On the Road -10 Best Novels to Read When Traveling
Why waste type playing half backed freemium games on your phone while waiting at the airport, train station, bus depot or ferry terminal when you can read these great novels! Reading may be on the decline but the demand for a great story and a meditation on the human condition has never been higher. In the following list I have picked my favorite novels pertaining to travel, or that have some sort of adventurous world view based on my own arbitrary standards. You can do that when its your blog!
This list strove to be universalist, as such some of my favorite works like Ivo Andrić’s Bridge on the Drina have been kept off the list due to their strong regional themes. Furthermore, I ran out of placements to add the Narnia Series, especially the The Silver Chair, a darker iteration of the series that I have a soft spot for.
1. The Odyssey (Homer)
As much as I would like to invoke the Jack Kerouac, minister of the beat, in this first slot… (insert drumroll sounds) I have to instead invoke the great grand daddy of travel stories. That great work of the blind bard Homer himself, the Odyssey. The “OG” Greek chronicler weaves the tale of our hero, the cunning Odyssey (Ulysses), returning home from the Trojan war.
2. On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
This book is practically a twisted work of philosophy. Jack Kerouac’s most enduring work details the adventures of a degenerate drifter and his friends on an epic road trip through the United States. It is equally vacuous as it is deep and is probably the best book on travel. Just check out the following extract below.
“I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”
3. Broken April (Ismael Kadare)
This simple story about a city dwelling author who takes his fiance into the foreboding accursed mountains of northern Albania for honeymoon, is a stone cold classic (with a Shakespearean twist!). The reaches of the country are not a typical honeymoon however, they a rugged land where where life is governed by the Kanun, a code of laws governing all aspects of life but especially revenge. The couple eventually pass Gjorg, a handsome young man who finds himself tangled in a blood feud. In a reversal of fortune it is the disaffected authors wife, unhappy with the choice of honeymoon destination, that fall for the rugged landscapes and the young man who calls it hand. This is a deeply universal story that somehow manages to balance it out with a regional flavor, it would surely be better known, if its author was not Albanian.
4. The Plague, fr. La Peste (Albert Camus)
Existentialist and absurd, yet deeply humanistic, this story is Camus’ most touching; reveling him as the anti-nihilist he truly is. It is an usual pick for this list, as it involves the distinct lack of travel. The story takes place in the port city of Oran, Algeria where as a trio of unlikely friends must manage a rat transmitted plague. Rediscovered by many during the Covid 19 pandemic, it is poignant reminder of what we love about life, and what we missed, during the pandemic’s shutdown. This book reaches at what it means to be human something that every traveler can relate to.
5. Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T.E. Lawrence)
Probably the major work of literature put Jordan’s magnificent Wadi Rum on the map, T.E. Lawrence’s biography of his time in Arabia and Palestine fighting the Turks with his Bedouin allies during the First World War is known for its spectacular prose and descriptions of the deserts of Arabia and the people that inhabit them. This is a must read book for any would be intrepid adventurer who also happens to be quite literate.
6. Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
The ultimate story of revenge, this epic takes us across the oceans along with our protagonist to square off against natures greatest foe, a giant whale. This novel takes us into the golden age of whale blubber as a fuel source, when men from places such as Nantucket and New Bedford conducted arduous years long expeditions into the great unknown.
7. Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Woke without being woke, and now considered by those with no subtlety to be… racist? This sublime English language masterpiece (written by a Pole nonetheless!) about a riverboat trip into the heart of the Belgian Congo to find a deranged trading post leader that has gone rogue. This man, the iconic captain Kurtz, has made himself a demigod among the locals. A powerful criticism of colonialism, its enduring appeal can be found in its reinterpretation as the iconic Apocalypse Now movie.
8. The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The ultimate road trip story. This story takes its heroes on epic quest through a foreign lands, full of danger and intrigue. It features ancient ruined kingdoms, enchanting forests, mountain ranges forded by intricated mines, endless plains and towering cities. There’s even a fellowship and an ultimate showdown between good an evil! Not only is J.R.R. Tolkien’s work long but it is also evocative of many real world cultures. It will keep you busy while on the road!
9. Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)
Tilting at windmills you say! Yes a true adventure, a foray into the mouth of madness, where a knight-errant attempts to revive chivalry in order to serve his nation. Deeply romantic yet a modern work all in the same. What’s not to like!
10. The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
A novel about ageing and fishing? It may not seem like a great read but it really is! What makes it about travel you ask? The novel follows an old Portuguese fisherman who is down on his luck. Yet his blue eyes, blue like the sea, are full of hope and he embarks on a legendary journey on the ocean. While Moby Dick tackles themes of revenge, this is a subtle story about life itself. Written by the intrepid Hemingway, himself a recreational fisherman in the Florida Keys, it was his last great work, reflecting a difficult period of decline in his life.
BONUS A: Around The World In 80 Days, fr. Le Tour du monde en Quatre-Vingts Jours
BONUS B: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, fr. Vingt Mille Lieues Sous les Mers
Jules Verne’s classic novels are the perfect adventure tales for young adults. They are so conventional that I think that is would be a sin to leave them off of this list. I do however prefer some of my other entries, hence their spots on the list.
