You Can't Get There from Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World

by Gayle Forman

What happens when cable televangelism and gay pride collide on an isolated Polynesian island? When Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy arrives in newly independent Kazakhstan? When DNA tests confirm the existence of a fabled lost tribe of Israel? In this series of alternately hilarious and poignant tales, journalist Gayle Forman takes readers to the physical and cultural fringes of the earth as she communes with lovelorn transvestites, persecuted punk rockers, unemployed prostitutes, and guerrilla linguists, all of whom show her–and us–the human side of globalization. Traveling with her husband, Forman also takes her own relationship to the edge, offering an extremely personal picture of a marriage under the influence of wanderlust.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Adult, Africa, Adventure, Biography Memoir

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2005

About the author

Award-winning author and journalist Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels for young adults, including the Just One Series, I Was Here, Where She Went and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than 40 languages and in 2014 was adapted into a major motion picture.

Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults in 2016 and her latest novel, I Have Lost My Way, comes out in March of 2018.


Gayle lives with her husband and daughters in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, this is a very entertaining travelogue. Forman and her husband went to some very exotic places that you won't read about in a lot of other travelogues. It held my interested and I learned a lot.

My biggest problem is that Forman doesn't come across very likable. She spent a lot of the trip whining and complaining (particularly odd since she'd already done a lot of travel in her life) and in the end I felt really bad for her poor husband, who was on his first international trip (I actually checked to see if they're still married; they are).

On the other hand, when I thought about it, I thought it was brave of her to keep all of that in the book when she didn't have to. I mean, there's a reason I'll never go on The Amazing Race (a show I love) or write my own travelogue: I know I would have my travel meltdowns as well, and I'd want as few people to know about it as possible.

In the end, I admired her for her honesty and decided that, overall, it's a pretty good book.

[Noelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a memoir of Gayle Forman's trip around the world with her husband. She's a journalist, so has a few stories in mind when she embarks on the tour. She learns about the Fakaleiti in Tonga, a group of men who dress like women and sleep with men but do not consider themselves gay. It's a challenge to wrap your head around their completely different world view. She also meets up with a Chinese doctor enamored with the English language, works on a Bollywood movie set, plays games with a group of "Tolkienists" who have taken cos play to another level in Kazakhstan, learns about the Lemba (one of the lost Jewish tribes) traditions in South Africa, and interviews sex workers in the Netherlands. I found the book to be somewhat disjointed, but the different experiences were definitely interesting. I think the fact that it took me two months to read it speaks volumes about how much I enjoyed the book.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read any of Gayle Forman's YA novels and I can't say they really appeal to me, but I did enjoy this non-fiction account of her year-long trip around the world with her husband, prior to having a child and beginning her career in fiction.

In the various places they visit, Forman seeks out the unusual elements of each society: transvestites in Tonga, hip-hop in Zanzibar, a "lost tribe of Israel" in South Africa, role-playing Tolkien fans in Kazakhstan. The journalistic parts of this book I found very interesting. The relationship parts -- with Forman and her husband struggling to keep their marriage together under the strain of two very different personalities and approaches to traveling -- were harder to read.

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foolishly, I read some reviews when I first entered this book. I was disconcerted because the ratings of the first reviews to catch my eye were so low. I know better than to bias myself like that, but I really was not prepared to like GF and braced myself for a whiny, self-absorbed prat. Thankfully, GF herself cleared my head of such mean spirited assessments. Forthright, honest, mindfull and alert to the rare angle, her message may not appeal to everybody, but hers is a thoughtful book, not airbrushed for posterity nor plumped with pc sentiments.

This is my opinion that I will supplement with some choice quotes asap

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is broken but I fixed it! They just need to edit her out-the author; even those who liked the book only liked her YA fiction and described her as "self important" and trying to impress upon us how cool she is. those who didn't like it were a bit harsher.

She loves travel and agrees to her husband's idea of traveling for a year and then becomes a "drama queen", "playing the martyr to no one's benefit" (especially the reader) and threatening divorce like a spoiled brat. I thought of quitting in chapter one and definitely think her husband should have left her in Thailand as considered.

I think of how her subjects would feel reading this- her condescension is cringy " "It made me cringe to watch but EVERYONE ELSE loved it", calling Bollywood "trashy", Chernevka a "shithole border town". And degrading people, mentioning a man's "yellowing teeth" which served no purpose, not believing a doctor was a doctor-for no explained reason, calling a homeless child a "Lolita" because she talks to her husband and a gender bender a "hausfrau in a muumuu".

