bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
Rory Stewart walks the border between Scotland and England, much of it along Hadrian's Wall. This is a fairly long book that contains a lot of historical detail about the region. The author's father figures in much of the book and is a very colorful character. A survivor of D-Day he served with Scottish brigades as well as having a career in the Intelligence Service all over the world.
Stewart discovers that most people living along the border are ignorant of its history or indifferent. Occasionally he meets some who know local history. But he realizes that this area has been in flux since Roman times. Now many residents are people who have relocated from other parts of England or Scotland. The book is a fascinating study of nationalism and made me realize how many of our ideas about nations and nationality are recent inventions, and more invention than anything else.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the north of England and Scotland's border region. I am likely to read more of Stewart's books on Iraq and Afghanistan. He is thorough, and has a sense of humor even when the topic is dead serious.
Stewart discovers that most people living along the border are ignorant of its history or indifferent. Occasionally he meets some who know local history. But he realizes that this area has been in flux since Roman times. Now many residents are people who have relocated from other parts of England or Scotland. The book is a fascinating study of nationalism and made me realize how many of our ideas about nations and nationality are recent inventions, and more invention than anything else.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the north of England and Scotland's border region. I am likely to read more of Stewart's books on Iraq and Afghanistan. He is thorough, and has a sense of humor even when the topic is dead serious.
thomcat's review against another edition
1.0
This book took over a month to finish, and in this case that does reflect on the book. I think a good history could be written for this region, but this book is more a muddled memoir and travelogue. While the maps were nice, it certainly didn't live up to the cover blurb.
The first part of the book covers the Romans as the author and his father walked along Hadrian's wall. Stopping after this would have resulted in a better book, though short. In the second (and longest) section, the author walks the borders solo, ruminating primarily on history and geography and politics. Near the end of this rambling walk and rambling narrative, he laments that the people he met didn't really fit the story he was trying to write. The third (and shortest) section is an attempt to salvage the second, ending in the very personal experience of his father's last days. While moving, this portrait of a man feels incomplete.
A good friend pestered me about whether or not this is recommended. I was on the fence during the first part, but in total I must answer, wholeheartedly not. 1½ stars.
The first part of the book covers the Romans as the author and his father walked along Hadrian's wall. Stopping after this would have resulted in a better book, though short. In the second (and longest) section, the author walks the borders solo, ruminating primarily on history and geography and politics. Near the end of this rambling walk and rambling narrative, he laments that the people he met didn't really fit the story he was trying to write. The third (and shortest) section is an attempt to salvage the second, ending in the very personal experience of his father's last days. While moving, this portrait of a man feels incomplete.
A good friend pestered me about whether or not this is recommended. I was on the fence during the first part, but in total I must answer, wholeheartedly not. 1½ stars.
mscarle's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure about this one from about midway through, as it's almost more of a personal memoir than my preferred traditional travelogue. In that sense it flies pretty firmly off the rails, but what it becomes - a deeply personal story of family and tradition - ended up much more heartbreaking and meaningful. A long read, but ultimately a rewarding one, for me.
quodfelix's review against another edition
3.0
Best read as one man's reflections on life as he rambles. It is not about a pilgrimage of any sort, really. The walk is the place and means by which Mr. Stewart is able to reflect on any number of issues of interest to him. Ostensibly in search of trying to define "England" as opposed to "Scotland" Stewart reveals the complexities of identity in a landscape in which those identities are quite malleable and grounded more certainly in more local and specific locales than any greater "national identity." Until even that seems to be falling apart as well. I enjoyed his delving into the local histories and his challenges to the stereotypes. I wished for a greater sense of a conclusion - but maybe there isn't one, and that's the (unsatisfying) conclusion.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
We tend to think of the UK as one complete country, but there are separate countries here that have their own distinct identity and outlook. This loosely defined border between us and the Scottish has existed since Roman times. Their farthest outpost, it suffered from marauding Picts and Celts who took every opportunity to give the Romans a bloody nose, hence why they built Hadrian’s Wall. It was this 200 year old monument that Stewart chose to walk as his first journey in this book. Some of the time he walked with his elderly father, though not the whole route, choosing to walk a short way before meeting elsewhere. Sometime he walk with soldiers, not long returned from Afghanistan, a country that he knew from a walk described in The Places in Between.
