“Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will—whatever we may think. They flower spontaneously out of the demands of our natures—and the best of them lead us not only outwards in space, but inwards as well. Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.…”
Here I am with #booxploringtheworld again, and this time it’s Cyprus with Lawrence Durrell. Durrell was an extensive travel writer who has lived in several Greek and Italian islands, and also wrote books about them. His most famous and critically acclaimed work is the Alexandria quartet which I’m planning to read for Egypt. He was born in Jalandhar, British India, but didn’t stay here for long.
After moving a few times among other Mediterranean islands, he comes to Cyprus, which was a British colony from 1925. He takes work teaching English in a gymnasium and later as a public relations officer for the British government. The book covers a few years leading up to the Cypriot freedom movement. It captured the life and changing political mindset of the people well, from which I felt was an unbiased point of view. It became a bit dry somewhere along the way, but that can’t be helped considering it had to delve into history. The writing reminded me of Ruskin Bond from time to time, which I liked.
I think this is really good book if you want to get a basic understanding of Cyprus, its people and history.
booksandtheopenroad.travel.blog 