Almost Fearless: Monthly Travel Book Club discussion
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Kite Strings of the Southern Cross
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April 2013: Kite Strings of the Southern Cross
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I'm excited about this one... starting it now and hoping it's going to be a good one!
Okay, 50 pages in and Wow. I had high expectations of this book and they have already been smashed out of the "crinkly", shimmering Fijian water. This is bringing back so many memories of my visit there on 2004 and making me want to be there right, now! Her observations and descriptions are visceral; this Island is dripping with voluptuous life. Yes, I'm inspired! Now I'll try to shut up till the end. Happy reading folks!
Just started chapter 3 and I must say:"It scares me to look at...empty pages for months at a time in a diary. These are days lost. They were lived once. When I read about days I've written about, I remember things that make me smile, and although I can't go back, something of them lives again inside me. It's like opening up a magic that's always been there, but buried."
I can relate. Spoken like a true blogger. While I hope my little TravelnLass blog inspires and entertains, the bottom line is that it's mainly my own personal means of recapturing my many wondrous travel moments - like delicate blinking fireflies, that otherwise might well fade from my fickle memory.
I'm really happy this book got picked! Laurie's writing has always seemed to me the essence of good travel lit: lyrical descriptions of unusual places and great stories woven with deep ruminations on the meaning of life and travel. I'm glad to see others are picking that up too.I am struggling with my own travel memoir at the moment, wading through the melancholy of no longer being on the road. I'm hoping that going back to KITE STRINGS will be a comfort and a guide.
Dyanne wrote: "Just started chapter 3 and I must say:"It scares me to look at...empty pages for months at a time in a diary. These are days lost. They were lived once. When I read about days I've written abo..."
I hear ya! That paragraph really resonated with me too!
I finished a few nights ago, and now I'm sad the journey is over. This book inspired me as a traveller and a writer, and I have a lot of respect for Laurie Gough on both fronts. Like Wild, this book really took me places, geographically and emotionally, making me realise how much I need that in a book. I'd like to read more of her stuff, since I hadn't heard of her before this month's poll. Looking forward to discussing it further when a few more people finish.
Chapter 7 - a single sentence: "A shrieking miracle of birds rainbows the sky..."Seriously. I mean, you really gotta love a writer who can make a verb out of "rainbows", no?
I didn't expect to like this book - I guess I half-expected it to be just another single solo traveling lass "fluff" piece. I'm now about halfway through it and...Chapter 8: Malaysia. Two words: GEM Alert!
Indeed. Chapters 1 - 7 were delightful (if a bit tiresomely metaphorical), but oh my, in Malaysia (a flashback) Ms.Gough seems to truly come into her own. I suspect, likely b/c she was then truly solo, and not coincidentally mooning over some Fijian lad. ANYWAY, the entire chapter was much more spunky and down-to-earth, revealing, I believe Laurie's true nature (when not muddied by love-sickness). I'm tempted to quote the entire Malaysia chapter, but instead I shall pluck but one especially sterling gem:
Her reference to a night of bedbugs: "It wasn't the persistent barking of a dog all night long that kept me awake, nor was it the stagnating heat, lack of air, or lack of space in the bed. Something else kept me awake, something that made those things seem like quiet little daisies in a meadow."
Classic.
Oh my yes, I expect to very much enjoy finishing this one.
This book is a cleverly written work with a purpose and meaning, beyond introducing the reader to Fiji and other places, that I didn’t see until after I finished it and went back to review its structure. Laurie Gough tells us why she is writing the book with her quotation at its very beginning: “The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder. —Virginia Woolf”. She loves Fiji and its people but she cannot return; she experiences wonder and adventure in her travels, but she also met “The Devil”. For me, her memoir is about working through grief while also making certain that she remembers the joy of her travel experience.Do you think that Laurie would be happy living in Fiji on a long-term basis?
I just finished this book, and I admire the largeness of her vision. It's a bit too anthropomorphic for me at times, but what she sees in the world around her as she travels is so imaginative. I love that, at the end, she is cast out of paradise because she speaks up.
Thanks!