A House Somewhere: Tales Of Life Abroad

by Don George (Editor), Isabel Allende, Amitav Ghosh

Lonely The world's leading travel guide publisher* We've all dreamt of escaping to a house somewhere. In this collection of stories some of the finest names in contemporary travel writing reveal the perils and pleasures of exchanging the familiar for the foreign. ...I know well the delectable thrill of moving into a new house somewhere altogether else, in somebody else's county, where the climate is different, the food is different, the light is different, where the mundane preoccupations of life at home don't seem to apply and it is even fun to go shopping.- JAN MORRIS Edited by Don George & Anthony Sattin Includes original stories by Isabel Allende, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Jan Morris, Rolf Potts, Mort Rosenblum, Jeffrey Tayler, Errol Trzebinski, Simon Winchester Plus selected writings by Lily Brett, William Dalrymple, Amitav Ghosh, Pico Iyer, Frances Mayes, Peter Mayle, Paul Theroux and many more. About Lonely Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places where they travel. TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *#1 in the world market share - Nielsen Bookscan. Australia, UK and USA. March 2012-January 2013

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Essays, Short Stories

310 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

Reviews

[Debbie Robson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have decided, after careful deliberation, that I simply can't read any more of this book. Which is embarrassing as I bought it for my best friend. I have struggled and struggled but I just am not interested in the extracts. They might be by famous writers but there's simply nothing to catch my interest.
Somehow nearly all (or at least most of the half I read) of the extracts read as if the same person wrote them. Yes, they are about wildly different countries but that's about all. Considering the title I was hoping for passion and excitement, the writer finding the house of their dreams and saying, for instance: give me the house keys and no-one gets hurt but it is all just intellectualism and not much description, at least for this reader. Nothing to take my breath away and start looking at airfare prices.

[Gordon Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit hit and miss.
Some extract’s were really good and others are not so much.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to read it for school, otherwise I wouldn't have even considered reading it. I'm not going to give this a high rating because I found these stories boring. It's just not my cup of tea.
Though I am travel-writing lovers would, of course, enjoy this book.

I've only read the last half because it's only what's required of me.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I loved the idea of this book more than the execution. It features short excerpts from travel writers describing their lives abroad, with vignettes taking place from Paris to Tuscany to Bangkok to Japan. Some of the stories were entertaining (e.g., the guy that lived on the Seine), while others were not. Generally, there just wasn't enough time to get invested in the characters or their stories—but that's true of all short story collections. I might revisit this again someday, because I really want to like it more.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plagued by selection, editing and sequencing issues that would have never made it past a real publisher; that being said, Isabel Allende's A House in Paradise, Rolf Potts's Mr. Benny's Dead Uncle and Karl Taro Greenfeld's A Loft in Paris are all worth reading

[Mike Wigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories of expats getting homes in other countries bore me. The contractor's a thief. Too many friends want to come. "We dined on rosemary and garlic Wheat Thins delicately laced with vintage Cheese-Whiz while simultaneously being accepted into the remote village in France/Italy/Slobbovia." Suddenly when all seems lost it comes together at the last moment. Then you return to New York. Get over yourself and lay off the humble bragging.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed much of this collection of travel writing, though just like destinations, not all the writers are my favorites. Pico Iyer is my all-time favorite travel author and he never disappoints. Isabel Allende usually bugs me and I actually liked her in this shortened format. Nobody is better than Paul Theroux at encapsulating foreign culture quirks; it's such a shame he always has to go on and on about himself. I wish there was a German house in this book.

[Enrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sure I am not the target audience for this book. I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I'm not going to say it was unbearable, but maybe saying it was disappointing would fit it best. The 20+ tales can be divided into two groups: (1) those written by people who actually moved and recognized themselves as immigrants, and (2) the tales written by passerby who labeled themselves "expatriate" (for their own sanity).

The former were enjoyable as you could see those writers were actually open-minded and engaged in getting to know the culture and country they're experiencing. Unfortunately, they were just a handful; less than five by my own count. Meanwhile, the second second group was full of tales that tasted as snobbiness, tiredness of being abroad, and no interest whatsoever on taking the chance of living abroad to get to know different people, views of the world, and cultures. No wonder those same writers only mentioned they stayed for a couple of years in "exotic" foreign lands. At the end of the day, I was just as tired of their life abroad as they were.

[Christian Schwalbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dreams fuel for those that wonder about faraway lands and cultures vastly different than our own. This collection of narratives by a variety of writers, novelists , journalists, travel writers, and more, is one that I found surprisingly enjoyable, albeit rather generic. Being a compilation, as a whole, it only really shares a theme of what it means to have a home in a culture not of your own, but I enjoyed reading of the different perspectives each author brought to the ideas of "home" "roots", and "culture". Anybody who has ever gazed on the horizon and wondered what it would be like to live far beyond your own shores would enjoy this book, as it is travel writing, but with a bit of a different flair. "Sedentary Travel", perhaps.
3/5 stars. Points for author diversity, personal narratives, demerits for lacking originality, being of a niche genre (minor nitpicks admittedly)

[Elena]

Lo compré de segunda mano casi por casualidad sin muchas expectativas, con la simple idea de dejar en el pueblo algún libro para leer el próximo verano. Sin embargo, he de decir que me ha sorprendido de forma positiva. Dado que cada relato está escrito por una persona distinta y trata sobre un tema y país diferente, hay algunos que me han interesado más que otros pero es una lectura muy agradable. Es un libro ligero en el que hay relatos serios, alegres y tristes, por lo que independientemente de tus gustos seguro que hay alguno que se adecúe al tipo de literatura que a cada uno le gusta.