The people she visits are brave and honest and stand up for what they believe in, their stories would have made a great book. I particularly enjoyed the Tanzanian rappers.

She appears to have no self awareness at all, but I guess she gets a point for being honest. I wish the editors had been honest.

[Selena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not like. The white gaze was so strong, and though Foreman sometimes acknowledges it, it is barely tempered by the acknowledgement. Ridiculing/judging her subjects, making inane observations, annoying them...

P6: it's already a bit annoying, with the "I was a weird kid, I'm such a rebel/outcast" thing. Saying that so overtly comes across as trying too hard. "This time I would venture to the fringe of the fringest, to seek out the guerilla Chinese linguists and the lost tribe of African Jews." A self proclaimed Weird Girl from suburban Los Angeles...
She comes across as both misogynistic, transphobic, and out of touch, refusing to accept that the fakaleiti are not "simply gay" but a third gender on their own terms.

1/24 of physical books on my shelves. I want to get rid of this but will try to find the dust jacket first if I can.

[Bridget Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this author a lot so I was looking forward to a different style of her writing. I liked this book a lot because it was more of a memoir and less a story. It chronicled her year traveling with her husband and all the different places they visited which were not common places to visit. I really enjoyed hearing about some obscure tribes in Tonga or Cambodia or what not and the interesting dynamics of different cultures. It was really eye opening how open her and her husband are with meeting new people and going off with them on their own on random adventures. I would be too scared to do this myself and trust people I just met in non-first world countries. Maybe I'm a baby and need more courage but I admire that ability in them and thus why I enjoyed reading this so much.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quirky travelogue because the author is quirky. She explains the isolation of quirkiness, then heads out the door to find others just as quirky as herself- only different.

This is travel, but with unusual destinations. You'll meet the lost tribe of Israelites, sex workers in Amsterdam, Lord of the Rings impersonators...you probably can't name it but the variety will keep you reading.

Particularly interesting was her observation that those of us who bemoan vanishing ways of life probably ought to moan less and realize that life changes and styles evolve into new shapes. We might as well throw ourselves into the new and find our rewards there as it's going to happen anyway...

[JANEMAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña de "¿Qué diablos has hecho, Sophie Roth?" por Gayle Forman … (Un regalo de mi gran amor) ...
Me gusto la historia por que toca temas sensibles en la actualidad como la religión y el racismo siendo ella judía y el negro. Y por un beso todo empezó a enredarse porque cada uno se sentía diferente dentro de su ambiente. Ella se fue a estudiar a no se que parte y vivía con una familia tremendamente religiosa. Ella era judía por ende otro tipo de costumbres entonces se apartaba por respeto y al hacerlo se sentía sola a pesar de estar rodeada de mucha gente y el chico negro también que se sentía fuera de lugar digamos que “juntaron soledades” a pesar de lo que impone la sociedad.
(mismo autor-otro libro)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gayle Forman is one of my favorite authors. I read all her fiction books and when I learnt that she had written a non-fiction book - many years ago - as well, it was a instinct buy for me.

I really enjoyed this book and Formans travel report. It was written more than 10 years ago - so that fact alone, realizing how much the world has changed in such a short period of time, was very entertaining.
But I also learned a lot, especially about places and countries where we hear - until today! - not much about in books, news or movies.

I highly recommend this book. 4,5/5 stars!

[Duessa Holscher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically love travel books and this one had an interesting premise of touching on cultural groups in various areas, but I thought the personal relationship whining was distracting and the main character was annoying.

[Jaime Howey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Learned a little something and now I look forward to reading some of Gayle Forman's other works.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I had hoped.

[Nicole Gas · Rating 4 out of 5]

So readable and thought provoking, especially since I've never visited any of the places she mentions!

[Marissa Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my normal cup of tea, but I've enjoyed everything else written by this author so why not. It was a great book to read in small quick segments. I enjoyed her take on seeing the world.

