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henrymarlene's review
4.0
"A road can go in two directions at once. Maybe more. But the rest of us can only go in one."
Michael McGirr originally published this book in 2004. This new edition includes an afterword that brings the story to 2021. This book takes you on a slow trip down the Hume Highway from Sydney to Melbourne. Michael provides a history of the highway and Australia that you might not know of. Michael rides a bike through many towns that are now bypassed with the construction of the freeway over many years.
He meets so many characters that you won't meet when you look up these towns, interwoven with the historical characters you might know are already associated with them. I recall many of these from the many driving holidays to Melbourne I undertook as a child. A lot of the sights that Michael highlights are also part of my memories, watching some go past through a back-seat windows with my walkman blaring in my ears. I can remember almost all of the towns, like Tarcutta, Holbrook, Gundagai, Wangaratta: each of them was a change from watching the one and two lane carriageways before us. I remember two particular roadhouses along the way, one was often our first petrol and breakfast stop after leaving home at 2am. This was a nostalgic read; a great insight into the author's journey with one path ending behind him, and another opening up right before his eyes. I liked the philosophical nature of this book, and I loved Jenny, his now partner, as they rational and logical voice of reason balancing his thoughts.
"You can set foot on the same road twice. But you won't be the same person when you do."
Thanks Text Publishing for the copy!
Michael McGirr originally published this book in 2004. This new edition includes an afterword that brings the story to 2021. This book takes you on a slow trip down the Hume Highway from Sydney to Melbourne. Michael provides a history of the highway and Australia that you might not know of. Michael rides a bike through many towns that are now bypassed with the construction of the freeway over many years.
He meets so many characters that you won't meet when you look up these towns, interwoven with the historical characters you might know are already associated with them. I recall many of these from the many driving holidays to Melbourne I undertook as a child. A lot of the sights that Michael highlights are also part of my memories, watching some go past through a back-seat windows with my walkman blaring in my ears. I can remember almost all of the towns, like Tarcutta, Holbrook, Gundagai, Wangaratta: each of them was a change from watching the one and two lane carriageways before us. I remember two particular roadhouses along the way, one was often our first petrol and breakfast stop after leaving home at 2am. This was a nostalgic read; a great insight into the author's journey with one path ending behind him, and another opening up right before his eyes. I liked the philosophical nature of this book, and I loved Jenny, his now partner, as they rational and logical voice of reason balancing his thoughts.
"You can set foot on the same road twice. But you won't be the same person when you do."
Thanks Text Publishing for the copy!
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