[Олена Бережна · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a wonderful book. I was reading it slowly, enjoying every story. I’ve discovered some new names - the writers, and I’d like to read more of their stories.
The book came just in time for me, we’ve recently bought a house, and we are in the long-going process of making a home, though it felt like home from the first sight. Anyway, i can relate to many of these stories — same feelings, same doubts, same difficulties, looks like they are universal, regardless of which country you are in. The stories were good companions for me, and this is one of the few books I’d like to keep at home.

[Erica Basnicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want travel writing to evoke a burning desire for travel. I got a few sparks from one or two writings, but nothing really caught. Just as well - it’s still lockdown and travelling isn’t possible. I think the biggest downside is that the vast majority of the collection comprises book extracts that can’t/don’t stir the imagination as standalone stories. I’m not an avid reader of the genre, but I’m positive it can be better than this!

[Ss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Flavours from different parts of the world. Some are astonishing, some mediocre.. But all have travel in their DNA
William Dalrymple mused about a hot Delhi evening. I couldn't agree more.

"A pale camembert sun sinking down to the treeline, the smell of woodsmoke and dung cooking fires; the last raucous outbursts from the parakeets and the brahminy mynas; the first whirring, humming cicadas"

[Jen Warner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short stories are great, because they are self-contained and do a lot with just a little space. These excerpts don't have the same sense of clarity and urgency because they are just pulled from larger works.

Think Isabel Allende did the best job with injecting feeling into the writing.

[Abigail McManus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these were really good and others were not so good and I just read through them. I didn’t realize until getting into it that it took excerpts from other published books. I’d be interested in a more up to date version of this book.

[Moonstone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first few stories about life in other countries but then it fizzled out for me. Some I found quite boring.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice chance to try a bunch of travel books through excerpts

[Janeen Rawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no place like home unless you move to that house somewhere and it becomes home.

[Sull McCartney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing for the most part. I enjoy books that I can read a chapter at a time.

[Merilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful escape to places all over the world.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to read the excerpts from some of these authors, but you couldn't tell one from the other. It felt like I was reading the same pages over and over.

[Marcinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite lovely, I’m just not the “short stories” type of person 😅

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've often been homesick, but I've never been able to say for where.

I enjoyed this collection of writing about life abroad, about trying to find ourselves in another country. There was a slight similarity in the tone between the different accounts, but, overall, it was a good read.

[L. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about reading these stories of homes elsewhere is the photographic skill each writer brings to describing his/her/their experience. From close-ups to panoramic views, we see their villages from both insect- and tree-level. Some are temporary visitors in their new domains, others permanently rooted in their adopted-countries with no intention of returning to their home countries.

Experience the macho culture of rural Spain with former Genesis band member/current sheep shearer, Christ Stewart; live through a testy summer drought with author Annie Hawes in Italy's Liguria; walk the cobblestone streets of San Miguel de Allende with writer Tony Cohan and his artist wife, Masako; drift gently along on Mort Rosenbaum's houseboat along the River Seine in France; or learn what adjustments are required to adapt to rental life in a flat overseeen by thrifty, landlady Mrs. Puri in Delhi, India.

[Vari Lemur · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly boring stories. Painful to finish.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good travel book, and I liked the collection of essays giving different outlooks and writing styles. On the other hand, I was mildly disappointed that most of the essays were the same formulaic of American/British writers living in the tropics for brief periods of time. There were several essays on Asia which I enjoyed, but only two with foreign authors living in the US. I would have liked to see more variety. Where are the people living in Australia? The South Pacific? South America? Eastern Europe?

Still, it was an enjoyable and quick read, great if you enjoy travel writing.

[Yuliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like a collection of stories about living abroad to re-awaken not-so-dormant desires to resume what I now see is a substandard peripatetic lifestyle. Nay, not only to resume it, but to make it worthy of, perhaps not publishable work, but at least a blog blurb.

The book's collection make circle-stories of people setting off, stories of people settling in, and stories of people returning, and poignant though it was, the end of this collection inspired in me not a nostalgic homesickness or a homeward journey, but a deep, almost discomforting, feeling that I belonged somewhere else, right now.

This is not a book review. this is a feeling review.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have had to read this book as part of my college level and it wouldn't usually be something I'd try but I was willing to give it a chance.

After reading the second half of the book, as this was all we were required to read, I find it hard to judge it. This is because of there being many different stories and only small extracts, so while I may have enjoyed one or two of the stories I will admit that had I not needed to carry on reading I wouldn't have.

Not saying that it won't be good to someone else, it just isn't my cup of tea is all.I gave this 1.5 stars and I won't be doing a full review.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I’ve always wanted to live abroad. Twenty six well known writers (and not as well known) really bring to life what it’s like to be immersed in a different culture. All the joys, trials, tribulations, and lessons learned. It’s refreshing to read about living in different parts of the world- Japan, India, Morocco, and many locales, from the writers different sensibilities, perspectives, and writing styles. These diverse pieces are humorous, poignant, warm, and show an intimacy with their “foreign” hosts.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't read travel writing (I'd rather travel than read about others traveling...) but this was our book group selection for October. It turned out that I really enjoyed many of the stories in the book. The focus was on living in a foreign culture and the unexpected encounters that often occur. The best selections read like good short stories - my favorites which made me laugh out loud were "Digging Mr. Benny's Dead Uncle" by Rolf Potts, "City of Djinns" by Wm. Dalyrymple and "Waiting for Juan" by Chris Stewart.