Three Travel Books: Josh Swiller’s Picks
Travel Blog • World Hum • 09.13.07 | 7:27 AM ET
Josh Swiller is the author of “The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa.” Frank Bures reviewed the book this week, and he asked Swiller for three travel book recommendations. Here’s what he said:
The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by Peter Orner.
Swiller says: “Beautiful and audacious. The truest depiction of daily life in Africa I’ve yet read—the heat, the waiting, the sexuality muted by heat and waiting, the drunkards, the lost, the found. A criminally underread book.”
South Sea Stories by Somerset Maugham.
Swiller says: “Some of these have a matter-of-fact racism that has aged noticeably, but they are addictive nevertheless. Masterly storytelling, haunting description, a deep empathy for those who seek meaning in the furthest reaches of the globe, and for those who have been shipwrecked there.”
Far Tortuga by Peter Matthiessen.
Swiller says: “Should be required reading in every university in the country. Probably isn’t because it’s too good. Breathtaking description of a doomed voyage on a Caribbean fishing boat, and so perfectly realized it absolutely cannot be improved upon. Will haunt you for days…years.”
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Casey Kittrell 09.13.07 | 12:09 PM ET
Very glad to see Far Tortuga cited! It’s been my favorite and most admired novel for many years. Later, when I lived in Cayman, my admiration grew even greater; his research and dialect nearly match the perfection of his storytelling. A tremendous acheivement.