November 2020 – Travel Readings

Java, Indonesia: “Beauty is a Wound” by Eka Kurniawan : Can a square become a circle? It’s the inverse of the classic geometric problem of squaring a circle. A visit to Borobudur on the Indonesian island of Java gave me Continue Reading →

Montevideo: “The Truce” by Mario Benedetti : One of the reasons I write this blog is that I like to read novels that describe the place I’m traveling to. For my recent stay in Montevideo, I chose Continue Reading →

Kanchanaburi, Thailand: « The Bridge over the River Kwai» by Pierre Boulle and « Kwaï » by Vincent Hein : Probably the most famous cadence whistles in cinema history. As I was spending a day exploring the Bangkok area, my Lonely Planet reminded me that the famous “Bridge over the Continue Reading →

Rwanda: “Jacaranda” by Gaël Faye : I just missed Gaël Faye’s visit to “La Page d’Après”, the bookshop my sister-in-law Floriane opened in Louvain-la-Neuve just over a year ago. Interest was so great that they had Continue Reading →

Morocco: between tradition and modernity

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Damien

There are different ways to combine travelling and reading. One, which I often practice, is to bring on your trip a book about your destination. Another one, less premeditated, is Continue Reading →

Bamako, Mali: The fortunes of Wangrin by Amadou Hampaté Bâ and Hadizatou Dao poetry-slam.

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Damien

I had started « The Fortunes of Wangrin » (L’étrange destin de Wangrin) » by Malian author Amadou Hampaté Bâ in the flight bringing me to Bamako. Every night I continued reading a Continue Reading →