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Encounters
(Included in this account of his travel experiences all over the world, are the author's description of skiing across the Alps, playing poker in Morocco, visiting Richard and Elizabeth Burton in Mexico and sailing down the Danube. Having previously lived in Singapore, England and Japan, the author is now resident in Germany. He has also written Pictures from the Water Trade, In the Labyrinth and The Case of Thomas N)
Paperback
Published June 25, 1990
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 19, 2024
I have been on GR for quite some time, but one experience that has escaped me thus far has been to review a book that nobody has yet reviewed or even rated. I guess, by spending one dollar on this book when prompted by AbeBooks, I have to acknowledge that I am a (the) John David Morley completist.
Morley, who died a couple of years back at age 70, was admittedly not the world's greatest novelist, but he did seem to have lived a life that I myself wish I could be living. One of the things he did right was to leave almost no trace of his life on the Internet, but in this, his only nonfiction book, we do have the chance to get to know him a bit better. And -- what's this? -- when I opened my one dollar acquisition, I found taped inside, with yellowed tape barely holding together, a book review from the Sunday Telegraph, over which somebody has scrawled in pencil only 'Aug 05' (year not given.) Once again, the Internet has failed me, as I could not find the online version of this review, nor even anything meaningful about Simon Lebus, the man who wrote it. Lebus' conclusion regarding this collection of previously-published magazine pieces, with which I do not disagree:
Even better: On the title page, written in dark blue ballpoint:
"This is Moppet's copy, by order of Wid -- OK? August 1990. Langstone."
This writing is slashed through with a pale-blue felt tip, along with the inscription: "Cancelled by order of the author, 2005." Additionally, in the same hand: "For Tone"
What happened in the intervening fifteen years is anybody's guess. I note the book was dedicated to a critic named Anthony Holden. Could this pale-blue writing be from the actual hand of my semi-hero Mr. Morley, and 'Tone' and 'Anthony' one and the same person? Prove me wrong.
The book is broken into two sections, one of which is sort of travel writing; the other half describes people, primarily celebrities, primarily with some tie to the art world. His descriptions of Singapore, the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the lower reaches of the Danube, Tokyo and Munich were pretty great, and filled me in some cases with homesickness. The celebrity sketches were mostly missable, at least for me, but learning of the body-painting artist and model Verushka was certainly eye-opening:
Books are cool. Try having *this* experience with Libby or an audiobook, suckas.
Morley, who died a couple of years back at age 70, was admittedly not the world's greatest novelist, but he did seem to have lived a life that I myself wish I could be living. One of the things he did right was to leave almost no trace of his life on the Internet, but in this, his only nonfiction book, we do have the chance to get to know him a bit better. And -- what's this? -- when I opened my one dollar acquisition, I found taped inside, with yellowed tape barely holding together, a book review from the Sunday Telegraph, over which somebody has scrawled in pencil only 'Aug 05' (year not given.) Once again, the Internet has failed me, as I could not find the online version of this review, nor even anything meaningful about Simon Lebus, the man who wrote it. Lebus' conclusion regarding this collection of previously-published magazine pieces, with which I do not disagree:
This is an unusual collection. Morley is a subtle and distinctive writer; his book deserves to be read for its demonstration of how good writing can transcend the normal limitations of magazine journalism.An admonition that has fallen on deaf ears, apparently, but thirty-four years later I am happy to officially bump the average (only) rating up to four stars.
Even better: On the title page, written in dark blue ballpoint:
"This is Moppet's copy, by order of Wid -- OK? August 1990. Langstone."
This writing is slashed through with a pale-blue felt tip, along with the inscription: "Cancelled by order of the author, 2005." Additionally, in the same hand: "For Tone"
What happened in the intervening fifteen years is anybody's guess. I note the book was dedicated to a critic named Anthony Holden. Could this pale-blue writing be from the actual hand of my semi-hero Mr. Morley, and 'Tone' and 'Anthony' one and the same person? Prove me wrong.
The book is broken into two sections, one of which is sort of travel writing; the other half describes people, primarily celebrities, primarily with some tie to the art world. His descriptions of Singapore, the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the lower reaches of the Danube, Tokyo and Munich were pretty great, and filled me in some cases with homesickness. The celebrity sketches were mostly missable, at least for me, but learning of the body-painting artist and model Verushka was certainly eye-opening:
Books are cool. Try having *this* experience with Libby or an audiobook, suckas.
Displaying 1 of 1 review