I love books like this. They take us far away and explore a place through its beauty, history, geography, and people. Often, these literary journeys follow in the footsteps of earlier explorers really bringing the past to life through the eyes of current travelers. In The Seine: The River That Made Paris, Elaine Sciolino traces the seductive river from its remote source, through Paris, to the sea. After taking our trip along the Seine, we’ll also take a quick look at other favorites of mine in this genre.
Elaine Sciolino is a former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times and author of the bestseller The Only Street in Paris. She moved to Paris about 20 years ago and immediately found support and refuge in the Seine. She describes the love affair of Paris and the Seine. “While the river owes the city its romantic aura, the city owes the river its birth, its life, and its identity.” The symbiotic relationship between the city and the river is constantly on display. The architectural and historic wonder of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame (just to name the big three). The bridges; thirty-five cross the Seine within the city of Paris, each of them “with its own story, structure, composition, and character.” Fishing, boating, swimming, and houseboat living on the Seine. The indelible books, photographs, paintings, and films inspired by the river. The islands; 117 in all, including the two most famous, Ile Saint-Louis and the largest Ile de la Cite. The light; natural as it changes through the day and weather and the magical shimmering reflections of the river at night. “The secret to her success is light.”
The Afterword discusses the Notre-Dame fire of April 15, 2019 and is the perfect wrap-up. The water supply and pressure in the vicinity of Notre-Dame was not nearly adequate enough to handle the blaze that day. A fire floating station was summoned and furiously began pumping water from the river. The Seine saved Notre-Dame, and by extension, Paris. The Seine has reflected the the city’s cherished architecture for centuries. “The Seine allows Paris to present itself as a stage set, with the river cast as the piece de resistance.” A return to Paris is next on my travel list (if this pandemic will allow it). Thanks to this book, I know I’ll be even more aware of the river that made Paris.
D² Rating ◼◼◼◼☐
And Now For Some More Books to Learn About the World and Maybe Laugh Along the Way
– Paul Theroux: I’ve read four or five of his 20 travel books. He’s most well known for The Mosquito Coast (adapted to a movie starring Harrison Ford in 1986 and now an Apple TV+ series with Justin Theroux, nephew of Paul) and The Great Railway Bazaar chronicling a trip by train through Asia. I enjoyed Riding the Iron Rooster (train trip through China), The Pillar of Hercules (travels around the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea), and Dark Star Safari (Africa from Cairo to Cape Town). Theroux’s experiences are punctuated with social and political themes based on personal observations.
– Tony Horwitz: I loved a couple of Horwitz’s books and was sorry to see that he died of a heart attack a couple years ago. Confederates in the Attic is an engaging, and somewhat alarming, venture through the southern U.S. which proves that “The Lost Cause” is alive and well in the former Confederacy. Blue Latitudes is one of my favorites, comparing the 1770’s travels of James Cook through Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands to the current conditions and legacies Cook left behind in these locations. I read the book while in a surf camp on the tiny (2.5 acres) island of Namotu in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. I left it behind for the next intrepid surfer to read.
– J. Maarten Troost: Are you ready to laugh out loud? Troost’s hilarious trilogy of misadventures in the South Pacific is a treat. The Sex Lives of Cannibals relives his two years spent on the Tarawa atoll in the equatorial island nation of Kiribati. Aah, sounds so romantic, peaceful, and sunset-filled, doesn’t it? It’s literally and figuratively a shithole. Getting Stoned with Savages continues his tropical escapades on the Pacific islands of Fiji and Vanuatu. Headhunters on My Doorstep follows in the paths of Robert Louis Stevenson. For a different setting try his Lost on Planet China. The subtitle says it all: The Strange and True Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid. Read on!
– Bill Bryson: Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with Bill Bryson. He was born in the U.S. and spent decades living in England, so several of his books compare the cultures of the two countries. Very amusing and relatable. If you haven’t read any of Bryson’s travel books, please start with A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country. The first: a middle-aged, ill-prepared, and out of shape man takes on the Appalachian Trail. His hiking partner is even more of a mess. What could go wrong? It’s damn funny. (You may remember the movie adaptation. It couldn’t capture the humble humor of the book, but Bill Bryson will always be able to say that Robert Redford played him in a movie.) Second: Bill Bryson in Australia, the land with the most poisonous and deadly creatures on earth. By far. Wait ’till he gets ready to take a dip in the beautiful blue Pacific and learns about the box jellyfish.
– Mark Adams: Another one of my favorites. He may not be quite as humorous as the above two, but still presents those unexpected detours that traveling almost always entails in an entertaining fashion. Turn Right at Machu Picchu (recreating the “discovery” of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham in 1911), Meet Me in Atlantis (searching for the legendary sunken city), and Tip of the Iceberg (revisiting the 1899 scientific expedition of magnate Edward Harriman through Wild Alaska) are all worth the while.
Of course, there are so many travel writers. I’ve just discovered William Dalrymple by reading City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (if you’re interested in India check out his work). I recently read O America (fictional travels around 1836 America) by William Least-Heat Moon, also the author of Blue Highways (a trip on our nation’s backroads). And Pico Iyer, who writes of the travel experience itself and the cultural and social implications of it on places we visit. I enjoyed Video Night in Kathmandu and The Global Soul. His themes of an emerging global culture are more evident every day as technology brings our world together.
If any of you have a travel-related reading recommendation, let us know.
Trivia ? – Who is generally regarded as being the world’s first travel writer? (I would have guessed Marco Polo. That’s not it.)
Answer: Herodotus, the ancient Greek (c.440 BC) who traveled around the eastern Mediterranean while writing his Histories of the Greco-Persian Wars.