If your summer was anything like mine, it lacked that adventurous spirit that you so desperately hoped would come when you least expect it.
I only bring up my disappointment with the warm season because I did just so happen to read a book that held my attention and gave me many a daydream about what I'd really like to be doing, and that is having real-life adventures like those of Hib and Kika, the authors and central duo of "Off the Map."
This book started off as a magazine that was continuously printed and passed around all over the country.
When it was clear that there was a respectable amount of interest about this story and the frequent re-copying of the magazine was making the text barely legible, a chance meeting in a Kinko's led to the ultimate printing of the book.
I mention these facts because this do-it-yourself, independent ethic is at the heart of "Off the Map."
This memoir chronicles the real-life story of two girls who abandon maps and money and hitchhike across Europe relying on squats, dumpsters and the kindness of others.
A lot of works like this could have in-your-face, more-radical-than-thou overtones, but Hib and Kika tell their story with a great deal of hope that could easily be mistaken for naivety.
I am going to argue, however, that these girls are not na've-they both take turns narrating and their ability to interpret and relate with the world around them is what makes reading "Off the Map" so enjoyable.
Although written in fluid prose, this book is very poetic.
Events take place in order, but it is helpful to realize that rather than writing in a linear fashion, "Off the Map" is more of a web of the events that take place in this European adventure.
Hib and Kika switch points of view seamlessly, and it might be a few pages into a chapter or anecdote before it is revealed whose perspective you're seeing these events from.
One of the first things you notice about "Off the Map" is the beautiful photography and simple hand-drawn logos and pictures. There is quite a sensory experience to be enjoyed here as the text is accompanied by these breaks of visual representations of Hib and Kika's journey.
Men like Jack Kerouac dominate this type of literature, and to read this type of story from two young punk girls is refreshing.
There is life to experience and dreams to chase, and in this work everything is intertwined and they are one and the same.
They themselves are empty pages for the world to write on, but they're not afraid to challenge what they find with their uniquely rebellious perspectives.
This is a real-life adventure story, not some over-the-top intangible Indiana Jones knockoff.
If at any point in this review you've been at least mildly interested in reading this book, just do it.
It's only $2 at CrimethInc's website (www.crimethinc.com) and in a world where every hardcover is thirty bucks if you're lucky, there's no reason not to have a copy of it to read and pass around to your friends.
That's a fraction of the price of whatever foamy, swirly, over-sweetened "coffee" drink is in at Starbucks right now.
What's unique is that you could live this reality if you wanted to, but if not, it is a pretty damn good read.
Thanks for reading Better Read Than Dead this week. Next week I'll be reviewing "Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim" by David Sedaris.
RSS Feeds
Be the first to comment on this article!