Synopses & Reviews
Review
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR NOMAD'S HOTEL
andldquo;A book for anyone who has ever felt that eternal travelerandrsquo;s longing to see more, to know more, to live fully in every place they inhabit.andrdquo;
-Madeleine Thien, author of Certainty
andldquo;A jewel of a travel book, free of pretension, full of easy adventure, fresh with childlike wonder for the world.andrdquo;
-The Guardian
PRAISE FOR NOMAD'S HOTEL
andquot;These journeys of prizewinning Dutch novelist Nooteboom are as much head trips as passages through space....Nooteboom conveys the excitement of things he doesn't understand, signs and languages he can't decipher, a culture that rebuffs him and the refreshing shock of the wholly unknown...A profound engagement with travel on the astral plane.andquot;
-Kirkus Reviews
andquot;[A] lyrical collection...Nooteboom weaves a compelling, perceptive, and yet wondering view of the places he visits...Armchair travelling at its best but also of interest to anyone who enjoys outstanding writing.andquot;
-Library Journal
andquot;[Nooteboom] has spent a career traveling for the purpose of producing books and essays, and the results are stunning, as is shown in this collection.andquot;
-RL Magazine
Synopsis
Since his first voyage, as a sailor earning his passage from his native Holland to South America, Cees Nooteboom has never stopped traveling.Now his best travel pieces are gathered in this collection of immense range and depth, informed throughout by the authorand#8217;s humanity and gentle humor. From exotic places such as Isfahan,Gambia, and Mali to seemingly domesticated places such as Australia and Munich,Nooteboom shares his view of the world, showing us the strangeness in places we thought we knew and the familiarity of places most of us will probably never see.
His phenomenal gifts as an observer and the wealth of his reading and learning make him an authoritative and delightful companion.
Nomadand#8217;s Hotel is a record of a world-class travelerand#8217;s many discoveries and insights.
About the Author
CEES NOOTEBOOM was born in 1933 in The Hague. He has published nine novels and over a dozen collections of travel writing, including Roads to Santiago. He lives in Amsterdam and Spain.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction by Alberto Manguel 1
In the Eye of the Storm 5
Forever Venice 11
Lady Wright and Sir Jawara: a Boat Trip up the Gambia 25
Musings in Munich 53
The Stones of Aran 73
Nooteboomandrsquo;s Hotel I 87
At the Edge of the Sahara 99
That Earlier War: the Memorial in Canberra 115
An Evening in Isfahan 129
Upon Her Dead Bones They Built Mantua 157
Zurich 169
Moonscape Mali 189
When the World Wore a Foolandrsquo;s Cap 229
Nooteboomandrsquo;s Hotel 2 233
Acknowledgments 241