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esperanzaseg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kooday's review against another edition
It's not what I expected, I was expecting a grand adventure about traveling and self discovery, while that's definitely a part of it, I couldn't relate to any of the characters at all and you can definitely tell the author is American, the way he romanticises Europe.
Additionally his depiction of how these young people behave and think is quite "interesting" to say the least. I won't say wrong because I can't speak for everyone. But it sometimes just felt unrealistic.
I feel like the socio-political commentary was too much for me. The wars and history of the time period were not something I was personally interested in.
Frankly it feels like the author's personal beliefs are too loud and blatant at times.
It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me.
Additionally his depiction of how these young people behave and think is quite "interesting" to say the least. I won't say wrong because I can't speak for everyone. But it sometimes just felt unrealistic.
I feel like the socio-political commentary was too much for me. The wars and history of the time period were not something I was personally interested in.
Frankly it feels like the author's personal beliefs are too loud and blatant at times.
It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me.
melaniekelly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I first read this book 30 years ago and never forgot some of its key themes and message. Returning to it now I notice how society has moved on and certain aspects around race and gender made the book feel uncomfortable. However read as a reflection of the author and the time it’s still a superb book.
spilt_moonlight's review against another edition
5.0
"Kẻ khờ dại thì phiêu dạt, người khôn ngoan thì phiêu du."
-- Thomas Fuller --
Ở tuổi trung niên, George Fairbanks là một chuyên viên phân tích đầu tư thành đạt, làm việc cho ngân hàng World Mutual. Công việc dẫn ông qua lại giữa bao miền đất: nước Mỹ đang bùng nổ phong trào phản chiến, Cộng hòa Vwarda giữa cuộc chuyển giao chính trị giữa người da trắng và da đen, thiên đường nắng ấm phía nam Tây Ban Nha, xứ Bồ Đào Nha hoang sơ như đóng băng giữa thời gian, rừng rậm châu Phi mùa mưa ào ạt,... Chính từ những chuyến đi ấy, ông trở nên thân thiết với sáu bạn trẻ, những người vì nhiều lí do đã rời bỏ quê hương, lên đường tìm kiếm những giá trị mới.
Họ là Joe, Britta, Monica, Yigal, Cato và Gretchen.
Ông Fairbanks yêu mến và luôn tìm cách giúp đỡ những người trẻ sôi nổi, phóng khoáng, tràn đầy năng lượng ấy, đồng thời cũng tự thấy mình không thể hoàn toàn hiểu được thế hệ của họ. Ông thấy thanh niên thời này phóng túng đến độ dễ dãi, ông thấy họ dường như muốn thay đổi gần hết những giá trị đạo đức, những chuẩn mực xã hội, ông thấy họ thả mình trong hơi cần sa, thậm chí liều với heroin, ông thấy họ trăn trở giữa những ngã rẽ, những lí tưởng, ông đau lòng thấy một trong số họ từng bước hủy hoại chính mình. Ông dõi theo họ, với đôi mắt của một người bạn vong niên tận tụy.
Rồi, bằng giọng điềm đạm từng trải, ông kể lại cuộc hành trình, hay đúng hơn là những cuộc hành trình nhuốm màu khai sáng ấy.
.
Tôi thực lòng nghĩ cuốn sách này là một trải nghiệm đặc biệt mà mỗi người, dù là đang tuổi thanh xuân hay đã không còn trẻ đều nên tìm đọc. Đâu dễ tìm được một cuốn sách phản ánh cuộc sống và tuổi trẻ vừa chân thực vừa toàn diện, lại sâu sắc đến vậy.
-- Thomas Fuller --
Ở tuổi trung niên, George Fairbanks là một chuyên viên phân tích đầu tư thành đạt, làm việc cho ngân hàng World Mutual. Công việc dẫn ông qua lại giữa bao miền đất: nước Mỹ đang bùng nổ phong trào phản chiến, Cộng hòa Vwarda giữa cuộc chuyển giao chính trị giữa người da trắng và da đen, thiên đường nắng ấm phía nam Tây Ban Nha, xứ Bồ Đào Nha hoang sơ như đóng băng giữa thời gian, rừng rậm châu Phi mùa mưa ào ạt,... Chính từ những chuyến đi ấy, ông trở nên thân thiết với sáu bạn trẻ, những người vì nhiều lí do đã rời bỏ quê hương, lên đường tìm kiếm những giá trị mới.
Họ là Joe, Britta, Monica, Yigal, Cato và Gretchen.
