Product Description: A punk rock vision quest told in the tradition of the anarchist travel story, Off The Map is narrated by two young women as they discard their maps, fears, and anything resembling a plan, and set off to Europe. Wandering across that continent, the dozens of vignettes are the details of the whole - a squatted castle surrounded by tourists on the Spanish coast, a philosophizing businessman on the highways of France, a placa full of los crustos in Barcelona...Originating as a zine given out to a few friends in Prague, this has now received the Crimethinc lavish production treatment, and clocks in at 146 pages, complete with photographs, illustrations and a cover featuring original artwork by Nikki McClure. Cometbus eat your heart out.
a quick, fun read a little to idealistic for me. dont get me wrong, im a big fan of change. but they seem to think that all problems can be solved by becoming like themselves in which is highly hilarious because they want this society to fall which they are totally reliant upon. and dont get me wrong again, i am an anarchist, but theres some things in this world that have happened and you can't change that...i guess i am saying that it seems a bit of naive which makes sense they are pretty young and im sure they grew up in some wealthy middle class family and this is all fun and games for them and not that makes them any less of a person but it does make some things not understandable for them. but anyways, im rambling...a great fun read, some good characters and a autobiography that you dont get to read too often.
Off The Map Off The Map-Hib ****1/2
Off The Map is essentially the punk On The Road, only set in Europe. This is part of a two part series from Hib (the author) and Hibickna the author of the other book.
This follows the two girls as they travel from squat to squat in search of adventure and piece of mind. It's an entertaining read and certainly one anyone can enjoy. Though I must admit I did have to motivate myself to open it up sometimes, though it was very rewarding once I did.
Off The Map is for those who never ever give up on their dreams and are always chasing new ones. off The Map was a refreshing read.
"Those people who claim to be fighting for radiacal change-they claim success when they enter negotiations with their opponents, but that isn't change. It's just a different round of obedience." (pg.114)
great travel book I found the authors writing to be very descriptive and illuminating. Her descriptions of the places they traveled were very open and amusing.
breathtaking. This is a beautiful book. The prose is fluid, and transports you to another world, while the art [though sparse] compliments the pages. If you're discouraged in your daily life, I highly reccomend this book. It really pulled me out of a rough spot. And, to the other reviewer, wo disagreed with the fact that the book was a zine, in circulation of 20,000, this is common in europe. I spent two months there, and while staying with friends, i recieved an art numbered 104,020/??????.
Remember, anything is possible.
Breathtaking... I found this book at a used book shop and was curious enough by the title and the opening sentences to buy it. I'm so glad I did.
I'm not sure if the author is writing under a pseudonym, but if so, I hope she one day reveals her true name, as I would love to read anything else she writes. She has a beautiful grasp of the language, a very strong, unique voice that lingers in the reader's mind long after the last page is turned. I've done my share of backpacking (mostly solo, occasionally with a friend) and sometimes find myself frustrated with the self-absorbed, pointless travel literature penned by some of my colleagues on the road. This, however, is a stunning first (?) effort.
There are few blow-by-blow, word-for-word, moment-by-moment descriptions of events and adventures -- she doesn't dwell on the minutiae of backpacking; rather, the writer often expands her field of vision to embrace not just the many practical aspects of traveling but also the nature of friendship, love, longing, loneliness, beauty, and humanity, and does so in a way that's not self-conscious, self-serving, or cynical. She admits that she can't be cynical, and indeed, the book exudes hope, a feeling not often associated with the anarchist movement. It's an optimistic tale of two girls in search of more than adventure, something that already distinguishes it from the hundreds of traveler's tales on the bookshelf.
I wish there were a sequel, or at least something to let us know what happens to these extraordinary women once they reached their destination. There's no information on the Crimethinc Web site (the publisher) about the author, nothing to indicate whether or not they found their way home, or if they decided to seek their dreams elsewhere.
If you do decide to purchase this book, I would recommend going straight to the publisher (Google Crimethinc). It's much cheaper than going through Amazon, even with S&H thrown in.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
