A Backpack and a Bit of Luck

by Zhang Su Li

In this book, you will find the lost land of Atlantis, meet a classical dancer in India who turns out to be a great teacher and friend, celebrate Christmas in July, toast marshmallows among two and a half million corpses with an old bag lady, encounter a quirky little boy who seems to be possessed by Hindu gods, form a brief friendship with an old lady who was involved in Force 136 during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, and many other odd, interesting and delightful situations. Written with humour, this collection of travel narratives from all over the world tells of a different type of beauty—one that reveals itself only when you are hopelessly lost

Genres: Travel

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Zhang Su Li was educated in the United Kingdom, and currently lives in Kuala Lumpur. She is a freelance copywriter who spends half her day at work and the other half writing for causes she believes in, cooking, and taking walks in the jungle with her rescued dog Russell. A Backpack and a Bit of Luck is her first book.

Reviews

[Ryan Sweeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preface: Straight off the bat, you should know, I may or may not have purchased this book from a street vendor in Vietnam. Lets just pretend for a moment that I did go ahead and buy a badly photocopied version of this book from an old lady with one leg, or even from one of the many legitimate stores in Vietnam's backpacker district which sell's obviously pirated and poorly Xeroxed versions of popular travel literature. If that were true, you might stand on your soapbox.. or your high horse... or some other metaphorically raised platform and tell me that piracy hurts the industry. Well this is different. It's like the robin hood effect. I'm stealing from the rich publisher to give to the poor street vendor. I technically paid for the book (albeit at a reduced price) and the only people that were hurt were the fat-cats at some low budget publishing firm and the author who dedicated hard work, time and energy into writing a book about travel experiences. OK, that sounded better in my head, and as much as the publishing house might disagree, but I think the author, 'Zhang Su Li' would understand, as a fellow traveller, that I don't have access to unlimited funds. I'd like to think that she'd just be happy someone had bothered to read her book in the first place. I know I'd be thrilled if I thought even one person on the internet even glanced at this review.

Anyway, this was all hypothetical. I totally purchased a real copy of the book. Totally.

The style of the book itself was all over the place. The tagline of the book reads "stories of a traveller with no sense of direction" and I really think this may have spilled over into her writing. I don't mean to be cruel, but I found that each chapter interested me even less that the last. This was in part due to a general lack of narrative structure and arching story. I knew it was a collection of travel stories, but I had hoped they would somehow interlink or that the author would be building towards some kinds of final chapter in which she tied up all of her experiences with a reflective monologue, but instead the book comes to an abrupt end after an exhaustingly long and (quite frankly) boring chapter about her time in India. The final chapter of the book, in my estimation, is a bazillion times longer than any of the others, and I personally felt it was the weakest. This may have been a big factor in my seemingly negative review.

That being said, I want to pull back a little and offer some praise. It was a decent book. I'm won't say I would ever read it again, or even recommend it to friends, but I don't regret having read it. I always to love hearing about the misadventures that others have while travelling and you can tell this girl just wanted her stories to be told - but with that in mind - I think I could have it done better (I'm really not an arrogant person - I promise).

This book would have been infinitely better had it been a collection of travel stories and anecdotes from different authors, but when it's about one single person, you expect the author to throw more of themselves into the pages. Yet, aside from a brief introduction about her failed studies, I found no real insight into her reasons for travel or how she funded it all... and these are the things that interest me most about a traveller. So, in the spirit of honesty, and without wanting to be harsh, this was not the best travel book I have ever read.

[Yong Leen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I cannot deny that Su Li has her way with words, I found certain parts of the book a little too abrupt. Overall, each chapter had an exciting, heart-pumping beginning, but an ending that left me wanting more. I thoroughly enjoyed 'A Dance With Life'. I especially found it eye-opening that she wrote on the plight of stray dogs, something that I rarely find in travel-related books.

(This book was given to me by my cousin)

[Maisarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I was sold when I read the back cover description where Atlantis was mentioned. Atlantis, being my absolute biggest fascination certainly made sure that this book would be in my possession. Also, because I was drawn to the catchphrase of "a traveller with no sense of direction". The whole idea of traveling simply for the sake of traveling appeals a huge deal to me.

Su Li has certainly managed to illustrate her adventures in a very real manner, which further ignites the explorer side in me. Good writing, yes.

However, knowing the stories are based off of her own experiences can't help but to make me question her attitude towards certain circumstances. Maybe it's just my expectations of enthusiasm and welcoming/comforting vibes, but that's not what I have obtained in many instances throughout the book. At some points, I wish she had gotten more 'involved'(?), instead of just leaving the possibilities of things lingering.

Then again, I guess that's real life huh? People don't usually make grand gestures; things come and go. Still a great travel book, nevertheless.

[Nkmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another travelogue to be read. It opened a new world of fantasy and an idea to the adventure- seeker...

[Syamim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, it is 4/5. But 5/5 for the last chapter, The Dance of Life.

[Michelle Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

best travel, humour and literature adventure I have read