#TravelTuesday – Books with a Sense of Place
The BookTrail does love a good book with a strong sense of place – well in the Stanford Travel Awards this year there is a section for some rather fantastic novels to win an award. Well, the books were sent our way, what could we do but map out a few places in each one and have a look to see which one might be our favourite?
The Bureau of Second Chances – Cherai, Kerala India
Man returns to his homeland of India after more than 30 years away. This is a unique view of a city seen through the eyes of a man who is both a local and an outsider.
Sense of Place:
Excellent. It’s the focus of the story as this man compares the city to the one in his memories. Hot and humid, chaotic and noisy.
Here Comes The Sun – Jamaica, Montego Bay
The joy of this novel is the use of local language and dialect. This is a story about community and what the people of Montego Bay do when their livelihood is threatened. With the warm sun however, the shadows are cold and dark.
Sense of Place:
Excellent – language, the hot sun, community spirit all add to create a luscious landscape
Hummingbird – Ontario, Canada
Nothing at Sitting Down Lake is quite as it seems. The forest hides ruins and mysteries; the past can never be fully understood.
Sense of Place:
The place is a character in the story, perhaps even more so than the characters. Northern Ontario is covered in remote and beautiful lakes. This novel showcases the beauty and remoteness of the area, how landscape shapes people’s lives and how a region and man can live as one….or not.
Pachinko – North and South Korea, Japan
A heartfelt and heartbreaking read – How did the Koreans feel during Japanese invasion. The suffering of families separated when Korea was split in two. The story of four generations of one family tell you what that was like and how a country under occupation feel like an island which has floated away from your home
Sense of Place:
Historically fascinating. Politically and historically evoked. The fate of the Korean people highly emotional
These Dividing Walls – Paris
It’s amazing what secrets one apartment block in Paris can hide. What kind of people live there and do walls really have ears?
Sense of Place:
One apartment block in Paris might seem claustrophobic but not in this novel. It’s a hybrid of activity and secrets
Towards Melbreak – Cumbria
Towards Mellbreak is a hymn both to the landscape of Cumbria and to a disappearing world. It gives an account of the struggle to preserve traditions and beliefs in the face of change.
Sense of Place:
Very strong. The farming community is explored and you’re immersed in the ups and downs along the way
Travel well and travel wise – which book would win your vote?
The winner will be revealed later this week
