Destination: The Alps–Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Lichtenstein,  Monaco

Book: Over the Top & Back Again, Hiking X the Alps,  by Brandon Wilson, illustrated by Ken Plumb, NEW 2011

Once  an experienced travel writer whom I admire explained to his class how to write a good travel story.

“Put yourself at risk,” he said. The closer the writer comes to total disaster, the theory goes, the more interesting the story will be.

Partly true, but I would rather read a story that makes me want to go and do likewise than to come away from a story thinking, “Why in the world would I do that?”

In Over the Top and Back Again, the author and his wife set off to follow the Via Alpina, connected trails that cross eight countries, traipsing 3100 miles along the ridge of the Alps.     Brandon Wilson explains that there are five variations on the route, including some trails that go through valleys, and some that demand mountain climbing skills. While everyone they meet is traversing small portions of the paths, they are determined to go the whole route.

Nothing, of course, goes quite the way it is planned, and Wilson and his wife Cheryl liken their approach to jazz–skipping from one trail to another, depending on weather, injuries, etc. Despite the relaxed attitude of the locals–a Swiss friend tells them it is okay to take the mountain trams up the side of the mountain, for instance–the Wilsons seem intent on doing everything the hard way. The locals, you see, believe that a trek in the mountains is meant to be fun. The Americans seem convinced that it must be an ordeal.

They set out without any mountain climbing equipment. They sustain injuries and refuse to get them treated. They plod doggedly through rain and snow squalls, rarely taking a day to rest.

Photo by "angelocesare" from Flickr

Now, look…Badertscher is a Swiss name, so of course we have gone to my husband’s homeland, Switzerland. We did only short hikes, a lot of cog railroads, regular railroads, boats, buses and car travel through meadows and mountains, lakes and rivers. And it is so gorgeous that my son, a teenager at the time, said, “This whole country is like a picture postcard.” And that is true of the entire Alpine region. But you would barely know that from Over the Top and Back Again.

It seems we only hear about the scenery that the couple cannot see because it is raining–again. And on a rare sunny day, we get maybe a sentence about the meadow and then it is back to the mind-numbing recital of place names–small villages that usually aren’t even on the maps provided in the book.

In general, if someone out there has her heart set on trekking the Trans-Alpina, this book can serve as a step by step guide to hiker’s huts, trails to take and trails to avoid. But I cringe to think that someone might model himself after the needlessly difficult and sometimes dangerous approach demonstrated here.

Step-by-step guides sacrifice the overall feel of a place that the armchair reader may be looking for. In fact, I was trying to stay focused as day followed similarly dismal day, and when I got to the photos tipped into the middle of the book, I suddenly realized what I had been missing. The trek was NOT all gruesome. The beauty of the area was there in the photographs. Too bad it wasn’t reflected more in the narrative.

On the next to last page of the book, Wilson relents and tells us the good stuff:

“We were content. We’d discovered the Alps, one-step-at-a-time. It’s a land of much more than mountains, cheese and gnomes. It’s a revival of the senses.  It’s the crisp freshness of the air, the scent of pine, the riotous splash of wildflowers, and the taste of sweet milk straight from the cow…It’s the chance to free yourself and seize the most from life, day after challenging day.”

Really? After reading the preceding 217 pages, I thought it was only blisters, sprains, hunger, cold, damp, ill-marked trails, slipping on dangerous trails and trying to sleep in noisy hiker’s huts.

Wilson won a Lowell Thomas Award in 2009 for his first travel book, Along the Templar Trail. That award, in case you are not familiar with it, is a BIG DEAL. Of that adventure, he says, “Originally walked by those Crusaders who became the first Knights Templar, we re-blazed what I called the Templar Trail, narrowly dodging missiles and jihadist fervor. We survived, but just barely.”

Perhaps it was his success with that book that persuaded him that he needed to make the Alpine trek sound as dangerous and uncomfortable as possible, instead of sharing the joy.

The author provided his book for review. The pictures above are from Flickr, with Creative Commons license. Please click on the pictures to learn more about the photoraphers.

If you are planning a trek–Alpine or otherwise, and would like a copy of Over The Top, leave a comment on this post before 6:00 a.m. MST Wednesday Jan. 19, to be entered in the drawing. I’m throwing in a second book for this drawing–another one for backpackers, this time in Thailand, the very good 2010 novel, Currency by Zoe Zolbrod. And remember, ALL comments until the end of January count toward a chance on a two night stay at a Cambria Suites of your choice. Complete rules here.

What Cambria Suites hotel would you like to stay at (look at their pull down menu under cities on the home page). OR: Are you a backpacker? What’s the longest trek you have attempted?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Buddha Statue, Tibet

Destination: Bhutan

Book: The Heart of the Buddha by Elsie Sze (Released October 1, 2009)

When I was younger I wanted very much to go to Bhutan.  I bought a detailed travel book about trekking in Bhutan that included information about the country’s people and history. I never got there and now I am settling in to a different kind of travel, and can only go to these more challenging locations vicariously.

WHAT I LIKED

For that reason, when the publicist sent me a copy, I read The Heart of the Buddha, a  novel/travel book, with  appreciation for the details of daily life, descriptions of the cities, and particularly information about Tantric Buddhism. I appreciated the glossary that allows the author to use the proper Bhutanese words in the narrative and allows me to check the meaning as I read along.

Buddhist Monastery in Tibet

THE PLOT OF THE BOOK

Briefly, a young woman has gone to Bhutan as a librarian, and when she goes missing, her twin sister goes to search for her. Along the way, the first young woman falls in love with a Buddhist monk, they steal into Tibet to obtain a sacred book that belongs to Bhutan, and the sister, following their trail, falls in love with her Bhutanese guide.

WHAT DID NOT WORK

As a novel, The Heart of the Buddha fails to hold my attention.While the plot line has potential, the exposition comes in sodden lumps rather than being scattered seamlessly within dialogue and story. We  constantly get almost apologetic explanations of why some particular action is possible:  something like, “Since he studied the Tibetan language in school, he could pass as a citizen of the country.”

Although at times, the language mimics the hot panting (or is that hot pants?) of a romance novel, it also tries to be a story of  suspense.

Cliff hanger questions are stated boldly and relentlessly. “What did he look like? Would he answer to Marian’s description of him? And the question that worried me most–where was Marian?”  Trust the reader. We kinda know what she is thinking about since she went all the way to Bhutan to find her sister.

The worst thing about the book, though, is the violation of the most sacred principle of story telling–show, don’t tell. Part of the story is told through a written memoir and most of the rest, is related in conversations.  The memoir also contains long passages of dialogue so that there is no difference in style between the supposed memoir and the novel itself.

In the near future, I will be writing about Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Guilliland. I am currently reading this book that serves as a model of how a writer can be a careful researcher, include the tiniest details of daily life plus a broad overview, and still make the writing sparkle. Unfortunately, Ms. Sze is not at that point.

Both photos in this post are courtesy of Bob and Clare Rogers, all rights reserved. Bob and Clare are currently on a bicycle trip across China, Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Click on the picture to follow their adventure.

IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR MY READERS: How do you feel about my writing about books I do not recommend? Would you rather that I only tell you about recommended books, or do you want the bad apples as well? I am particularly interested in your reply because I currently have on my coffee table a book about a very interesting place that I simply cannot slog through–despite the fact that it has been recommended by lots of people in high places. (The authors have a lot of friends.) So do you think I should discuss books like that, too?

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.