Divas Las Vegas - Belinda Jones

Friends forever, Jamie and Izzy share a dream: a glitzy double wedding in Las Vegas. At age 27, they’ve had enough of dodgy boyfriends and are ready for dodgy husbands—all they have to do is find them. And where better than Vegas itself, where the air is 70 percent oxygen and 30 percent confetti? But as they abandon their lives in sleepy Devon for the eye-popping brilliance of Sin City, their groom-grabbing plan starts to look less than fool proof. And those problems they thought they’d left behind—like Izzy's fiancé and the alarming reappearance of Jamie’s first love—just won't go away

Firstly let me tell you that I have enjoyed all the previous Belinda Jones books I have read. I liked this one but only really got into it about one third of the way in and then wasn't madly in love with Izzy - hence only a 8.7/10

Having said that, the descriptions of Vegas, the shows and the atmosphere of the town are all spot on. The location always plays a big part in each Belinda Jones story and drawing a complete picture of the setting is one of the things she does really well in each of her books.

This was the first book she had published and it will not put me off picking up more of her work as she seems to get stronger as she progresses, if  some of her other work is anything to go by.

8.7/10

All Roads Lead to Austen - Amy Elizabeth Smith

When I first looked at the cover of this book I thought it was a work of fiction and was unaware it was Amy Smith’s autobiographical account of the journey she made within Latin America during a sabbatical year from teaching. Imagine my surprise when upon closer inspection I realised not only was this the story of a woman’s literary and cultural journey with her companion, Jane Austen, but, it was also a travel log of that year.

Three of my most enjoyable reading pursuits are tagging along on well observed and culturally sensitive travel adventures, listening to authentic autobiographical tales and delving into classical literature. As I turned the front cover of All Roads Lead to Austen, my excitement grew and during the rest of the time I rummaged inside those pages, I was not disappointed.

Amy Smith sets off across Latin America to find out if the works of Jane Austen’s will successfully cross borders, cultures, language and time and have any relevance in today’s world. She visits six countries offering Spanish translations of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma to various reading groups and soon she discovers the answer. Some things surprise her and some do not, but always, the conversations and discussions she has with members of those groups are handled with sensitivity and a willingness to listen rather than teach. By reading the works of local authors at each port of call, she learns about the varied history and perspectives of people living in the countries she visits, which all adds to her understanding of the culture she finds herself with.

All Roads Lead to Austen provides the reader with clear, colourful and an insightful perspective of life, love, friendship and self discovery, enabled through the love of travel and reading. It is likely to be particularly appealing to lovers of Austen and can stand alone as an excellent travel journal. It is easy to recommend this book for all of the above reasons and most of all because Amy Smith managed to use this opportunity to live and learn and has the talent to tell the story well.

This book will be published on June 1st by Sourcebooks.

9.7/10

Travel to India - Part One

OK, so I promised you a review of some of the travel books I have read and here is the first of a comparative review of three books on India. Second and third to follow......

First up, Will Randall's Indian Summer.

This is a memoir written about an adventure Will Randall had during a summer he spent in India. A secondary school teacher in London, Randall takes out his class of thirteen year olds on a field trip to a London Art Gallery, one day and by chance, bumps into a elderly retired school teacher who is a docent at the gallery. They get to chatting and she asks him if he has ever been to India. When he says no she urges him to go and offers to pay for a return ticket for him if he will accompany her on an upcoming trip she is planning. In return for the free ticket he will carry her baggage, accompany her to dinner and be available for any assistance she might require during the journey. He thinks about this for some time and decides to take the chance, so he gives up his job. They head first to Bombay for a few days then onto Pune. After they arrive in Pune she heads off to visit a long time friend and Will is free to return home or stay, as he chooses. He decides to stay for a while.

What ensues is an story of compassion and determination. Randall becomes enchanted with a local ashram which is run by the kindly Chavurat and his wife Harshada and he begins to help them and the children who live there. The ashram acts as home to several adopted orphans and a day school for all comers from the nearby slum. Amongst the children there are many notable characters which Randal describes with great clarity. The ashram and the slum becomes threatened by some local developers who use strong arm tactics to scare the residents in the hope that they will move away, after which the developers plan to clear the land and build an office complex. Eventually the children get an opportunity to showcase the work of the ashram in the hope that it will be saved from demolition. They do this by putting on a play and Randall becomes the producer, director and orchestrates the final performance.

"Learning as much as he is teaching, Will finds his life transformed by this remarkable class of orphans: Dulabesh, the head-standing joker who lost his parents on a crowded railway platform: Prakask, who learned self-sufficiency the hard way by scavenging through skips: the nutty yet charming Tanushri, fan of the singer 'Maradona'. When the slum barons threaten to level the school, Will hits upon the idea of a fund raising play to save it: the 24,000 verse Ramayana, ever so slightly condensed...."

