Book Review: Around The World In 80 Trains
Blurb: From the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Around the World in 80 Trains is a celebration of the glory of train travel and a witty and irreverent look at the world.
Packing up her rucksack - and her fiance, Jem - Monisha Rajesh embarks on an unforgettable adventure that takes her from London's St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakstan, and beyond. The Journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair strike up friendships and swap stories with the hilarious, irksome and ultimately endearing travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth's most breathtaking views.
Before I get to my review, I want to share a quote from the book which I think perfectly sums up everything I say below and should be a lesson to us all about patience and enjoying the gift of time:
"I noticed a monk in burgundy robes who hadn't so much as raised an eyebrow, let alone his temper. I realised that I could sigh, pace the carriage and swear - and we would still be here - or I could use the time to read, enjoy the warm rain, and try some crepes and gooseberries. The railway was a memorial in motion; to complain about delays was the height of impatience while sitting upon wooden sleepers laid by those who died doing so."
Plot
This trip is any train enthusiasts dream! Following on from her first book, Around India in 80 Trains, Monisha Rajesh extends her sights to the rest of the world and her 'countries visited' lists once she's done is impressive, to say the least! Originally planning to travel solo, it is a last-minute decision for her fiance Jem to accompany her and honestly, their solid, unwavering relationship during this sometimes testing trip is just as endearing as the journey itself. As much as the many, many places they visit along the way the trains they travel on are as much a destination in themselves, each offering very different experiences from high class, mahogany furnishing to the smell of dead skunk and rust. You can tell that Monisha has spent time doing her research on each train and railway line they have travelled on and she provides the most interesting facts along the way that help the reader understand and appreciate what makes trains and train travel so incredible.
There were many places on this journey that I've never visited before. Some have been on my bucket list for a long time such as Russia, New Orleans and China and others I would never have even comprehended such as North Korea, Tibet and Kazakstan but this book has opened up so many possibilities for future travel for me. Living on an island over the past few months has been both a blessing and a curse and cabin fever is starting to set in (especially as I should have been sunning myself and sipping cocktails in Majorca right now) but this book scooped me up and provided me with the best medicine for my holiday blues.
Characters
Although this is a non-fiction book, there is an abundance of characters that Monisha and Jem meet along the way. This is mainly down to their admirable enthusiasm for interacting with perfect strangers no matter what country they find themselves in, breaking down obvious language barriers to connect and further learn about the locals of the countries they visit.
Not everyone they meet is pleasant with some people just being downright rude but then some fully embrace the openness of interacting with strangers and introducing them to their lives which just proves Monisha's point that you can find such levels of human-kindness in train travel that you just would never find with any other type of travel out there. How often do you get on an 8 hour or more plane journey and end up making friends with the person next to you? Most of the time we just put our headphones in or turn over and go to sleep. But on trains, you can spend days at a time sharing a compartment or just a carriage with hard seats and leave having made memorable if not short term friendship but those are people that you will remember always.
Writing Style
The thing I always find funny about travel writing is that I pick them up hoping to get a romanticised tale of a perfect trip to a beautiful or incredible place I've never been to before and for the author to tell me to visit myself because of how much of a dream it all was. But most of the time, only about 40% of what they say does sound anything close to perfect. The thing is, Travel books are not brochures or tourism adverts. They tell you the good, the bad and the ugly of their truest experiences but actually, this is the reason why travel writing is so much better than a travel guide. It reminds you that travelling isn't always a dream and not everything will always go smoothly but just like when you get to the end of a travel writing book, when you've finished your trip and you look back, you're so grateful for the experiences; every single one of them.
Monisha doesn't hold back on the details. From shingles, car crashes, death railways and dead skunks (yes I mentioned this earlier but when I read it in the book I had to do a double-take to make sure I'd read it right) but on the other hand the descriptions of sights of Jungles, mountains, coastlines and deserts had me in utter awe of her skill as a writer to pull me and hypnotise me so far that several times I looked up and found an hour and disappeared from the real world whilst I had been visiting the Great Wall of China, The Terracotta Warriors and the Potala Palace in Tibet.
Book Cover
I'm a little tempted to say that the cover looks a bit busy to me. With the font and the images and the colours, I think the title might get lost on me if I hadn't been seeking out the book already. However, now that I've finished it I can see that it matches perfectly with the zig-zag, busy and hectic journey that awaits whoever turns that front page so I think it is a good choice overall.
Overall Conclusion
If you love to travel and enjoy trains then you definitely should read this book. I had so much fun sharing this experience with Monisha and Jem and I'd love to do something similar one day. If you don't like trains but just want a whirlwind adventure you won't be disappointed!
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