novella
Active Member
I'm almost finished with this collection of true stories by Eric Hansen. Some people call him a travel writer, but more accurately he has lived at various times for years in some very odd, out of the way places and has lived the life wherever he's been. So, it's not one of those "what I observed and ate whilst being an American/Englishman abroad' books, which I really hate. It's mostly about the unusual people he's gotten to know really well, from about the mid 1970s to the present. It's a short book, a quick read, and particular fun if you like first-hand accounts of oddball living.
The first story, about a generous old woman in Cannes, is rather genteel and not representative of the rest, so bear that in mind if you pick it up.
I particularly like his recounting of times at the Grand Hotel, a raucous free-for-all full of prawn trawlers and pearl-shell divers on Thursday Island off a remote coast of Austrialia.
The first story, about a generous old woman in Cannes, is rather genteel and not representative of the rest, so bear that in mind if you pick it up.
I particularly like his recounting of times at the Grand Hotel, a raucous free-for-all full of prawn trawlers and pearl-shell divers on Thursday Island off a remote coast of Austrialia.