justmys's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was a reread for me as I slowly start to dismantle the pile of books I own (although, as I always am when I close this book "for the last time" I'm torn about removing it from my collection). I've owned this book for years, and have read it many times as a sort of comfort read. Which is funny, as it's essentially about leaving your comfort, in whatever form that may be for you, and finding your adventure in the world. 

It's not a fast paced book, it meanders and muses and cuts off in different directions mid paragraph but that feels oddly apt for a story following a journey that did the same. Journeys aren't easy nor are they linear, and this book is a good example of that. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aezlo's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sophiexxjones's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

1.5

As a reader, I asked myself two questions while reading: what did she learn from the trip, and why did she do it in the first place? The first question was answered pretty easily all throughout the memoir — even before she sets off, she is already growing, changing, and learning. The second question, however, had a blurry answer. There was mentions of factors that pushed her out of society (sexism, racism, etc.) and the beauty of nature and independence that pulled her toward the trip, but I felt like I never got a straight answer as to “Why?”.

The writing style was shocking. It’s very “I did this, then I did this, then I did this,” and so on. It’s awkward and slow to read. The story itself is incredible (I cannot believe someone did that!), but it reads like a school camp recount, not a memoir.

The content in the book is also quite heavy. There are mentions of rape and sexual assault, which shows the sexist attitudes; there’s a lot of racism, including slurs (the author does not think this way, she’s writing about what others said); there’s many mentions of animal cruelty and animal death, which can be extremely upsetting to some. I had to put the book down on a few occasions because I was crying.

Honestly, if it wasn’t part of my school curriculum, I wouldn’t have finished this book. It was boring in some areas, due to the writing style, and some themes were quite confronting. Not to mention, the author has an insanely large white saviour complex throughout, making her insufferable at times. However, some of the descriptions of the Australian desert were beautifully written and the way she described and built up the people and animals in Tracks was amazing.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...