Pilgrimage: Tales from the Open Road - Softcover

Pfister PFISTER, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0897334728 ISBN 13: 9780897334723

Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2005

Synopsis

There is no frigate like this book to take the reader away to distant lands. In Penang, in Athens, in rural Germany and in the Himalayas, these nonfiction narratives always involve people as well as landscapes; giving the reader a strong sense of place and customs as well as striking insights into human behavior. Always traveling on the cheap, Pfister uses a variety of conveyances—trains, bicycles, rickshaws. He visits Southeast Asia where he takes part in the Buddhist festival of "Hungry Ghosts"—spirit creatures reincarnated because of unholy greed whose unsettling presence forces sinners to face up to their own desires. In a farming village in rural Germany, he shares the painful, yet loving lives of a very special family. Pfister introduces us to a wide variety of interesting characters.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Pfister was born in Detroit and lives in San Francisco and Barcelona. He travels the world, writing essays about his experiences.

From Publishers Weekly

Spurred by restlessness, the young American Pfister traveled close to the ground in such places as Germany, Morocco, the Himalayas and his home country, compiling some well-told if disconnected anecdotes. In Malaysia, he fights an epic battle of "face" with a hotel proprietor; hitchhiking through the Mojave desert, he's picked up by a madly proud Marine; lounging in a Costa Brava village, he's embroiled in a world of expat Brits. Occasionally, Pfister's travels lead to insights, as when he observes of a cafe tableau that "If Greece is anything it is theater" or belatedly recognizes, after negotiating a stream of hustlers in Morocco, that his final guide was a genuine friend. But Pfister tells us too little about himself (Who is he?) and the cumulative meaning of his journeys to elevate this book to a memorable traveler's tale.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0897334728
• ISBN 13: 9780897334723
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 203