About the book (from the publisher):
From Homer’s “Odyssey,” Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” and Cervantes’s “Don Quixote” to Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Americanah,” some of the most powerful works of fiction center on a journey. Extending to the ends of the earth and spanning from ancient Greece to today, “Literary Journeys” is an enthralling book that takes you on a voyage of discovery through some of the most important journeys in literature. In original essays, an international team of literary critics, scholars, and other writers explore exciting, dangerous, tragic, and uplifting journeys in more than seventy-five classic and popular works of fiction from around the world. Chronologically arranged and gorgeously illustrated throughout with paintings, engravings, photographs, and maps in full color, this captivating book will appeal to readers who have travelled widely, who are planning a trip, or who love armchair travel. Contributors include Robert McCrum, Susan Shillinglaw, Maya Jaggi, Robert Holden, Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Alan Taylor, Michael Bourne, Sarah Mesle—and dozens more.
About the author:
John McMurtrie is the newly appointed nonfiction editor at Kirkus Reviews. Prior to this, he was editor at McSweeney’s Publishing and former books editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Literary Hub.
Presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This event was recorded on September 12, 2024.