Book review: Travel writings a timely and welcome escape

We may need to cancel our own planned road trips, but writer Trevor Carolan invites us along on his, and he is splendid company.

Tom Sandborn
Jul 17, 2020  •  July 6, 2020  •  2 minute read

Road Trips

Journeys in the Unspoiled World

By Trevor Carolan (Mother Tongue Publishing, 2020)

$21.95 | 198pp

There are only two basic plots for all stories, according to some critics. In one, a stranger arrives in the village and has many adventures. In the second, the hero or heroine leaves the village and has adventures in the wide world.

B.C.-based poet, translator, film maker, editor and essayist Trevor Carolan specializes in the second. His latest publication, Road Trips, collects his Buddhist-inflected travel writing from nearly four decades of pilgrimages across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Trevor Carolan, author of Road Trips, Journeys in the Unspoiled World. Photo credit: Mike Wakefield. For 0718 book review sandborn
Trevor Carolan, author of Road Trips, Journeys in the Unspoiled World. Photo credit: Mike Wakefield. Photo by Mike Wakefield /jpg

And make no mistake, Carolan travels as a pilgrim, not a tourist. He seeks moments of human grace, sublime landscapes and human habitations crusted with time and history, not shots for his Instagram account.

Particularly now, when the era of recreational travel has ground to a COVID-19-induced halt and many of us wonder if we can safely travel downtown, let alone across the globe, this collection of travel adventures and philosophic insights is a welcome and timely read.

Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

We may need to cancel our own planned road trips, but Carolan invites us along on his, and he is splendid company.

At age 17, Carolan got a freelance commission from the New Westminster Columbian and hit the road for San Francisco. Since then, the impressively prolific writer has travelled extensively and published widely.

His books include a memoir of studying with Alan Ginsberg at B.C.’s Hollyhock, a tribute to his Tai Chi master, and an environmentally themed children’s book. When not busy travelling or writing, Carolan has acquired two advanced degrees, taught university classes, and served a term as a North Vancouver municipal councillor, as well as conducting public advocacy campaigns on themes of Indigenous land claims as well as environmental protection and other human rights issues.

Despite his widely varied CV, Carolan does not suffer from a dilettante’s lack of focus. Every page in this delightful collection of travel stories showcases the author’s capacity to focus, observe and engage in a disciplined fashion.

His loving descriptions of meals around the world are worth the price of admission alone. Like writing about sex, writing about food is devilishly hard to do well, but Carolan manages to bring the feast to life with the same detailed, sensuous, closely observed descriptive talents he brings to describing the grandeur of a mountain promontory in B.C. or the lazy bend of the Mekong in South Asia. Highly recommended.

Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

More On This Topic

• Tom Sandborn lives and writes in Vancouver. These days, his travel adventures mainly depend on his attention wandering, but he has long known the pleasures of pilgrimage. He welcomes your feedback and story tips at tos65@telus.net

Related

CLICK HERE to report a typo.

Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com