- ISBN:
- 9781743311004
- 9781743311004
- Category:
- Fiction
- Publication Date:
- 01-10-2012
- Publisher:
- ALLEN & UNWIN
- Country of origin:
- Australia
- Dimensions (mm):
- 240x162x43mm
- Weight:
- 0.8kg
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Reviews
1 Review
Questions of Travel is the fourth novel by Sri Lanka- born author, Michelle de Kretser. This novel follows, from childhood, events in the lives of two people: in Sydney, Laura Fraser, inspired by her Great-aunt Hesters travel stories, uses a bequest from Hester to travel the world, eventually making a career in travel guide publishing; in Sri Lanka, Ravi Mendiss life is turned upside down by devastating events, causing him to flee for his life. Ultimately, their paths cross, although this does not happen until almost three quarters of the way through the book. de Krester is skilled at conveying atmosphere and mood: she captures the feel of Sydney summer beautifully and her intimate knowledge of Sri Lanka is apparent. de Kretser slowly builds her story around a set of complex characters: I really wanted happiness for these two, but they seemed determined to thwart their own contentment at every turn. de Kretsters novel will have the reader thinking about travel in its many different forms: travel for pleasure, for work, as migration, and in flight from persecution or war. At one point, Ravi realises that Immigration was the triumph of geography over history. de Kretser juxtaposes the superficiality of tourism with the life of locals in those destinations: the global rich in the context of the local poor. There is some beautiful prose: Antennas were suspended above tiles or were they the bones of fish? Clouds parted, and a great rib of light reached into a valley like an illustration from a Bible story. And Ferries passed, lit up like cakes. The bridge went on holding the two halves of the city apart. The last paragraph is a completely unexpected twist. Powerful and thought-provoking.
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