If you can’t get back to Italy to ride the trains any time soon, this is a good second choice. I’f you’ve never been to Italy and ridden the trains, this will clarify for you all the luxuries of the trains…
author: Tim Parks | published:6/2014 | date read: 5/24
Although I was in Italy 20 years earlier, nothing in this book sounds out of date, which is to say the trains in Italy don’t change much. That seems to be the point of this book, that things in Italy are a certain “way” and that’s just how it is. It is also a book about the politics, history, and philosophies of living in a country built on layers of ruin and brilliance.
My one complaint with this book – the one place where it seems dated – is it’s descriptions of the women passengers the writer meets along the way. The descriptions of the women feels more like caricatures, and they were usually described in a physical (and somewhat judgmental) way. That part of the book made it feel straight out of the 50’s. Other than that, I enjoyed the ride.
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