InterRail

by Alessandro Gallenzi

When Francesco decides to embark on his first trip outside his native Italy, he leaves behind a difficult relationship with his father, the narrow vistas of a small provincial town and the stifling atmosphere of a country he feels has become degraded. All he brings with him are a change of clothes, a map of Europe and the desire to discover new places, new people and, perhaps, a new life. But a chance encounter in Munich takes him off course, on an incredible journey that will see him fall in love in Sweden, lose all his money in Amsterdam, sleep rough in the streets of London, win big in Monte Carlo and get caught up in an international imbroglio.

Genres: Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2012

About the author

Translator, poet, playwright and novelist. He graduated from the Università La Sapienza before moving to London in 1997. Founder of Hesperus Press, Alma Books and Alma Classics.

Reviews

[Tasmin]

:(

[Sam van Stokkom]

didn’t finish this. i was only really reading this because i was waiting for another book to come in at my library but it still hasn’t come in and this book is so boring, i don’t want to keep going. i didn’t even make it halfway through i stopped at page 87. maybe in summer when i don’t desperately want to read part 2 to the commitments and nothing else can really hold my attention, i would have liked this book because it isn’t that bad. just not in the mood for it now

[Georgette]

On a recent trip to the seaside I grabbed this book and took it along as a fun beach read. I wasn't expecting anything great ut just some light-hearted travel stories. It ended up being better than I expected as I quickly read all about Francesco's adventures out of Italy for the first time and into the "Inter-rail" world when the tickets were actually affordable (a long time ago..). Far from being just one mans adventurous summer, a fate meeting pulls Francesco in the world of a mysterious man and his con-artist tactics while still having fun and meeting various people all over Europe that would eventually change his destiny. Clearly the choice to travel alone was a wise one, as he is invariably "up for anything" and lives life fuller in 2 and half weeks than most do in years. I would recommend this to add to your 2012 summer reading list.

[Caroline]

Who hasn't wanted to go round Europe on a month long train journey just going where your travelling companions take you? This book is a great story of a young man enjoying life to the full and having great fun wherever the train and his friends take him. In the course of his journey he meets a man who clearly isn't what he makes out. This leads him to divert to Amsterdam to drop off a package and whilst doing so lands him up in hospital unconscious. I enjoyed each little story, believing some more than others, but I especially enjoyed the race around Italy towards the end of the book.

[(Something Like) Lydia]

An interesting idea that gets lost along the way.

The blurb describes this book as a 'modern picaresque novel...a celebration of a life of freedom and a Europe without boundaries' and whilst this idea is initially present, it soon gets lost amongst a bizarre subplot that eventually takes over the book.

The chief protagonist, Francesco, is too passive to be any kinds of interesting, and whereas the side characters are described and embellished in great detail, you know little more about him by the end than you do at the beginning.

Disappointing and underwhelming.

[Nigel]

A fast moving and entertaining read but the characters don't really engage so that the reader is distanced from any involvement. Francesco, the young traveller, seems to breeze Candide like through an increasingly unlikely series of events as he ping pongs round Europe by train frequently crossing paths with philandering conman Pierre. It's all gentle stuff so there are no major mishaps or traumas. Fun but instantly forgetable.

[Nicki]

This was a random pick from my local library that didn't work for me. I picked it up because I went inter railing back in the 1980s and thought this would rekindle some of those very happy memories. Unfortunately it didn't, but this maybe because I gave up. I might have enjoyed it more if it had been a memoir rather than a novel.

[❀ Hana]

Got it in Rome and accompanied me along the journey to the border of Italy-France. It was surprisingly good and entertaining! Have some intellectual discussions on famous arts and literatures - which I appreciate the most.

[Flo]

Thoroughly enjoyed it, it was good fun to read, and well done stylistically without being very complex.

[Jac]

A breezy tale of one guys preposterously unlikely whirlwind tour of Europe. More absurdity and less travel-story than I was hoping for.