Review by Mquino -- Thumbing Through the 70s
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Review by Mquino -- Thumbing Through the 70s
[Following is a volunteer review of "Thumbing Through the 70s" by Maggie O'Brien.]
i]Thumbing Through the 70's[/i] was not about turning the pages of a book that vicariously let you live what life was life in 1970. It was literally about "thumbing" or hitchhiking across Scandinavia, Greece, the Middle East and India in the 1970's. Maggie O'Brien paints a wonderful picture of what her life was like as a University student in the 70's. The world back then was a little more trusting and hitchhiking was usually a safe transportation for the student population. The University students in Britain were given "gap" breaks, which inspired many to throw a backpack on and see where life takes you.
Maggie begins her story with why she is sharing it, which I enjoyed, for her inspiration were young adults, who she met in life, who were amazed that she grew up with iconic bands like Pink Floyd and Elton John. Beginning artists played in their University Halls and little did their fans know what would transpire to be greatness. I wished she had continued with that theme throughout the whole book by referencing the music and weaving it into her journey across terrains with different cultures, languages and customs. Maggie instead diverges and leads the reader on her own adventure which began in Scandinavia. Her travels on the back roads of countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden visualize for the traveler what is was like "off road". She meets characters who open their doors with incredible hospitality and she endearingly gives them names out of the children books from Hans Christian Anderson and Disney. She and her companion had a desire to see Russia, which was the Soviet Union back then. The week they spend "behind the curtain" is engaging and a little suspenseful. Her travels to Iran and the Middle East are also edgy. She is not the typical traveler and finds herself in alley ways and away from the main attractions, which makes her story interesting. Greece is inviting with beaches and sleeping under the stars that seems magical and makes me want to visit Greece even more.She ends her journey in India, which she masterfully paints again. She comments often, how lucky her and her travel companions were on meeting people who were generous and hospitable. I cannot imagine it today, but maybe off road it is.
I am not a traveler, so I enjoyed her imagery and sometimes I felt like I was there eating dinner and hiding under the table. She captured the people, the culture and the mannerisms of the 70's and allowed you to time warp back to an Era that was bold and exciting.
The main reason that I would give this book a 2 out of 4 stars, was the voice of the author throughout the book. I felt like she was struggling about who her audience was. My feeling was that she was trying to satisfy many readers and she should have narrowed her focus to one. The voice shift was distracting and frustrating for she would change her style to talk writing and slang speech after describing a picturesque scene, such as, (wait for it). I believe many of her comments could have been eliminated so the reader could fill in the missing words themselves. The writer used many fragments and British English, which is an "s' instead of a "z". The fragments were disruptive and I couldn't tell if they were purposeful to the voice or not.
I believe the audience of this book would appeal to multi-generational readers and those who have not had the liberty of seeing countries "off the road". There is no profanity and it is written in British English. I wouldn't call it a travel log, but more of a glimpse of what life was like for young students in foreign countries back in the 70's.
******
Thumbing Through the 70s
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
i]Thumbing Through the 70's[/i] was not about turning the pages of a book that vicariously let you live what life was life in 1970. It was literally about "thumbing" or hitchhiking across Scandinavia, Greece, the Middle East and India in the 1970's. Maggie O'Brien paints a wonderful picture of what her life was like as a University student in the 70's. The world back then was a little more trusting and hitchhiking was usually a safe transportation for the student population. The University students in Britain were given "gap" breaks, which inspired many to throw a backpack on and see where life takes you.
Maggie begins her story with why she is sharing it, which I enjoyed, for her inspiration were young adults, who she met in life, who were amazed that she grew up with iconic bands like Pink Floyd and Elton John. Beginning artists played in their University Halls and little did their fans know what would transpire to be greatness. I wished she had continued with that theme throughout the whole book by referencing the music and weaving it into her journey across terrains with different cultures, languages and customs. Maggie instead diverges and leads the reader on her own adventure which began in Scandinavia. Her travels on the back roads of countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden visualize for the traveler what is was like "off road". She meets characters who open their doors with incredible hospitality and she endearingly gives them names out of the children books from Hans Christian Anderson and Disney. She and her companion had a desire to see Russia, which was the Soviet Union back then. The week they spend "behind the curtain" is engaging and a little suspenseful. Her travels to Iran and the Middle East are also edgy. She is not the typical traveler and finds herself in alley ways and away from the main attractions, which makes her story interesting. Greece is inviting with beaches and sleeping under the stars that seems magical and makes me want to visit Greece even more.She ends her journey in India, which she masterfully paints again. She comments often, how lucky her and her travel companions were on meeting people who were generous and hospitable. I cannot imagine it today, but maybe off road it is.
I am not a traveler, so I enjoyed her imagery and sometimes I felt like I was there eating dinner and hiding under the table. She captured the people, the culture and the mannerisms of the 70's and allowed you to time warp back to an Era that was bold and exciting.
The main reason that I would give this book a 2 out of 4 stars, was the voice of the author throughout the book. I felt like she was struggling about who her audience was. My feeling was that she was trying to satisfy many readers and she should have narrowed her focus to one. The voice shift was distracting and frustrating for she would change her style to talk writing and slang speech after describing a picturesque scene, such as, (wait for it). I believe many of her comments could have been eliminated so the reader could fill in the missing words themselves. The writer used many fragments and British English, which is an "s' instead of a "z". The fragments were disruptive and I couldn't tell if they were purposeful to the voice or not.
I believe the audience of this book would appeal to multi-generational readers and those who have not had the liberty of seeing countries "off the road". There is no profanity and it is written in British English. I wouldn't call it a travel log, but more of a glimpse of what life was like for young students in foreign countries back in the 70's.
******
Thumbing Through the 70s
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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