Which comes first – the book or the vacation?
Not sure where to go now that the pandemic is on the wane? Brochures and travel ads abound with deals and cut prices.
How to choose from this plethora of promised delights?
Begin with a book!
Botswana
I once popped into a local travel agency to pick up brochures and was just leaving when it occurred to me to ask, ‘do you ever have any trips to Botswana?’ You see, I had just read The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith and been captivated, not just by Mma Ramotswe but the entire landlocked country in southwest Africa. When the answer was that a group was leaving in two months, I signed up my husband and me on the spot.
Our memories of that ‘trip of a lifetime’ threaten to eclipse all others. Blazing sunsets, vast wild vistas where herds of elephants, prides of lions and ‘towers’ of waltzing giraffes roam – not to mention the herd of wild dogs that I gather are rarer than ‘hens’ teeth.’ Last but not least are the kind and handsome Tswana people who dearly love their politically stable country.
Venice
A few years ago, I happened to read Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, the first of more than 20 novels featuring a commissario of the Italian State Police. We had never considered visiting Venice, a tourist trap we had been assured. Suffice to say we have now twice visited this ‘town without a sewer’ as the old song says, and would love to return yet again. How much more magical can a place become where you catch a boat not a bus and expect to get lost in those endless calli, campi and fondamenta. As for the custom of a glass of Prosecco and a cicchetti (small savoury snack) at about 11 am – what’s not to love?
Staycation
Perhaps a ‘staycation’ is more in the cards. Wherever you live, there are hidden gems of books to help you decide. How about a picnic at the mighty Niagara Falls? Before you set off, consider picking up Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner for an enchanting look at what it was like to grow up close to them in the 1950s. Born Naked by Farley Mowat takes you farther away, to Belleville, Ontario and then Saskatchewan with anecdotes guaranteed to get you chuckling as well as give a sense of place.
We had lived in Canada less than a week when we were invited to a new acquaintance’s house in Clarkson. I had this curious sense of déjà vu and, turning to our host, remarked that the tree-lined winding approach reminded me of the Whiteoaks books by Mazo de la Roche.
‘Benares is just up the road,’ she pointed out. The author was a frequent visitor with the inevitable result that the historic house (now a museum well worth visiting) was the inspiration for Jalna, the centrepiece of the 16-book family saga.
Nambia
Photos, videos and diaries make wonderful vacation keepsakes, but what about that book picked up on the spur of the moment from the bookshop just a few doors down from your hotel? Or piled next to the café checkout where you happen to have paused during your holiday rambling.
We have come across several gems this way that rekindle our memories long after the suitcases have been put away. We bought a paperback copy of The Sheltering Desert by Henno Martin, published in 1923, from a farmer’s stand deep in the desert of Namibia, in West Africa. Martin, a German geologist, had been supplying Namibian farms with water when World War One broke out. He and a fellow geologist were forced to spend two years hiding in that vast desert. Henno tells how they survived, giving a wonderful sense of that harsh but so beautiful environment.
Cuba
So it stands to reason that, while enjoying a ‘jazz safari’ in Cuba, I would feel compelled to pick up a copy of The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara and use as a bookmark a postcard of Ernest Hemingway with Fidel Castro.
Greece
We have yet to visit Greece, except for a day stop on Corfu where we visited plaques commemorating writers Lawrence Durrell (The Alexandria Quartet) and Gerald Durrell (My Family and Other Animals).
Rome
But I have just come across a six-book– and counting – series by Cambridge University classicist Natalie Haynes, who is also a highly successful stand-up comic. In Pandora’s Jar and her other five books she gives an entirely fresh look at the legendary women of ancient Greece and Rome, whose lives were so often eclipsed by tales about their godly menfolk. Even their names are better known as shorthand for adjectives or notoriety.
So, before deciding on your next well-deserved vacation, take a dive into your local bookstore. You never know where you will end up!