Reviews

This memoir of the second leg of Fermor's journey on foot to Constantinople is beautifully written. Although relatively unacquainted with formal learning, having abandoned military school at that early age, Fermor has an astonishing range of interests, and he tells us all about them. He is constantly plunging into dusty tomes in his hosts’ libraries but is just as ready to dance and drink the night away. This is a delightful series of books, still full of the youthful joy and enthusiasm Fermor must have felt when he was 19 and 20 years old.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/between-the-woods-and-the-water/

bookmummy's review against another edition

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5.0

Read this while living in Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Transylvania, which definitely heightened my experience (read this mainly on buses and trains with exact scenery he was describing rolling next to me). I found it fascinating to be reading the story of a fellow British expat in Romania, albeit nearly ninety years before my time. Subsequently, it was quite sad to see the many traditions and minority groups he encountered that would be lost and/or driven out soon after his travels.

Many reviews complain of being bogged down in history, and while at times it was quite long I believe it was all necessary to truly appreciate the contemporary cultures he was describing.

novelideea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

funktious's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

I enjoyed this a bit less than the first volume - I think you can tell that this one was written at more of a remove with less written records to go on. But still an enjoyable look at a world that was about to vanish, even if neither the author nor the people he writes about realised. On the one hand you have the nobility / upper classes who have been living the same lives in their stately homes and estates for generations, but who will shortly have the war and then communism to contend with. And then you have the peasantry that the author encounters; shepherds, woodcutters, farmers, whose lives will also be affected by the war and then industrialisation. So it’s really interesting to read about those lives and experiences, if heartbreaking to think about what was coming for some of them, particularly the Jewish people he meets.

Definitely some racism about Gypsy / Roma people to contend with, and in general I found the authors obsession with 'defining' the racial / tribal background of the people he meets a bit difficult to swallow, again, knowing what’s about to happen in Europe. I get that he’s coming at it from a 'classical' perspective, but it’s still part of the same poison that has led to so many deaths and displacements.

Content Warnings

amandajeanne's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

aceface's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.5

eclark93's review against another edition

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adventurous informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

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