Are You Experienced? by William Sutcliffe

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Novel Travelling

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Bob Mehew: May 24th, 2008

Where obtained: Mcleod Ganj
Where read: Mcleod Ganj
Where left: Book Shop - Mcleod Ganj
Thoughts: A funny book that is well-observed and containing the beginnings of some decent characters that showcase the traveller scene in India. But sadly the beginnings only. Whilst there is some great dialogue the author only really scrathes the surface with them, and I would have liked to see a lot lot more . 'J' (or Jeremy as we found out) for example is a classic long stayer nightmare with pretensions far beyond his years and a bank balance funded by mummy and daddy, and he has some great lines and associated put downs by the central character. But everyone travelling has met these types and knows they are capable of much more comic value. I could have really laughed at this character but was left slightly entertained. It is almost as if the author put together the bare bones of a book and then could not be bothered to finish it, or perhaps he was nearing a publishers deadline.

Nevertheless I would recommend it. You might finish it on a single train journey and there are many acute observations and 'I've been there' moments. I read it on a glorious afternoon on a guest house rooftopin Mcleod Ganj - perhaps at a good point in my travels five months into a six month India visit. I was faintly amused to see that he took more or less the same route (albeit in reverse) as I am taking through Inidia. Now that is what I call going off the beaten track...

Novel Travelling

Follow the journey of books around the world and leave your own location and thoughts. For more information and to see the index of other books on this blog go to:
Introduction and Index

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