A Field Guide to Getting Lost

I read this book to help me get into the mood to travel–I have a conference to go to in another state but I am a notorious homebody who would usually prefer to stay in my familiar city. Or, if I have to go somewhere new, I want to be able to get home in time for dinner. Rebecca Solnit's book fit the bill perfectly. She presented me with people who were lost for so long that even though they never got back home, they ceased to be lost. And with the myth of a woman who disappeared into the prairie on her way West to meet her husband after immigrating from her home country (it turns out, the real story of her disappearance is different and far less beautiful). Each essay approaches the concept of being lost in a different way, and each essay contains threads of other stories that are connected to lostness in surprising ways. These essays are intricate, beautiful and worth contemplating. I had never read Solnit before, but I am now a big fan.

“raises free association to a fine art” notes a San Francisco Chronicle review on the back cover - This book is a meander on the topic of getting/being lost, on losing, on loss, and the colour blue. The structure is a little fuzzy, it loops back around on itself some. Lots of lovely phrases and thoughts encapsulated, but not a quick read by any means.