The second part of the book is a walk that he takes from his home in Cumbria to his father’s house in Broich. This 380 mile route takes him through the border country, or has he calls it, the Middleland. Mixing sleeping out on mountains staying in other accommodation, he takes 21 days to complete it, but it is as much a discovery of the landscape, region and the people that inhabit it and learning about its fluid and torrid past. His third journey is a metaphorical one; it is a celebration and tribute to his father, someone who was very dear to him.
It is a difficult book to classify, it is a travel book in parts and a history book in others and a homage to his father at the end. Parts of the book are really well written, my favourite being the Middleland walk where he crosses the political, cultural and geological boundaries of this borderland. It didn’t seem quite as focused as it could have been though. It was enjoyable though, and will be reading The Places in Between as I picked up a copy recently.
The second part of the book is a walk that he takes from his home in Cumbria to his father’s house in Broich. This 380 mile route takes him through the border country, or has he calls it, the Middleland. Mixing sleeping out on mountains staying in other accommodation, he takes 21 days to complete it, but it is as much a discovery of the landscape, region and the people that inhabit it and learning about its fluid and torrid past. His third journey is a metaphorical one; it is a celebration and tribute to his father, someone who was very dear to him.
It is a difficult book to classify, it is a travel book in parts and a history book in others and a homage to his father at the end. Parts of the book are really well written, my favourite being the Middleland walk where he crosses the political, cultural and geological boundaries of this borderland. It didn’t seem quite as focused as it could have been though. It was enjoyable though, and will be reading The Places in Between as I picked up a copy recently.
germn's review
5.0
Halfway between a travel book and a philosophical novel, Rory Stewart does something remarkable... a book that deals with a normal/caring relationship between a father and a son. The admiration that the author has for his father transpires through the writing, and it is a pleasant thing to see.
If interested in autobiographical novels that deal with caring families, this is a book to read... I would also suggest Verde Acqua by Marisa Madieri (sadly not in English at the moment)
If interested in autobiographical novels that deal with caring families, this is a book to read... I would also suggest Verde Acqua by Marisa Madieri (sadly not in English at the moment)
halfmanhalfbook's review
3.0
We tend to think of the UK as one complete country, but there are separate countries here that have their own distinct identity and outlook. This loosely defined border between us and the Scottish has existed since Roman times. Their farthest outpost, it suffered from marauding Picts and Celts who took every opportunity to give the Romans a bloody nose, hence why they built Hadrian’s Wall. It was this 200 year old monument that Stewart chose to walk as his first journey in this book. Some of the time he walked with his elderly father, though not the whole route, choosing to walk a short way before meeting elsewhere. Sometime he walk with soldiers, not long returned from Afghanistan, a country that he knew from a walk described in The Places in Between.
The second part of the book is a walk that he takes from his home in Cumbria to his father’s house in Broich. This 380 mile route takes him through the border country, or has he calls it, the Middleland. Mixing sleeping out on mountains staying in other accommodation, he takes 21 days to complete it, but it is as much a discovery of the landscape, region and the people that inhabit it and learning about its fluid and torrid past. His third journey is a metaphorical one; it is a celebration and tribute to his father, someone who was very dear to him.
It is a difficult book to classify, it is a travel book in parts and a history book in others and a homage to his father at the end. Parts of the book are really well written, my favourite being the Middleland walk where he crosses the political, cultural and geological boundaries of this borderland. It didn’t seem quite as focused as it could have been though. It was enjoyable though, and will be reading The Places in Between as I picked up a copy recently.
The second part of the book is a walk that he takes from his home in Cumbria to his father’s house in Broich. This 380 mile route takes him through the border country, or has he calls it, the Middleland. Mixing sleeping out on mountains staying in other accommodation, he takes 21 days to complete it, but it is as much a discovery of the landscape, region and the people that inhabit it and learning about its fluid and torrid past. His third journey is a metaphorical one; it is a celebration and tribute to his father, someone who was very dear to him.
It is a difficult book to classify, it is a travel book in parts and a history book in others and a homage to his father at the end. Parts of the book are really well written, my favourite being the Middleland walk where he crosses the political, cultural and geological boundaries of this borderland. It didn’t seem quite as focused as it could have been though. It was enjoyable though, and will be reading The Places in Between as I picked up a copy recently.