
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I began reading this book I was under the mistaken impression that it was a new novel. Only after reading a couple of chapters did I realise that it was some kind of travel memoir, and so feel that it would be of great benefit to prospective readers if the author could have included an introduction that made that much clearer. The last time that I persisted with a book of this type was several years ago when I read R L Stevenson’s “Travels With My Donkey”, which I enjoyed but the joy only began to grow after I’d covered four chapters. So it was with some slight trepidation that I continued with The Wrong Shade of Yellow.
This tale of a foolhardy bicycle trip by a woman enduring a mid-life crisis had a certain quirky attraction. The author appeared to be keeping nothing back during her journey through Holland, France, Belgium, Italy and then on to her final resting ground: Greece. Greece was where she hoped to settle down and live. So convinced was she of the beautiful attractions of Greece, based mainly on her distant memories of holidays there, that she promised to move her elderly mother, Polly, and her only son, Michael there with her.
What made this story intriguing and interesting to me were the adventures she had along the way, lugging all her belongings with her – including her tent! – on a bicycle on which she had not fully achieved proficiency. Discovering the lies betrayed in the myth that “everyone in Europe speaks English” made a most entertaining read for me. The encounters with foreign stereotypes and various insects were described most eloquently by the author and demonstrated talented writing skills. I particularly enjoyed all of the scenarios that included Polly and they caused me to chuckle many times.
This traveller’s guiding principle seemed to be “nil desperandum” for she pursues her goals through many, many challenges with relentless courage and drive and I wound up rooting for her to the end. I admit that there is no way I would wish to emulate the actions she took but the amazing writing and clever descriptions throughout this book certainly made this reader reconsider the travel memoir as a genre for future reading.
Unfortunately, there were a few editing issues that still need to be addressed which affected my final rating.
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