A Time of Gifts
Ratings13
Average rating4.2
This beloved account about an intrepid young Englishman on the first leg of his walk from London to Constantinople is simply one of the best works of travel literature ever written. At the age of eighteen, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off from the heart of London on an epic journey—to walk to Constantinople. A Time of Gifts is the rich account of his adventures as far as Hungary, after which Between the Woods and the Water continues the story to the Iron Gates that divide the Carpathian and Balkan mountains. Acclaimed for its sweep and intelligence, Leigh Fermor’s book explores a remarkable moment in time. Hitler has just come to power but war is still ahead, as he walks through a Europe soon to be forever changed—through the Lowlands to Mitteleuropa, to Teutonic and Slav heartlands, through the baroque remains of the Holy Roman Empire; up the Rhine, and down to the Danube. At once a memoir of coming-of-age, an account of a journey, and a dazzling exposition of the English language, A Time of Gifts is also a portrait of a continent already showing ominous signs of the holocaust to come.
Series
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3 primary books#1 in Trilogy
Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 195 with contributions by Patrick Leigh Fermor.
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Much like As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, this is the story of someone who makes up their mind to travel from point A to point B and is then witness to Events. Coincidentally, both books capture the same period, set against the backdrop of the growth of fascism in Europe in the 1930's. While Laurie Lee's novel presents a more working-man view of events, Patrick Leigh Fermor starts out from a more comfortable background, combining village life with hobnobbing with the “great and the good” of European society.
From other reviews, I see that others have found the prose a little long-winded at times. For those who might be put off by this, I can strongly recommend the audiobook, which easily carried me over the slower sections.
Having read completed the trilogy, the combined effect is one of having completed a great journey, with the experience of a detailed snapshot of Europe at a specific moment in time.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, based on the 4/5 star reviews I read through before starting this book. It was good - really good in places, but was interspersed with sidelines that were frankly a bit dry. Written with the power of hindsight (ie travelled in 1933, written in 1977) it is obviously not the work of the 18 year old travelling, it is the work of the elder, more worldly and experienced man.
Having said that, if the second book was to become available to me I would have little hesitation in working through that too.
Probably 3.5 for me.
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