The Way You Call into the Mountain

by Benjamin Chandler

The blending of the two loves, one informed by cross-cultural discoveries and humorous bumblings, the other wonderfully human in it's boy-meets-girl portraiture, invites the reader to savor all things Slovak. They range from food to castles, officious bureaucrats to outdoor fairs, beery picnics to chasing girls on Easter Day.

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Benjamin Chandler is a writer and illustrator who never lost his childhood love for all things prehistoric. His paleofiction blog, Antediluvian Echoes, has been been cited in "The Atlantic Monthly." "Lasturia" is his first novel. He enjoys cooking, bird-watching, and listening to podcasts. He does not enjoy doing the dishes.

Reviews

[Julianne Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin was my next door neighbor, department head, mentor, and friend while living in slovakia. He writes beautifully- weaving stunning imagery, humor, dialogue, history, and romance into one. As he is also an American from Chicago who moved to Slovakia alone, much of this book resonated with me. What a lovely read!!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Full Disclosure: This book was written by a good friend. That said, I can impartially say what follows is a fair review of the book)

This wonderful memoir is a great read and a fantastic introduction to modern Slovakia. The story of a man from mid-western American transplanted into Easteren Europe this book is part travelogue, part introspective novel about one's place in the world and part true life romance.

I can't say enough how much I enjoyed reading this book, particularly the first half. It's filled with wonderful descriptions and observations of Slovakia. At time hilarious, moving and frequently perceptive there are few books I've read recently that can so seamlessly mix information about paleo-geology, modern culture clashes and the universal insecurities of meeting someone and falling in love and do that all in one chapter. Observations about astronomy sit side by side with vivid descriptions of the isolation of being in a culture whose language is not your own.

At turns joyful, deeply thoughtful, and universal I can't recommend this book enough. A quick read, with perhaps the second part of the book moving by too quickly, I think anyone would walk away from this book having been moved, informed and entertained.

I don't think this is on Amazon yet but I recommend getting a copy of the book from the publisher at: http://www.cce.sk/blog/?p=2472