It is a lovely story and the characters are very well drawn. I particularly like the description of an outing Randall arranged for the children as a surprise and the sense of wonder they all felt whilst taking the bus journey. I couldn't help but compare the British children's reaction to the school trip we had previously encountered in London. Of course, these two events are purposely included to draw the reader into making a comparison between 'have's and have not's' and he himself comes to conclusions that are not very flattering about the sense of entitlement the British children demonstrate in their daily life as opposed to that of gratitude in the Indian children's lives.

If there is one negative thing about this book it is that I was left with a sense that Randall (or maybe the marketers of the book) were somewhat conceited and gloated a little too much about the good work he had done with the children. It annoyed me to see the sub title "A Good Man in Asia" and the blurb on the back page which said "Will Randall thought teaching in an inner London comprehensive was a difficult job. But that was nothing compared to his next assignment: saving a slum school in the Indian city of Pune". Saving the school and putting on the play was by no means a solo effort. Even the dedication at the beginning of the book stung me a little "This is a book for anyone who thinks it might be worth adding their drop to the ocean". For me, the story was about children who have to live a challenging life each and every day and survive against all odds and was not about someone who drops into their world for a month or so, thinks that they have fixed everything, basks in glory for a while after which they dash of to another awaiting adventure. It was this lack of modesty that just took the edge off what was otherwise a lovely book.

What do you think, am I being over sensitive about this?

Travel, bearing witness and taking on life's chances.....

Sometimes I cannot believe how blessed I have been in my life to have had so many opportunities to travel and to have witnessed some of the things I have seen.....

Along the way I have been to exotic and ordinary places; cities decimated by the poverty of the ordinary folk and the greed of a powerful government and army. I have looked into the eyes of a dying man as he tapped on the sealed car windows, begging for pennies at the roadside. Within seconds the lights had changed and my car sped off, taking me to sail on a luxury yacht where people were sipping champagne and dipping strawberries in chocolate. I had no appetite, I couldn't forget his eyes. I have seen the most elegantly bejewelled ladies dressed in brocades spun with real gold, standing next to women in rags holding an infant to their breast. I have seen breathtakingly beautiful beaches with palm trees and mountain backdrops, after having to pass by corrugated tin built slums where 12 people live in hovels which they share with cockroaches and rats. I once gave a child an apple, which I thought was better for her than money and I was immediately inundated with starving children saying "Me please, me please please!!", I had no idea where they came from and felt woefully inadequate, unable to offer them a single thing. Sadly, I have spoken to far too many people who were enthralled by the prospect of travel, but, didn't even own a passport, have never left their home state or country in their lifetime and live their dream through others.

And many times I have wondered, "Why them and not me?" It is a question which has kept me awake at night and made me cry myself to sleep. As the years go by I still have no answer, but, know that I am eternally grateful for the life I have had so far and all the chances that I have been given and taken.

One of my son's friends got me thinking about all this today (thank you, young man xx). He recently gave up his regular job after university term ended and took a very brave step by travelling to Hawaii alone, for the summer. He knew no one and did not have a job, but took the chance anyway. He wrote to his friends recently and tried to explain the reason behind the decision to make such a bold move, he did this by quoting an email he had received from his dad. He then urged all his friends to think about what he had said. Here it the note to his friends:

This is an email my Dad sent me, and I thought I'd share it as insight to the reason why I decided to take this trip. With two weeks under my belt, the gravity of the situation has hit me, but I thought about the locals I play basketball with every night, the people at my new job, and of course my amazing sister and all of her amazing friends, and I realize that I've made this place my own. So without further ado:

"Co-worker just left so I thought I might send you a quick note. Every day at work, and I mean each and every day, several people come up to me and ask me a lot of questions all about your latest island adventures. They hang on my every word and I am always the first to break it off or I would never get my work done. At first I wondered why they were so interested, as you know I do not like to talk a lot, but they were intent to squeeze every detail out of me. It finally occurred to me that you are living the dream they had, but were not bold enough to embrace. I am so proud of you as not many people have the courage to travel 4,000 miles away, to a new land, where they don't know a soul. I am finding out that many people spend the rest of their lives wishing that they had taken on the type of adventure that you are living. I guarantee you that things will not always go well in your life but remember that "Living well is the best revenge" and Hawaii living is the best.You will look back on your island adventure with relish, just like I do, and you will never have to know the misery of those poor timid souls, who approach me every day and spend the rest of their life wishing........................... "If only I had"..."

It just blew me away! Not only the letter from a father to a son, but, the fact that the son urged his friends to read it. An action, in and of itself, meant to encourage them to look carefully at life's chances and live a dream should chance come along. He is a brave and wise young man and has a great mentor in his dad. I am so glad he is a friend of my son's.

And, if there is an answer for the question "Why them and not me?" perhaps it lies somewhere in this letter.

My next post will be about some excellent travel books I have read, but, that's tomorrow.........today I'm still thinking of taking life's chances.