Around the World in 80 Books: the second leg

Goodness. Thanks for all your suggestions for the next leg of my journey; who knew there were so many literary types out there? Just to clarify the rules for those of you who didn't understand my convoluted and none-too-clear explanations:

1. I can only travel between countries that share a border (Poland-Belarus, or Libya-Egypt, or Mongolia-China). I cannot go UK-Nigeria. Sorry, Sonja.

2. I can cross bodies of water, but only really the shortest possible routes. So I could just about go Canada-Japan, or Brazil-Nigeria (see, Sonja, I am trying to get it in there), but not really UK-Finland (handling that boat is not something I'd be too confident of) or Mauritania-India (out-and-out cheating).

3. Each book doesn't have to contain a journey to the next destination. That would be amazing, but perhaps a little beyond my current intellectual budget right now.

So, here we go.

Second stop: "Bailleville" and "Sainte Agathe", France

Book: Gemma Bovery, by Posy Simmonds, and Le Grand Meaulnes, by Alain-Fournier 

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I don't know why I chose such sad books. I know Bonjour Tristresse isn't exactly Cold Comfort Farm, but at least it's got some sunlight in it. Anyway, I'd read both of these before and thought I could do with a reminder of how brilliant they were. And they were. Brilliant.

Gemma Bovery is a graphic novel inspired by Madame Bovary, about a chubby Englishwoman who moves to Normandy with her furniture restorer husband, but swiftly tires of the day-to-day nosiness of French village life and the quiet of the life she's chosen. The narrator, a local baker, is fascinated by Gemma from the first time he sees her, and keeping a neighbourly eye on all her affaires (as well as her affairs) he becomes convinced that she's heading for the same sticky end as her namesake.

It's a book I would recommend to anybody, not least for Simmonds's immaculate drawings and her perfect ear for the Englishman/woman in France. Hilarious, clever, and a page-turner. Just perfect. And nowhere near as bleak as I've somehow insinuated.

Le Grand Meaulnes I think I've talked about before. It's a book I tend only to talk about in writing, rather than out loud, as my mother (a Frenchwoman, for her sins) will do that insanely rude French thing of making you repeat the words seven or eight times until they are satisfied that their language has not been entirely sullied by the silly English. In revenge, I tend to refer to it as 'The Big Meaulnes' (as in Lebowski, or even - pushing the literary reference here - Gatsby); I imagine to avoid just such a discussion, the recent translation was rechristened The Lost Estate. Most civilised.

This is a book about a schoolmaster's son, Francois, who always seemed a bit Tiny Tim-ish to me, and the influence the new boy, Augustin Meaulnes, holds over him. Meaulnes is a charismatic, confident older boy, who one day, through some mcguffin, finds himself in a strange house where a strange wedding party is taking place, seemingly arranged solely by a band of children. He falls in love with a beautiful girl there, but the party is rudely cut short when the master of the house returns without his bride.

Returning to school, he is haunted not only by the girl, but also by the house. Desperate to find it again, he plans all through the winter to make his way back to it, piecing together maps to calculate where he must have been.

To make a long story short, this is a really sad book. I actually can't get across how strong the urge was to just lie down and stare at nothing, after reading the final sentence. Ouch. It's beautiful, though, and again, I think everyone should read this. But maybe not on their wedding day. Or when their first child has just been born. Or if they've been befriending any bandaged gypsy acting troupes.

Conclusions as a traveller:

Fry-ups seem a lot less lethal than the local cuisine; never, ever, ever play truant (unlikely to be useful advice if you're just passing through for the fortnight).

I would quite like to go to Italy next, but I could go via Switzerland - any suggestions? I also have Blindness pencilled in for Portugal, but simply can't think of a Spanish book that I'd like to read. Mayday.

I think you've all earned a point so far, so the competition continues,

Sam the Copywriter

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Comments

[Francesca]

How about The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway? Drinking! Bull fights! Fiesta!

[Alice]

There's a short story set in the Basque country by Dorothy Sayers in Hangman's Holiday.

[h]

i think you need to preface each blog entry with a No Hemingway Allowed caveat or something

what about the club dumas by arturo perez reverte?? that slightly-odd-but-i-still-liked-it film 'the ninth door' (with j-deppp) was based on it. plus wikipedia just called it "a bibliophile's fantasy". surely that intrigues you?

[tim wright]

o poo. i was going to say 'for whom the bell tolls' but i guess hemingway is a bit too easy.

(and is don quixote is too obvious?!)

[Elizabeth]

I also like Arturo Perez-Reverte, but would also think Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book might knock out a few countries in one swoop. (including Spain)

[Ed Evans]

For Spain,
Laurie Lee - As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning.

For Switzerland,
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Tender is the Night (includes travel between south of France and Zurich).

[Marg]

For Spain, Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

[Vic]

Il Colombre - Dino Buzzati (for Italy)

[Jessie]

How about 'Tender is the Night' - Swiss clinic by way of the Riviera?

[Clau]

F Scott. Pls.

[Collette]

for Spain, what about "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel? he was born in Spain, although from what I understand he is generally considered Canadian. lovely book though if you haven't already read it.

[Madalena]

Barcelona: Manuel Vázquez Montalbán — Southern Seas?
Northen Spain: Ballester? Camilo José Cela?
Blindness is from a portuguese writer but the action takes place in a nameless city.
Also from Saramago, there's "The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis" wich takes place in Lisbon

[Maria das Mercês]

For Portugal (and being Portuguese probably helps...) you can try Eça de Queirós. Some of his books have already been translated into English. "Os Maias" would be my recommendation, and although the translaton is ready (by Margaret Jull Costa), I don't know whether the book is out. Will try to remember other books!
Great idea, Penguin!