The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

This book is nothing short of inspiring and life affirming - I loved it.

I am quickly becoming hooked on De Botton's lucid and intelligent writing.  In The Art of Travel, he explores all aspects of the travelling experience, cleverly combining thoughts on travel from artists, poets, and other luminary thinkers with his own personal accounts and points of view.

His books are so beautifully conceived and executed.  The Art of Travel opens with a section "On Anticipation"  where he argues strongly, and using some hilarious historical examples, how so much of the enjoyment of any travel adventure, is in planning.  He also digs deep into the human psyche and captures why travel is addictive for so many of us.  Throughout the whole book I found myself marvelling at his singularly brilliant way of expressing human truths:

"Journeys are the midwives of thought.  Few places are so conducive to internal conversations than a moving plane, ship or train."  p.57

The final chapter "On Habit" invites the reader, after many happy pages of adventure through the beautiful and the sublime, accompanied by words of wisdom on travel from the likes of Flaubert, Wordsworth and Van Gogh, to reconsider our own familiar home environments through fresh eyes.  And that, as exhilarating and refreshing as travelling so often is, there is much to see in our own backyards if we only adjust our mindset to one of curiosity.

This book is just as good as The Consolations of Philosophy which I read last year.  I am besotted with De Botton.  On more than one occasion now, his books have lured me away from my usual diet of fiction to walk with him through his extraordinary take on what it is to be human.

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

I read non fiction so rarely, apart from work related reading, that whenever I find myself reading something for interest and enjoyment that is not fiction I have to wonder if I am feeling unwell.  And as for philosophy,  I know many of the names of the biggies from bits of sound bites gleaned here and there, but that is about all.

Enter Alain de Botton, I am sure the man could make a phone directory seem fascinating.  His style is so witty and light, yet completely relevant, that I found myself unable to put this book down.  The lives and wisdom of Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and poor old Nietzsche are used by de Botton to offer explanation and consolation of the modern ailments of unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, a broken heart, and difficulties (difficulties of course being about Nietzsche, he had a great many).

De Botton's own philosophical understanding must be epic, because he manages to distill the teachings of each of these five down to forty or so pages, complete with little pictures and hilarious modern day applications of their teachings.  It is quite brilliant.  And best of all for me, I would feel perfectly comfortable after reading this book to pick up some of the original work (translated of course) that Consolations draws on.  De Botton includes a comprehensive notes section in the back that could direct anyone to do this.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for some years.  I suspect, recently reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, might have had something to do with me venturing to pick it up.  Jude's thwarted love of learning really moved me.  See, who said a novel can't change your life?  De Botton has apparently written a book on the very subject regarding Proust.  That one may have to wait, I have his, The Art of Travel waiting to be read next.  If you are interested in Alain de Botton's work, he has a very user friendly website.