[lujain al monawer · Rating 2 out of 5]

it’s a good book but i don’t like travel books if you like travel books read it

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction to this book, Gayle Forman admits that she's a Weird Girl. She says, "...I am a member of the tribe of the odd. Have been since, as a little girl, I came to realize that I was not like an Amy or a Jenny...As such, I spent a lot of time by myself, daydreaming, bug-hunting, thrift-shopping for Snoopy skirts, dyeing my hair unnatural colors, and doing interpretive dances to the Velvet Underground at my elementary school's talent shows... Naturally, I became the picked-on person, which was just as well because the alternative was to be a picker-onner and I didn't have the stomach for that." Pay attention when she says that, because her approach to travel is nothing like anyone else's. She focuses on and opens her mind to the odd people - the ones who don't fit in, like Tonga's "third sex," the fakaleiti, and the South African "lost tribe" of Jews. She hangs out with Kazakhistanis who gather together in a national forest for a chance to re-enact The Lord of the Rings and camp out for the night. She becomes part of the ever-changing rotation of Bollywood extras. Her travel style is to stay in one place long enough to integrate with the oddest locals, making friends. She says in the book that she thinks that gives her more valid things to say about the culture, and she's right.

The framework for the book is the idea of globalization. From the little girl selling trinkets in several languages outside Angkor Wat to the impending death of the traditional Red Light district in Amsterdam, every stop Forman makes in her world tour reveals something about the impact - both good and bad - of a world that is leaking culture at its seams.

The arrangement of the book is complex: the author and her husband traveled both together and apart. They frequently set off on side journeys, reuniting briefly before parting again. The changing nature of their relationship forms nine mini-chapters in between the main chapters, which are based on locations and cultures. She also uses these sections to gloss over inconsequential travel details (because, let's face it, you really don't want more detail than, "... the 41-hour train ride..."). This allows for more dedication to detail in the sections on, let's say, the rap scene in Zanzibar.

I love travel almost as much as Forman does, but I find her revelations about the spread of the miasma that is American culture deeply disturbing. There is a well-voiced agreement among flag-wavers that democracy is good, capitalism is better, and if you're a Christian, you won't just be happy here, you're ensured eternal perfection, as well. What about the Kazakhs, who are caught between democracy and communism? The fall of Russia has created a nation steeped in confusion, with Western-style democracy available, but with the leftover KGB on the streets to punish those who celebrate the offered freedoms. What about the Cambodians who can't make a living on their farms, so move to the city to beg? That's a direct result of capitalism. And what about the Lemba, who have been genetically shown to have direct connection to the Jews of Israel? Most of them practice a mix of Judaism, Christianity, and traditional African religions. All of this goes to say that traditional American black-and-white ideas about practically everything are not only faulty, but sometimes formed of willful ignorance. So it's not the spread of cultures as reflected in this book that I object to, it's the spread of American culture.

You Can't Get There From Here is a funny book, a thoughtful book, and well worth reading.

[Karith Amel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a reflection I wrote on this book when I actually read it, during a freshman class on autobiographical writing:

I really enjoyed Gayle Forman’s book, You Can’t Get There from Here. A travel book, its theme is similar to Without Reservations, and yet Forman succeeds in ways that Steinbach does not. Why is this?

I think there are several elements that grant Forman her success, and help to captivate us as readers. For instance, she is not as introspective as Steinbach. While this is not necessarily a positive or a negative, I think it works well in Forman’s case. Steinbach left us feeling preached at, and a bit bored. Internal conflict, experienced while traveling the world, is not necessarily enough to keep an audience captivated for several hundred pages. To escape this problem, Forman is outwardly focused, addressing her personal problems briefly and with irregularity.

The exception to this is Forman’s focus on her marriage, and the trip’s affect on her and her husband’s relationship. This is one portion of the book that I find incomplete, and redundant. She explains the stress, she shares her whining, she demonstrates her marriage undergoing strain . . . and then nothing. We’re never really given a conclusion. We never see her move through the fighting into a new appreciation of her husband, or a new understanding of herself. Not really. There are small reconciliations, but nothing final. We are given conflict, but no resolution.

But for the most part, this does not happen. Forman organizes her book brilliantly, giving a theme to each chapter, dealing with that theme in full, and then moving on. Each chapter is both complete and unique, offering us something new (no redundancy here) and keeping us interested. She includes only the details that address the specific theme, letting nothing irrelevant slip in and distract. Her stories are fascinating and unusual, and yet very human—very human, because they deal with people. There is conflict and resolution, epiphanies and flashbacks, but all of it is very structured, and very concrete. She deals with abstract concepts, but through physical interaction, not vague theorizing. Her themes hold her to the point, and give her stories consistency and relevance. As a transition tool, taking us from one story, and theme, to the next, she uses short chapters to skim the in-between portions of the trip, freeing us from the mundane experience of day-to-day life.

