Travel writing has been taking it on the chin lately. Or, considering its armchair associations, in the seat of the pants.
David Streitfeld recently wrote in the Washington Post that ”the Great Travel Book Boom is over.” That wasn`t so bad, considering that the boom had arrived on the heels of Paul Fussell`s pronouncement, in 1980, that the travel book was dead.
These pronouncements notwithstanding, there recently has been a surge in travel book writing that indeed may slow. But travel books will continue to be published and, sometimes, gobbled up.
For those into vicarious travel-or those who simply like a good read-a few travel book suggestions:
– ”Chasing the Monsoon,” by Alexander Frater (Knopf, $21). It is not enough simply to go somewhere anymore; the travel writer of the 1990s must have a quest, a passion-in less charitable terms, a gimmick. Frater`s is a love of rain. And it seems quite sincere. Chief travel correspondent for The Observer in London, Frater grew up in the South Pacific, where he acquired his physician father`s fascination with precipitation. Above his childhood bed hung a picture titled, ”Cherrapunji, Assam: The Wettest Place on Earth.”
As an adult he decided to follow the monsoon as it cuts its annual summer swath through India. He is there on June 2 when it arrives at Kovalam, and follows it up the western coast, arriving for the monsoon parties in Goa. He is very good at describing the importance of the monsoon to Indian life and culture. He looks at the phenomenon, literally, from all angles, the most harrowing being from the window of an Air India plane.
– ”Cathay: A Journey in Search of Old China,” by Fergus M. Bordewich
(Prentice Hall, $19.95). Bordewich`s quest is for the ancient Chinese world that has survived the atrocities of the new. For the most part he fails in his search, but the journey is redeemed by the strength of his observation and the beauty of his writing.
Also in the Destination series from Prentice Hall: ”Long Ago in France,” by M.F.K. Fisher ($18.95), ”The Last Italian,” by William Murray, some of which appeared first in The New Yorker ($19.95), and ”Best Nightmare on Earth,” by Herbert Gold ($19.95), a memoir of the author`s ongoing love affair with Haiti.
– ”Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World,” by David Rieff (Simon & Schuster, $20). Just as travel writers cannot wander aimlessly anymore, no longer can they just choose a city and jot down their impressions under such subtitles as ”City of Contrasts.” In the analytical `90s they must be probing decoders of meaning. As he demonstrated in his first book, ”Coming to Miami,” Rieff is interested in the Latinization of the United States. His insights often are important, though he runs the risk of thinking himself more in tune with poor Hispanic immigrants than is possible for a New York intellectual in expensive Texas boots.
– ”African Silences,” by Peter Matthiessen (Random House, $21). A collection of pieces written over the years about central Africa by the celebrated writer and environmentalist. Despite the generally pessimistic outlook, there are occasional moments of lightness and humor.
The last year has seen some excellent reprints, thanks to Paragon House in New York City.
– ”Love and the Caribbean,” by Alec Waugh ($12.95) is a collection drawn from the author`s frequent visits to the West Indies. Less known than Evelyn, Alec nevertheless shared his brother`s refined taste and somewhat masochistic fascination with hot countries.
– ”Brazil on the Move,” by John Dos Passos ($10.95), provides a look at the country circa 1962. The section on the rain forest will be of interest, especially in light of today`s destruction.
– The best travel anthology of the year is ”Bad Trips,” edited and with an introduction by Keath Fraser (Vintage, $12). Writers as esteemed and diverse as Graham Greene, John Updike, Martin Amis, David Mamet and Umberto Eco prove Paul Theroux`s theory that the worst trips make for the best stories.
– And where would we be without coffee-table books? And where would coffee-table books be without Ireland? If this country did not exist, travel writers, and photographers, would have to invent it. Two of note:
– ”Ireland, Your Only Place,” Jan Morris and Paul Wakefield (Potter, $29.95). This seems like an unlikely title for Jan Morris to be associated with, unless she sees it as a way of keeping people from her beloved Wales. But her staunch, rich prose perfectly complements the beautiful photographs.
– ”A Day in the Life of Ireland” (Collins, $45), from the people who brought us days in the lives of Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada and the Soviet Union.
If all this mist and brooding makes you weepy, turn to ”The Islands of Italy,” by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison and Sheila Nardulli (Ticknor & Fields, $40). Evocative writing from the author of ”Italian Days.”