Ông Fairbanks yêu mến và luôn tìm cách giúp đỡ những người trẻ sôi nổi, phóng khoáng, tràn đầy năng lượng ấy, đồng thời cũng tự thấy mình không thể hoàn toàn hiểu được thế hệ của họ. Ông thấy thanh niên thời này phóng túng đến độ dễ dãi, ông thấy họ dường như muốn thay đổi gần hết những giá trị đạo đức, những chuẩn mực xã hội, ông thấy họ thả mình trong hơi cần sa, thậm chí liều với heroin, ông thấy họ trăn trở giữa những ngã rẽ, những lí tưởng, ông đau lòng thấy một trong số họ từng bước hủy hoại chính mình. Ông dõi theo họ, với đôi mắt của một người bạn vong niên tận tụy.
Rồi, bằng giọng điềm đạm từng trải, ông kể lại cuộc hành trình, hay đúng hơn là những cuộc hành trình nhuốm màu khai sáng ấy.
.
Tôi thực lòng nghĩ cuốn sách này là một trải nghiệm đặc biệt mà mỗi người, dù là đang tuổi thanh xuân hay đã không còn trẻ đều nên tìm đọc. Đâu dễ tìm được một cuốn sách phản ánh cuộc sống và tuổi trẻ vừa chân thực vừa toàn diện, lại sâu sắc đến vậy.
lyonnishizawa's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't read anything so beautiful in a while. I mean, it's beautiful, but it's also relatable, so it's a win-win. In fact there's so many wins in this book I wonder how lost I would have been if I hadn't stumbled on this. This book gives me all the courage and all the right answers (or at least the right questions) that I could have asked for during this pandemic and the past few months I've been spending pondering my future and the uncertainty thereof. In short, don't ponder anything. Just live it.
alisa4books's review
This hefty book begins with promise. It's 1968 and the first 6 chapters each bring a main character through their journey to a common physical location. The next few chapters chronicle their interactions and give a rich history of young people and the socio-political issues of the late 60's. That said the last half of the book devolves into a dry political commentary where the authors voice becomes so loud no character can break through. Even when the original 6 experience a terrific loss there is no emotion - only a kind of detached 'hmph' and a feeling that it was bound to happen. There's got to be a better Michener novel out there. This one is just too dry and heartless to recommend.
thissimoneb's review
4.0
This was one of my favourite books as a teenager, so it was a joy to revisit it as an adult. Reading it this time round was equal parts reminiscing and seeing things afresh, and still an epic read!
When I was younger, I was very taken in by the adventure and romance of the story, identifying with the journey of self discovery that the characters were on. This time I noticed a lot more of the political commentary and philosophical ideas coming through... Which were sometimes relevant and engaging, and sometimes meandering and worth skipping.
I will always love this book because it made me long to explore and travel the world, and it's a fun and engrossing read. I look forward to revisiting it again in another 10 years to see what I think then!
When I was younger, I was very taken in by the adventure and romance of the story, identifying with the journey of self discovery that the characters were on. This time I noticed a lot more of the political commentary and philosophical ideas coming through... Which were sometimes relevant and engaging, and sometimes meandering and worth skipping.
I will always love this book because it made me long to explore and travel the world, and it's a fun and engrossing read. I look forward to revisiting it again in another 10 years to see what I think then!
dannb's review
4.0
Like many of Michener's books, it' a long one; however, his research is impeccable (published in 1971... so know this a time and places long passed... or is it?) and his characters are true to the time.
,
The most amazing thing? Drugs are still ruining a significant portion of the population, we still don't understand each other and we are still working to overcome "The Man."
,
The most amazing thing? Drugs are still ruining a significant portion of the population, we still don't understand each other and we are still working to overcome "The Man."
lynch626's review
5.0
The novel is set in the 1960s and follows the stories of 6 young people all bound together by their connection to a mutual mentor/father figure Mr. George Fairbanks. The book dedicates a chapter to introducing each character and their background, then follows the group as they travel to Southern Spain (Torremolinos), Portugal, Pamplona, Mozambique and Marrakesh.
Monica: a young girl who is going through trials and tribulations as she transitions from living as royalty in a foreign country (her father is the British ambassador to the fictional Vwarda) to being forced out and finally finding her way to Torremolinos to join the rest of the cast in the book. She is the craziest and most experimental of all the characters and eventually ends up dead from heroin use at the end of the book.