Even with these transition chapters, however, her book would still be disjointed if not for the overarching theme of globalization. This is what holds her book together, and, ultimately, gives her wacky stories significance and structure. Globalization may seem like a heavy topic, and a bit of a stretch, for an autobiography, and yet Forman’s journalistic experience make this a logical choice. Of course, this might alienate readers with no particular interest in the topic of globalization, but her stories are engaging nonetheless, and, in a globalizing world, the topic is extremely relevant. I personally loved this aspect of her book, and found her insights to be meaningful and thought provoking.

One critique might be that, while globalization receives an adequate conclusion, her life does not. Perhaps this is an instance of her being too outwardly focused; we want more insight into the trip’s effect on her personally, but we are not given it. She returns home, but what did she learn, how did she change? These events are now a part of who she is, but who is she? Who is the new Gayle Forman, and how is she different than the woman who left home a year before? We are never really told.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You Can't Get There from Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World by Gayle Forman is a tough book for me to review: I really enjoyed it and found most of it fascinating; however, it took me a long time to get through, longer than most fiction novels take, anyway.

This was most likely because the writing in You Can't Get There from Here was a bit too conversational and article-ready. When I read Forman's Just One Day and Just One Year, the writing was divine and the plot was meticulously-planned. But that is the biggest benefit of writing fiction: the author has the ability to manipulate the story, setting, characters however she pleases to make the story more appealing.

On the other hand, though, in non-fiction, the author is expected to "tell it like it is," and sometimes, as is the case in this book, the experience is not very well designed and perfectly worded because it was reported honestly. Kudos to Forman for staying true to her journalist roots; however, some times I wanted to skim through certain sections, but I couldn't do it for fear of missing out on something important. Some of Forman's sections were more like he said/she said lists with some statistical data and relationship drama thrown in for good measure.

And so much of this book was about individual people, and even more than that, as the title implies, individual people who exist on the fringes of society. I, personally, tend to obsess over traditional cultural experiences abroad: the food, the historical sites, the festivals and holidays. Unfortunately, I am more of an ethnographer than a journalist: I'm not looking to discover a unique story, but rather to observe the stories that have exists in the same way for centuries. For this reason, I found myself wishing some of Forman's stories had been about the more traditional societal cultures of these far-off places, in addition to those stories from the fringes. For example, she goes to India, but her whole experience is reported from a Bollywood movie set. And while Bollywood is uniquely Indian, it didn't seem like the India I was hoping to explore. It was too niche-specific.

I still really enjoyed the stories that she included - they were fascinating and different that anything I had read about before (except the Bollywood part - I read about that in Just One Year, & I can definitely see what inspired that scene). But I only wished that she had broadened her frame a bit more - included the unique and niche-specific anecdotes alongside the traditional and culturally historical stories.

It is definitely worth the read,though, and I particularly enjoyed escaping my mundane routine for a little atypical adventure. It was a fun escape, and I learned about a lot of unique groups whom I wouldn't have otherwise known existed without this book. I recommend that you get yourself a copy and escape to these far-off places because most of us will never get to experience events like the ones in this book.

[Melissa Stucky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love travel books and especially liked how this one focused on people in less-known areas.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite frankly, I'm getting tired of people taking a year off (of work, bad relationships, life, whatever), traveling the world, and then writing a book about it. Are you truly traveling the world to experience other cultures, or are you traveling the world with an agenda--namely finding some adventures so you can write a book about them? And why is it that they always take a year off? How about 2 weeks...or 3 years? Anyway, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I will state that I really liked this book. This was everything Paris, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down, was not--both funny and cohesive (yes, you really can have both!). Forman throws herself into her travels, seeking out the weird wherever she goes and somehow, charming (or bulldozing) her way into their confidence. There were times when I thought, This can't be real; she's making it up. But, there are pictures to prove it! Alas, they are not in the book, which I think was a big mistake, they're on her web site. Instead of giving us a broad, boring overview of each country she visits, Forman chooses one story from each place and tells the hell out of it. In Tonga, she schmoozes her way into a colony of fakaleiti, transvestites who are accepted in society because people pretend not to know that they're men dressing as women (and having beauty contests, to boot!). In Kazakhstan, she befriends a group of Tolkien fanatics who hide in the mountains, acting out Lord of the Rings. In Tanzania, she's a roadie for Profesa J and other hip-hop artists as they travel around performing--one of the few times where it seemed she was truly in danger (I would have taken the first plane home, but not Forman). In India, she is cast in a Bollywood movie and spends a few weeks prancing around the set in an electric blue gown. (Hey all you aspiring actresses--Bollywood producers LOVE white westerners!) There are many more of these stories--and not all are goofy; some are quite sad. But all are fascinating. Forman travels the way I'd love to travel but don't have the courage to. I would love for her to give me lessons in how to get people, worldwide, to let me hang out with them.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't lie: I was hating on this book for the first chapter or two. It was the way Ms. Forman wrote that threw me off: seemingly self-important, "ain't I cool, writing this one-year travelogue?" My expectations were for something different, though I can't put my finger on what exactly. Yet, I pressed on and found it actually quite fascinating. Forman took a tack that I had yet to experience: historical and sub-cultural aspects of areas not typically explored by the common tourist. She doesn't focus merely on her presence in a locale. Rather, she finds interesting people to spend time with, learning all that she can about the person or group, while providing historical information to help the reader understand the who, what, why, where, when, and how. When she does discuss herself, it's primarily about how the year-long travel experience affects her marriage.

