There are few better – or simpler – pleasures than embarking on a really good travel read. While we don’t always have the time and budget to trek across the globe, books allow us to explore places (and eras) we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. We’ve selected eight of our all-time favourite travel books. Have you given any of these a read?
Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar
Argentinian magical realist Julio Cortázar published a series of gorgeous and surrealist works in the mid-twentieth century, of which Hopscotch is perhaps the most masterful. This experimental novel, which is read in non-chronological order, follows a group of characters between Paris and Buenos Aires.
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
A travel story and romance set in Edwardian England, A Room With a View follows Lucy Honeychurch as she journeys to Florence and Rome. The classic novel’s scenes of blossoming romance take place against a lovely Mediterranean backdrop.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
This beloved work of Latin American fiction begins on a journey, as José Arcadio Buendía and his wife Úrsula migrate from their rural village to eventually found the riverside town of Macondo. Márquez’s fictionalised account of Colombia presents an enchanting and imaginative sense of place.
The Odyssey by Homer
The original travel story, Homer’s Odyssey is written as an epic poem that recounts the journeys and travails of heroic Odysseus, including his famous episodes with Scylla and Charybdis and encounter with a bloodthirsty Cyclops. The ancient story has influenced untold writers.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This stream-of-consciousness, quasi-fictional account of a road trip across the United States still captures readers’ imaginations today. Based on the lives of Kerouac and his fellow Beat Generation peers, the story is full of jazz and poetry.
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Set in 1970s Mexico City, The Savage Detectives follows a group of young poets and revolutionaries who first populate the cafes of the city before scattering around the world: to Barcelona, to Nicaragua, and beyond.
You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers
A compelling novel that sees two protagonists, Will and Hand, embarking on an impromptu global odyssey in order to give away a large sum of money. The characters’ wanderings bring them everywhere from Latvia to Senegal.
Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
A genre-crossing book that blends personal account with historic episodes, Rings of Saturn sees an unnamed narrator ambling across Suffolk in a reflective and beautiful story.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to… whose guides cover all the best hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, sights, shops and spas
(Featured image: Book of Travel © jannoon028, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com)
