Reviews
A Few Perfect Hours and Other Stories from Southeast Asia and Central Europe by Josh Neufeld
thisgrrlreads's review
3.0
Allowed me to live vicariously through people who have traveled extensively, i.e. who are not at all like me, for about 100 pages.
annaonthepage's review
2.0
I usually love travel writing and graphic memoir, but this was dull. It felt like watching a couple's holiday slides - never interesting, always self-indulgent (not that this was indulgent, or smug.) I've read, and experienced, enough disillusionment with fantasy versus reality, and this was a driving feature, so it just wasn't for me.
canadianbookworm's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this memoir. It tells stories from a years-long backpacking trip that Josh and his girlfriend Sari did in the 1990s. The art really adds to the stories bringing scenes, situations, and personalities to life. Also included are Traveller's Tips, that would be useful to think about for those embarking on a similar adventure. I was taken back to my own backpacking days, and the adventures I had by reading this, but it would also be of interest to those considering such an adventure. I really enjoyed this book.
will_sargent's review
1.0
I wanted to like this book. I didn't.
There's something about tourism that annoys me -- not the act of going from place to place and being a tourist, but the desire to be authentic. The idea that, because you have some vague understanding of the country, you're "less of a tourist" is what leads to the most cringe inducing bits in this graphic novel.
The scene where they accept the blessings of buddhist monks and cringe at the baptists is one of them. The scene where an ice cream seller is given his own internal monologue based on what he thinks the two travellers are thinking. The trip through the caves that, ironically, has some benefit in at least pointing out to them that they have odd ideas about the thrill of danger.
And, of course, their muted outrage at their typecasting of bit parts on Singapore TV. I mean, what were they expecting?
So, yeah. Travel can be good, travel books can be good. But this... it's holiday snap masturbation, and it shows.
There's something about tourism that annoys me -- not the act of going from place to place and being a tourist, but the desire to be authentic. The idea that, because you have some vague understanding of the country, you're "less of a tourist" is what leads to the most cringe inducing bits in this graphic novel.
The scene where they accept the blessings of buddhist monks and cringe at the baptists is one of them. The scene where an ice cream seller is given his own internal monologue based on what he thinks the two travellers are thinking. The trip through the caves that, ironically, has some benefit in at least pointing out to them that they have odd ideas about the thrill of danger.
And, of course, their muted outrage at their typecasting of bit parts on Singapore TV. I mean, what were they expecting?
So, yeah. Travel can be good, travel books can be good. But this... it's holiday snap masturbation, and it shows.
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