I've just finished reading Dom Joly's latest offering, Scary monsters and super creeps, a pretty good book that shows the impetuous and naive side of the author's personality. That said I felt that the fundamental love of travel and experiencing new and exciting places was clearly evident. Taking on a trip that proves difficult and beyond any expectations and assumptions is, for me, the whole joy of broadening horizons. In my experiences, when the going gets tough, lost in Timbuktu aimless in Serbia or stranded in Shetland, someone unexpected always popped up and restored my faith in humanity.
I really loved the self deprecating honesty that was clearly evident when expeditions went awry, the lack of preparation caused some hazardous scrapes where Dom was lucky to not only escape but to end up in a ludicrously vastly improved situation. Although privileged with a modicum of celebrity status which allowed exposure and support from organisations and individuals beyond the reach of most of the populace, Dom Joly does write well and conveyed his experiences with a particular bent.
One recurring analogy in the book is Dom Joly's obsession with Tin-tin citing a number of the Belgian writer and artists books e.g. Tin-tin in the Congo and Tin-tin in Tibet, during his travels. To my mind, on my travels (a pale reflection of Dom Joly's journeys) I feel more like Mister Benn than Tin-tin. That is more like a middle-aged, middle class man bored with work seeking adventure rather than a 1930s latent homosexual Belgian journalist travelling the world with financial impunity and mentally ill associates.
As far as writing the book is concerned, I was going to get up early to crack on but as yet, 1030, have not written a word. I will kick my own arse this afternoon to at least get the overall structure completed.
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