For anyone comparing this to Eat, Pray, Love, you're going about things all wrong. These are two rather distinct stories: Eat, Pray, Love is about a woman's personal journey to discover herself; You Can't Get There from Here is about a cultural investigation for becoming a better world citizen. They are both very good books for different reasons.

On the negative side, I do feel as though Forman wrapped up her story rather quickly, particularly when it comes to her marriage. She spent a good amount of the book discussing the tension, arguments, and outright fights that led to solo travel throughout the year. Then, at the end, things are just peachy in just a couple short paragraphs.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few chapters are the best, but I really enjoyed the whole thing. It's written by a journalist whose husband convinces her to take a year off with him and travel around the world. Along the way, the author looks for interesting subcultures to explore and write about. The first chapter, about the fakaleiti of Tonga, is not to be missed. The fakaleiti are born male, but make the decision to dress as women when they reach maturity, and for generations have been considered a third gender in Tonga, complete with cultural rules governing their interactions with men and women. This first essay was definitely the most fascinating to me, but the rest of the essays were also interesting, funny, and good food for thought.

Some reviewers were bugged by the author's ongoing commentary about the marital difficulties that were brought about by this trip. The relationship turned out fine in the end, but the trip put a lot of strain on it in unforeseen ways. While that line of commentary did sometimes seem unnecessary and out of line with the larger scope of the book, I wasn't especially bothered by it. I started reading the book while on the first major trip I'd ever taken with Hatton (our honeymoon to Guam), and during the 24 hours of travel to get to our destination, I learned that traveling can present relationship stresses that never show up in day-to-day life. (Not to worry, we quickly got over it and the rest of the trip was fine.) So I guess I could relate.

[kot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book--I found it an easy and accessible read, and it did a fantastic job of stimulating my wanderlust without kicking it into overdrive. Let me explain: Forman's travel experiences were honest and self-examining, which made the book less about "ha ha, I get to go great places and you don't," and more about humans relating to each other from all corners of the map. I'll be honest here. I hate it when books kick my wanderlust into overdrive, because I end up feeling agitated and worthless at the end. Like I'm missing out on something good in some other part of the world while I sit at my desk and send emails to pay my bills. I really, really don't like feeling that way. I especially really, really don't like it when books make me feel that way. I like books that inspire me, not give me guilt trips about not taking enough trips.

There was nothing glorified about Forman's accounts of her travels, which kept it humble and, well, inspiring. I'd recommend this to anyone who's curious about other places--especially the quirkiness of other places and the daily, unglamorous lives of those who call those places home.

Queers beware: The opening chapter talks about gender/sexual deviants in Tonga. Forman uses her Western eyes to try to make sense of it in a way that I found, as a very self-aware queer woman, slightly narrow. But that's just me.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to set aside the critical when reading travel stories, but this one just kept me going. The author is a great writer (YA and journalist) and she's focused on the outcasts and "others" within cultures in countries off the beaten travel path around the world--a unique "third sex" in Tonga, street kids in Cambodian villages, 'Tolkienists' who find refuge in role playing societies in Kazakhstan, Hip Hop musicians in Zanzibar, prostitutes in Holland. She travels most of the time with her husband, long time sweetheart and 'shy punk rock librarian', and shares some of the conflicts and pressures that constant travel companionship puts on a relationship. She's also just insanely sociable, very different from her guy, and apparently very warm so that all kinds of people open up to her and invite her into their lives. I liked the bits of political history but wasn't in love with how she framed globalization throughout (b/c it pushed the critical button) but I see that this gave context and breadth to the stories. After all it was this 'shrinking world' (due to globalization) that was what she was setting out to discover on her year-long journey. That's the only reason I gave it 4 stars (4 1/2 would be my real pick). Oh and b/c the cover is silly, but that's not her fault I'm sure.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Gayle Forman took a trip around the world in 2002, traveling to mostly off-the-beaten path destinations. In this book, she recalls the people she befriended along the way. That these people are deeply unusual (men in a gay subculture in Tonga, African Jews, Tolkien re-enactors in Kazakhstan, etc.) only makes her adventure more interesting.

