Hot or Cold? – #TravelTuesday ideas
There are some books which transport you and some books which take you to a place, fully immerse you and wrap a new culture around your shoulders. Here are a selection of books to transport you to a time and place, where a new experience and culture awaits…
Galle, Sri Lanka – former Ceylon – The Sapphire Widow
Put on that kettle, and shine your gemstones as this novel takes you right to the heart of the cinnamon plantations and the gemstone factories of Ceylon. A woman find out that her life in a grand house with riches she still can’t quite believe, is now living a lie. Her husband has links to a nearby plantation and had plans working with a gem factory before tragedy strikes. This is the luscious landscape of bustling streets, monsoon rains, the scent of cinnamon in the air, a story set in Ceylon in the 1930s. (Book out on April 5th but pre-order now!)
“There’s the shimmering turquoise sea, the citronella lamps which keep the bugs away, the tiny animals who seem to sing at all times of day…”
Barbados, Bath and Bristol – Daughter of Destiny
Ok, so one of these destinations is more exotic than the others but never fear as the story is set in 1818 so it’s a very different time and not at all exotic in any sense of the word! The plantation owners of Bridgetown are ruthless and send their slaves to Bristol, where we follow the story of one girl, impregnated by one of them to face her future….It’s a heartbreaking story but one which fully immerses you in time and place and gives an insight into the real conditions and legacy of slavery.
Oslo – The Ice Swimmer
Now from a hot climate to a cold one – and it doesn’t get any colder than Oslo waters and the inside of some very shady politics indeed! Always up there with the best of Scandi writers, Kjell Ola Dahl opens up a world of cold killings, shady politicians and a city which appears nice and calm on the surface but one you experience its hidden depths…..
Italian getaway – Prosecco and Promises
With a title like that and a promise to go to Italy, what more could you want? The journey the character takes in this book is bittersweet for a few reasons but it’s a journey in every sense of the word. Imagine going back to where you were born or brought up but years later as an outsider, and having to rediscover yourself again?
The winding streets are quiet and the taxi driver makes his way aggressively through them. “Everyone on the island seemed to drive like it was their back yard”
One more?
Alaska – The Great Alone
This time a cold one again but what an adventure you have in this book? Right up in the cold Alaskan winter, and with Kristen Hannah your guide, you know you are in safe hands. Imagine you’re left a cabin in the woods, sounds nice so you go for some peace and quiet but then see this sign:
“Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again”
You’ll definately get a tour of rural and remote Alaska with this one!
