The Unsavvy Traveler: Women's Comic Tales of Catastrophe
The Unsavvy Traveler is a collection of the comic and cathartic tales of more than 25 women travelers, including a soggy bicyclist who takes shelter in an Irish pub, only to become the evening’s inebriated musical entertainment; a staunch hiker who battles a bear with a bag of M&Ms; and a flustered tourist who tries to figure out Japan’s curious bathroom etiquette. These women are hilarious casualties of tourism, whether they’re breezy, independent trekkers who discover the necessity of...
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Women travel for myriad reasons: They venture out to escape the routine of daily existence; to encounter fascinating new people and places; to enrich their lives; to embrace new cultures; and to explore; but sometimes none of this works out.This expanded edition of The Unsavvy Traveler adds three new tales of tangled travel to the humorous collection that debuted in 2001. Braving injury and danger, conflict and discomfort, naïve faux pas and mistranslations, these women discover that an unexpected kink in plans can lead to wacky situations: being chased by an itinerant mob in Beijing; trying to outrun a rising river in Malaysia; eating unidentifiable delicacies; and sleeping on a fast-food restaurant booth, on hard jungle ground, or on a swaying fishing schooner.With wry humor and unabashed honesty, these stories convey the unbreakable spirit of the willing adventurer. Library Journal These two new collections of entertaining travel essays focus on female travelers. The Unsavvy Traveller includes hilarious stories of trips gone horribly wrong, while A Woman Alone contains stories of intrepid women traveling solo. The first is the more unusual of the two, vividly describing experiences that are both horrendous and humorous, including getting lost in the jungle, being chased by a bear, and being questioned by the police on the suspicion of taking photos of a nude man sunbathing. Contributors include Caryn Bark, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, and Novella Carpenter. Many of the stories in A Woman Alone are about women of various backgrounds (e.g., veteran travel writer Mary Morris and Faith Adiele, a Buddhist nun) connecting with others while traveling alone. "In the Ladies' Compartment," for example, describes one woman's experience traveling by train in India. Her previously established connection to other women on the train aids her when the guard thinks she is a man and threatens to throw her off the train. Other adventures include driving in a snowstorm alone, going on a religious pilgrimage in Mexico, and befriending women in Senegal. While many of the tales are unique, the theme itself is not, and there are already quite a few books in print that cover similar ground more thoroughly. For example, Susan F. Rogers's Solo: On Her Own Adventure (LJ 5/01/96) not only offers a more consistent treatment of the same theme but also addresses more immediate concerns of women traveling alone in the outdoors. Nevertheless, with the increasing popularity of travel essays, public libraries may wish to purchase both of these volumes, depending on their patrons' interests. Those with limited funds should opt for The Unsavvy Traveller. Alison Hopkins, Queens Borough P.L., New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
\ Library JournalThese two new collections of entertaining travel essays focus on female travelers. The Unsavvy Traveller includes hilarious stories of trips gone horribly wrong, while A Woman Alone contains stories of intrepid women traveling solo. The first is the more unusual of the two, vividly describing experiences that are both horrendous and humorous, including getting lost in the jungle, being chased by a bear, and being questioned by the police on the suspicion of taking photos of a nude man sunbathing. Contributors include Caryn Bark, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, and Novella Carpenter. Many of the stories in A Woman Alone are about women of various backgrounds (e.g., veteran travel writer Mary Morris and Faith Adiele, a Buddhist nun) connecting with others while traveling alone. "In the Ladies' Compartment," for example, describes one woman's experience traveling by train in India. Her previously established connection to other women on the train aids her when the guard thinks she is a man and threatens to throw her off the train. Other adventures include driving in a snowstorm alone, going on a religious pilgrimage in Mexico, and befriending women in Senegal. While many of the tales are unique, the theme itself is not, and there are already quite a few books in print that cover similar ground more thoroughly. For example, Susan F. Rogers's Solo: On Her Own Adventure (LJ 5/01/96) not only offers a more consistent treatment of the same theme but also addresses more immediate concerns of women traveling alone in the outdoors. Nevertheless, with the increasing popularity of travel essays, public libraries may wish to purchase both of these volumes, depending on their patrons' interests. Those with limited funds should opt for The Unsavvy Traveller. Alison Hopkins, Queens Borough P.L., New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.\ \