While Gayle has a wonderful time ingratiating herself with these various groups, back at the hotel, her marriage is falling apart. The growing tension between Gayle and her husband Nick provides a through line for these stories and becomes the most emotional content in the story.

I enjoyed these stories and definitely learned a few things about the unique subcultures in foreign lands. That said, I wish I'd learned a little more about Gayle. She tells us about her marriage. She tells us that she was a nerdy, different kind of kid, and this is probably why she's so interested in other outsiders. But I didn't necessarily feel like I knew her and empathized with her as much as I wanted to. That said, this is a good read for anyone who enjoys travel writing and is tired of hearing about the same old places.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gayle Foreman found some really interesting cultural phenomena to explore in this travel book about her and her husband's trip around the world, and she is right, she does seem to have a talent for getting people to talk to her and getting inside these communities. The third-gendered people in Tonga are my favorites (oh! and this story was also the most complex- it sounds so awesome that the fakaleiti are tolerated by the otherwise conservative Tongan society, but as we get to know them we see that there are lots of limitations on the ways they are able to live due to causes that are difficult for the author to decode, so the story is in many ways sadder than I wanted it to be), but I was also fascinated by how she gets to be an extra in a Bollywood movie, hang out with members of a secret Tolkienist group in Kazakhstan, and bond with Dutch prostitutes. This woman really knows how to make the most out of her vacations. The time she took to talk about her relationship woes are the only thing I could have done without, not because there was anything particularly bad about it, just b/c it interrupted the other stories I wanted to be reading.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every writer of something vaguely autobiographical commits a crime of dishonesty: consciously or not, they portray themselves as without fault. Errors in judgment, mean-spirited remarks, events that reveal some character flaw -- all are rationalized or revised away entirely. It's hard to relate your actions to someone else, or to even recall them yourself, without rationalizing them. Over time, a snarky snap at someone becomes okay -- they were asking for it, or I was tired. One way or another, in my version of the story, it wasn't my fault.

Every author does this except the author of this book, and that alone makes it worth reading. She picks an inordinate number of fights with her husband about stupid things, and never tries to make the reader, or herself, believe that it was justified. She admits outright that she is making her relationship fail, and doesn't point to any excuses. All these unexcused incidents made me say "Yes! I understand you! I do that too!" even though the author's personality as a whole couldn't be farther from my own.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2002, Forman and her husband embarked on a year-long world voyage. Forman was the more seasoned traveller, but her husband was the driving force behind their decision to go. Along the way they had unexpected adventures, squabbled, made up, thought and rethought the purpose of their trip...

What works so well for me here is twofold. First, as a journalist, Forman wasn't content with simply seeking satisfaction in the form of safaris and snorkeling and sightseeing; although she did her share of that sort of thing, she also spent a great deal of time investigating other people's stories -- in particular, stories most people wouldn't think of when they hear South Africa or Kazakhstan or Tonga.

Second, Forman told her stories selectively; she didn't go into depth about every city or country they visited, allowing for more detail about other places. I expect that she could have written, and held readers' attention, just as well with tales about those skimmed-over places -- but the book feels richer for the narrower focus.

[Lilybeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Gayle Forman invites us along a year long trek around the way with her husband, Nick. She visits people that are on the fringe (fakaleiti in Tonga, Tolkienists in Kazakhstan, the Lemba people in Africa, etc) and seeks out understanding their way of life in a way that is never condescending.

As she travels to new lands we are given brief history lessons. At first this felt too much like school but eventually I understood that in order to understand the people I had to learn about their past.

Eventually, the traveling puts a strain on her marriage and Forman doesn't shy away from sharing the ugly truth. I applaud her honesty when discussing her marriage because she's not afraid to point the finger at herself.

I found myself living vicariously through the writing. I envisioned myself alongside Forman and wondered if I could travel as she did.

This is a great book for any travel lover and anyone that loves our ever shrinking world.