Cato: the son of the Reverend Claypool Jackson, a local minister trying to salvage his community through his church. Cato Jackson is a sophomore at University of Pennsylvania, whom Fairbanks meets at a drugstore where he stumbles upon a shooting of a local drugstore owner. Cato struggles throughout the book with what it means to be African-American at home and abroad.
Yigal: an American/Israeli, he is struggling to identify with either his parents and their life in Israel, or with his grandfather and his American life in Detroit, and his other grandfather in England. He is shuffled between Israel and America throughout his youth (going by Yigal in Israel, but Bruce in America), and even fights and becomes a hero in the Six-Day War, before finally enrolling in Technion University in Haifa.
Britta: an 18-year-old girl from Tromsø, Norway. After finishing school, she finds a job in an office at the docks, but eventually becomes curious about the world beyond Tromsø. I identify her since she longs to get out of the Norwegian winters and into the warmth and sunlight.
Joe: a disenfranchised twenty-year-old youth who is enrolled at the University of California during the Vietnam War. After Joe realizes that with his grades he is going to get drafted, he hitchhikes to the northeast, where he gets the name of a professor who may be able to get him across the border into Canada.
Gretchen: a very intelligent girl from Boston who is working for senator McCarthy's presidential campaign. After campaigning across the US for McCarthy's nomination in Chicago at the DNC, during the riots she and the people she is with are falsely arrested. During the process she is sexually assaulted, but the policemen who did it deny it, and nothing is ever done about it. After fighting with her parents and the police over the issue of what happened, she decides to go to school in Besançon, France, and decides to travel after that.
I loved this book and the themes about travel, finding yourself through experiences with people who are different than you, and coming into your political beliefs and morals.
Quotes:
"Go to Europe, educate yourself. Then when this madness is over, come back and go to jail. If you go into your cell with ideas and visions, your years of imprisonment won't be wasted. You may come out a man of substance."
"The most expensive product in the world is cheap labor because it lures you away from rational operations"
"Southern Florida is full of people 68 years old who are going to do something great with their lives but waited until it was safe. Now it is safe, and they are 68 years old."
Monica: a young girl who is going through trials and tribulations as she transitions from living as royalty in a foreign country (her father is the British ambassador to the fictional Vwarda) to being forced out and finally finding her way to Torremolinos to join the rest of the cast in the book. She is the craziest and most experimental of all the characters and eventually ends up dead from heroin use at the end of the book.
Cato: the son of the Reverend Claypool Jackson, a local minister trying to salvage his community through his church. Cato Jackson is a sophomore at University of Pennsylvania, whom Fairbanks meets at a drugstore where he stumbles upon a shooting of a local drugstore owner. Cato struggles throughout the book with what it means to be African-American at home and abroad.
Yigal: an American/Israeli, he is struggling to identify with either his parents and their life in Israel, or with his grandfather and his American life in Detroit, and his other grandfather in England. He is shuffled between Israel and America throughout his youth (going by Yigal in Israel, but Bruce in America), and even fights and becomes a hero in the Six-Day War, before finally enrolling in Technion University in Haifa.
Britta: an 18-year-old girl from Tromsø, Norway. After finishing school, she finds a job in an office at the docks, but eventually becomes curious about the world beyond Tromsø. I identify her since she longs to get out of the Norwegian winters and into the warmth and sunlight.
Joe: a disenfranchised twenty-year-old youth who is enrolled at the University of California during the Vietnam War. After Joe realizes that with his grades he is going to get drafted, he hitchhikes to the northeast, where he gets the name of a professor who may be able to get him across the border into Canada.
Gretchen: a very intelligent girl from Boston who is working for senator McCarthy's presidential campaign. After campaigning across the US for McCarthy's nomination in Chicago at the DNC, during the riots she and the people she is with are falsely arrested. During the process she is sexually assaulted, but the policemen who did it deny it, and nothing is ever done about it. After fighting with her parents and the police over the issue of what happened, she decides to go to school in Besançon, France, and decides to travel after that.
I loved this book and the themes about travel, finding yourself through experiences with people who are different than you, and coming into your political beliefs and morals.
Quotes:
"Go to Europe, educate yourself. Then when this madness is over, come back and go to jail. If you go into your cell with ideas and visions, your years of imprisonment won't be wasted. You may come out a man of substance."
"The most expensive product in the world is cheap labor because it lures you away from rational operations"
"Southern Florida is full of people 68 years old who are going to do something great with their lives but waited until it was safe. Now it is safe, and they are 68 years old."