Rate this book

Italian Ways: On And Off The Rails From Milan To Palermo (2013)

by Tim Parks(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0393239322 (ISBN13: 9780393239324)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Really enjoyed this. I'll definitely read another of his non-fiction books. It was an interesting introduction to Italy - it's not really a travelogue or a history book. I guess the best way to explain it would be how he does late in the book: that to try to describe a country's culture would be overwhelming and boring - where do you even start? Instead, you could take the small-scale example of an extended family dinner - how does the family communicate? who was there? when did they arrive? what did they eat/drink/talk about? where did they eat or what were they celebrating? And use that small example to talk about an entire nation's culture. He's trying to do that with the train/rail system in Italy. I thought it was interesting, and he's a great wr... moreiter.
review 2: Parks, an English writer (novels and non-fiction) who teaches at the university level in Milan and has lived in Italy for 30 years or so, writes about train travel in Italy and what it reveals about Italians and Italian society and politics. He's a sharp observer and a careful writer, and the book is entertaining for anyone interested in Italy and are trains. A couple of passages about politics and history get a little dry, but they are easily skipped over and only a minor flaw in an otherwise enjoyable book. less

Download links for: Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo

Advertising