.
97 reviews7 followers
July 1, 2007
Very excited about this book recommended by the Economist. Depicts Oxford's changing urbanism on one very popular street. It goes beyond the Oxford intellectualism and reveals a more ethnically diverse and eclectic persona.
Profile Image for Heather.
799 reviews22 followers
December 22, 2021
I read and really liked James Attlee's book on moonlight, Nocturne, back in 2010, and I think it was after that when I spotted this book in a secondhand shop in either Cambridge or London and decided I needed to buy it. I've never been to Oxford, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of Cowley Road, the multicultural commercial center of East Oxford, where Attlee lives. The book is an engaging mix of the historical and the personal and the reportorial, as Attlee visits various places on Cowley Road and talks to various locals about a number of topics, while also talking about the history of the area and about other aspects of history more broadly. At the start, Attlee talks about the idea of making a pilgrimage, and then talks about making a pilgrimage in many pieces, and close to home. He wants to undertake "an urban, post-modern, fragmentary pilgrimage that could be dipped in and out of" rather than a pilgrimage that's a journey far away that takes you wholly out of your normal routines.

So: this book is a Cowley Road pilgrimage, but we get glimpses of other pilgrimages for contrast: Attlee talks to a friend who has written about French priests making pilgrimages to Jerusalem in the 16th century, and to a Muslim neighbor who has undertaken the hajj; he also talks about St. Edmund's Well in Oxford, which was itself a pilgrimage site in the 13th century. Attlee's associative style really works for me; I like the way he jumps between places and times. And I like all the local details of Cowley Road that Attlee captures, all the places he visits (some of which have of course closed/changed/moved between when this book came out and now): he goes to pubs and cafes, talks to a jeweller, tries out a float tank, learns about the Chabad movement from a rabbi after reading about the opening of a mikvah, visits a car factory, and more. He quotes Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy and Peter Ackroyd ("The city itself is a form of literature in which the streets are the lines of a book that can never be completed") and takes part in various planning exercises to do with the future of Cowley Road/possible aesthetic and safety improvements to it. He goes to a reggae show and to Carnival, and talks to an artist named Jo Thomas who led a walk on the summer solstice "visiting places mentioned in ancient records as being the locations of wells and springs." I like the way Attlee writes about the built environment and the natural world and the moods of certain moments: like this description of a graveyard: "In certain weather conditions in winter, the ground emits a mist that hangs in ribbons between the gravestones, taking on a sulphuric tint under the street lights." Or this, from when he has dinner in a neighbor's yard: "the wheeling, screaming swifts are replaced by bats that flutter silently above our heads, the intricate calligraphy of their flight paths indecipherable as daylight fades and night pours into the gardens of East Oxford."
Profile Image for John.
2,155 reviews196 followers
May 14, 2025
Started to read this one a while ago, quickly putting it aside. Turned outa good idea as when I tried again recently, I loved it.

Attlee succeeded my expectations here with integrating history of the area to show that 'everything old is new again', connecting the domestic migration within the UK a century ago to find work in Oxford, with more recent international arrivals. Presents the historical background well, rather than dumping a bunch of research material. Really made the people he encountered come alive, rather than interviewing subjects for a book. If there was anything that detracted, might have been his participation with local planning board re: area development, though he did his best, and I realize that was relevant to the story.

Highly recommended!


Profile Image for Heather Bond.
60 reviews7 followers
October 11, 2021
I loved the concept of this book - the author going on a pilgrimage in his own neighbourhood, which was especially interesting for me since it's also where I've called home for the last two years. I learned more about the history of east Oxford and what it means to be an active, engaged member of the community.

The writing jumps around a lot, sometimes too much as some chapters seem random and pointless. Since it was written 14 years ago, many of the establishments along Cowley road that Attlee visits have now gone and been replaced. But overall it was an interesting read, especially for anyone who's lived there.
6 reviews
August 25, 2021
Most middle class English book ever! I loved how the author uses religious, philosophical and historical anecdotes and applies them to the underappreciated ‚ugly brother‘ of academic Oxford.
It is also an interesting reflection of middle class life in the early noughty ‚war on terror.‘
The depictions of local politics are also great, adding a comedic counterpoint.
Profile Image for Chris Mallows.
16 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2009
Synopsis

Through the centuries, people from all walks of life have heard the siren call of a pilgrimage, the lure to journey away from the familiar in search of understanding. But is a pilgrimage even possible these days for city-dwellers enmeshed in the pressures of work and family life? Or is there a way to be a pilgrim without leaving one’s life behind? James Attlee answers these questions with Isolarion, a thoughtful, streetwise, and personal account of his own pilgrimage to a place he thought he already knew - the Cowley Road in Oxford, right outside his door.

Isolarion takes its title from a type of fifteenth-century map that isolates an area in order to present it in detail, and that’s what Attlee, sharp-eyed and armed with tape recorder and notebook, provides for Cowley Road. The former site of a leper hospital, a workhouse, and a medieval well said to have miraculous healing powers, Cowley Road has little to do with the dreaming spires of the tourist’s or student’s Oxford. What Attlee presents instead is a thoroughly modern, impressively cosmopolitan, and utterly organic collection of shops, restaurants, pubs, and religious establishments teeming with life and reflecting the multicultural makeup of the surrounding neighbourhood.

From a sojourn in a sensory-deprivation tank to a furtive visit to an unmarked pornography emporium, Attlee investigates every aspect of the Cowley Road’s appealingly eclectic culture, where halal shops jostle with craft jewelers and reggae clubs pulsate alongside quiet churchyards. But the very diversity that is, for Attlee, the essence of Cowley Road’s appeal is under attack from well-meaning city planners and predatory developers. His pilgrimage is thus invested with melancholy: will the messy glories of the Cowley Road be lost to creeping homogenization?

What the critics say

The attraction, for Attlee, is that the Cowley Road ‘is both unique and nothing special’; the resulting book is unique and very special. . . . Residents of East Oxford can be proud to have this eccentric advocate and eloquent explorer in their midst
- Guardian

A gem...James Attlee's scholarly, reflective and sympathetic journey up the Cowley Road ...blends a vivid account of daily life, fluid and unsettling, in a modern British town with powerful allegorical reflections on the connections between past and present, time and space, and high culture and the hard scrabble world that sustains it
- Economist

Attlee paints an iridescent picture of a new Oxford that no guide book has yet captured
- New York Times

Exploring the multicultural and richly layered landscape on his doorstep, he proves that good travel writing is not about where you go, or how you go there, but the way that you look at the world that you pass through
- Sunday Telegraph
Profile Image for Pamela.
1,119 reviews39 followers
July 5, 2017
I really enjoyed this meandering book. It is travel without leaving your own street. Well, the author’s street: Cowley Road in Oxford. I don't live on a street with nearly so much history or diversity, but this author does and explores the past and present, which proves to be quite interesting. Attlee shows that you can travel in your own backyard, although he considers his exploration a pilgrimage. He saunters around related topics and spends quite a bit of time with an old, large book The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. This book was one that made me stop and contemplate, either what he was writing about, or about my own surroundings. All in all it was a pleasure to read, and I let out a satisfied sigh when I read the last paragraph.
Profile Image for A.J..
Author 3 books7 followers
March 9, 2011
I enjoyed this book very much. It's an exploration of the past and present of an area of East Oxford that has been neglected in comparison to its more famous neighbour. It's a study in multiculturalism, urban art and landscaping, and human interaction with our environment over the centuries.

In some ways the book is more of a meander than the pilgrimage Attlee promises us at the beginning, but that's OK - it's a fascinating journey, nonetheless.
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