The coronavirus (COVID) pandemic has been difficult for many people, but isolation during lockdowns has also given many the opportunity to examine their lives and reflect on what is important to them. For Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan, it was an opportunity to capture some of her most memorable travel and research experiences, which she analyzes in her latest book, Where the World Was: A Memoir.
Sullivan writes in a variety of genres including short fiction, travel accounts, autobiography, memoirs, and poetry. One of her sixteen books, Shadowmaker: The Life of Gwendolyn McQueenwon the Governor General’s Award, while Villa Air-Belle: World War II, escape and house in Marseille He won the Yad Vashem Canadian Jewish Prize in Holocaust History/Scholarship. His 2015 book stalin’s daughterSvetlana Alliluyeva’s autobiography has won numerous awards, including the British Columbia National Book Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Sullivan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012; She is a professor at the University of Toronto.
Her new memoir covers several of her travels, including a Sophie summer camp, Moscow, Prague, Egypt and Marseille. Among personal encounters, Sullivan remembers visits to the painter Leonora Carrington and the Canadian writer Elizabeth Smart. She recounts her attempts to locate information for her book. stalin’s daughter, in other places reflects the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile. He ends the book with his 2021 visit to the Great Bear Rainforest on Vancouver Island.
As he describes these experiences, Sullivan reflects on topics including human rights, dictatorships, and how different points of view can influence people’s perceptions of the people and places they encounter. She sometimes overgeneralizes (such as when she assumes that all of Egypt is Muslim, when a large number of the country’s citizens are Christians or follow other religions), but those cases are rare.
Despite some questionable conclusions, Sullivan generally attempts to present a balanced and broad view. In the chapter on Prague, for example, he admits his limited knowledge of it and offers his impressions of the people and places he encounters.
Historical and current anecdotes add to the stories Sullivan tells about his travels. The author describes her efforts to experience the cultures she encountered and understand their importance in her life. The sections on Sullivan’s travels contradict her accounts of her visits to Smart, Carrington, and the like.
As Sullivan reflects on the people he met and the places he visited, poetry is also part of the story. Vivid descriptions help make the story engaging, and numerous photographs throughout the book show readers more clearly what Sullivan saw.
Combining elements of a travel book and a personal memoir, Sullivan Where was the world? It is an engaging and well-written account of the author’s exploration of a wide variety of places around the world and her encounters with some of the people who have been important in her life, especially in the context of the pandemic and how people have tried to cope with isolation. The need for mental stimulation.
Susan Hubert is a writer and dog walker in Winnipeg.
2023-11-19 01:21:24
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