Tim Parks Italian Ways Pdf Free
The best-selling author of Italian Neighbors returns with a wry and revealing portrait of Italian life—by riding its trains.Tim Parks’s books on Italy have been hailed as 'so vivid, so packed with delectable details, they serve as a more than decent substitute for the real thing' ( Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first Italian travelogue in a decade, he delive The best-selling author of Italian Neighbors returns with a wry and revealing portrait of Italian life—by riding its trains.Tim Parks’s books on Italy have been hailed as 'so vivid, so packed with delectable details, they serve as a more than decent substitute for the real thing' ( Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first Italian travelogue in a decade, he delivers a charming and funny portrait of Italian ways by riding its trains from Verona to Milan, Rome to Palermo, and right down to the heel of Italy.Parks begins as any traveler might: 'A train is a train is a train, isn’t it?'
But soon he turns his novelist’s eye to the details, and as he journeys through majestic Milano Centrale station or on the newest high-speed rail line, he delivers a uniquely insightful portrait of Italy. Through memorable encounters with ordinary Italians—conductors and ticket collectors, priests and prostitutes, scholars and lovers, gypsies and immigrants—Parks captures what makes Italian life distinctive: an obsession with speed but an acceptance of slower, older ways; a blind eye toward brutal architecture amid grand monuments; and an undying love of a good argument and the perfect cappuccino.Italian Ways also explores how trains helped build Italy and how their development reflects Italians’ sense of themselves from Garibaldi to Mussolini to Berlusconi and beyond.
Most of all, Italian Ways is an entertaining attempt to capture the essence of modern Italy. As Parks writes, 'To see the country by train is to consider the crux of the essential Italian dilemma: Is Italy part of the modern world, or not?' There are some writers whose style is so pleasant, whose humour is so gentle and to whom you return so often that you feel you know them personally; to sit and spend an hour in the company of one of their books is like chatting to your dearest friend over a cup of tea and they have that rare talent of making you think without distressing you. Among my 'comfort writers' I would number Alexander McCall Smith, Maeve Binchy and, when it comes to books about Italy, Tim Parks.It is difficult to point There are some writers whose style is so pleasant, whose humour is so gentle and to whom you return so often that you feel you know them personally; to sit and spend an hour in the company of one of their books is like chatting to your dearest friend over a cup of tea and they have that rare talent of making you think without distressing you.
Among my 'comfort writers' I would number Alexander McCall Smith, Maeve Binchy and, when it comes to books about Italy, Tim Parks.It is difficult to point out the disadvantages of living in an adopted country without causing offence but Tim Parks is one of the writers who has always managed it and he does so again in 'Italian Ways'. This is not a travel book, though there are elements of travel writing in it, nor is it about life in any one part of Italy: rather, it is about the author's journeys on Italian railways over a period of some thirty years and his encounters with people, conflicting systems and bureaucracy in the process. Through these stories, we also gain a fair knowledge of the history of the Italian railway system and the trains that run on it - a lesson presented in a most entertaining way.No reader who knows Italy will fail to identify with Parks's dealings with the 'pignoli' - whom we would call 'Jobsworths' in Britain - of Trenitalia and other operators and I had to smile at his descriptions of southern resignation as he travelled down Italy.Yes, Mr Parks even made it to Modica by train and, disappointingly, has little to say about the town. True, as he himself has said and as I have said above, this is not a travel book, but I hardly think it is fair that Lecce gets more space than Modica. Of course, I could be biased!
Or could it be that Tim Parks, as he travelled deeper and deeper into the South, became more southern himself?' Don't be concerned that you may have nothing to say about these places.
Just be here, on the journey, at every moment of the journey.' - Very southern Italian and not a bad philosophy of life, really! There is a joke that goes:HEAVEN is where: The police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, and it's all organised by the SwissHELL is where: The police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and it's all organised by the Italians!!In Italy the trains are right in line with those stereotypes too. It is a country of fine foods, beautiful countryside, strong coffee and exasperating bureaucracyPark is very famili There is a joke that goes:HEAVEN is where: The police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, and it's all organised by the SwissHELL is where: The police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and it's all organised by the Italians!!In Italy the trains are right in line with those stereotypes too. It is a country of fine foods, beautiful countryside, strong coffee and exasperating bureaucracyPark is very familiar with this as he commutes frequently from Verona to Milan.
The journey is a delightful as it is stressful, letting the train take the strain after struggling through the minefield of purchasing a ticket. It is full of detail too, you feel you are sharing the same view as he writes about the vineyards and orchards and the bleak industrial landscapes outside the towns and you stand alongside him admiring the soaring heights of the central stations. He is a careful observer of his fellow passengers too, noting as people rush to grab their morning coffee before snatching a seat and talking loudly to strangers unlike The UK where everyone cocoons themselves in their own little world.His travels take him down through Italy and onto the island of Sicily. This has suffered decades of almost no investment in its railways, and the locals cannot believe that he wants to use them. He has some fairly strong opinions on the current state of the rail system, including the money spent of the fast links between towns and cities at the expense of sorting out the other problems including the most complicated ticket system going. But somehow it still functions.As an outsider who has lived there for a number of years he is ideally placed to make these observations of his adopted country and it was a real pleasure to read too.
He manages to convey just the right amount of detail coupled with a razor sharp wit, without it becoming too much.Just like an expresso really. I had read two of Tim Parks' earlier books before picking up this one.Italian Neighbours, which tells the story of his early years in Italy, I had read, and enjoyed, years ago.A Season in Verona, his story of following Hellas Verona around Italy, I read a few years later. For me this was one of the few great books about being a football fan. There are plenty of really good books about football, but there are precious few which touch on what it is like to be a fan against your best instincts, to I had read two of Tim Parks' earlier books before picking up this one.Italian Neighbours, which tells the story of his early years in Italy, I had read, and enjoyed, years ago.A Season in Verona, his story of following Hellas Verona around Italy, I read a few years later.
For me this was one of the few great books about being a football fan. There are plenty of really good books about football, but there are precious few which touch on what it is like to be a fan against your best instincts, to find yourself irrationally, illogically welded to a football club, when that club is not one you've had passed down, like a defective gene, from one generation to the next. A Season With Verona really nailed that.Italian Ways is an appreciation of Italy - for better or worse - as seen through its railways. The first part of the book focuses on the experience of being a hard core commuter, in this case from Verona to Milan, and all the annoyances and aggravations that come with that. Having commuted for two years 100 miles down to London and back every day, I could identify with that.The second part of the book focuses more on travelling around the extreme ends of Italy, where there are no glossy, cleverly branded 200mph supertrains. Where a couple of chain-smoking blokes in overalls running a single carriage, diesel powered bone shaker are your only option for getting around without a car (if you were nuts enough to try to do so).It adds up to a really fantastic read for anyone who has lived in, or has an interest in Italy.
Of particular note is the encounter with a ticket inspector who refuses to accept a PDF of a ticket on a laptop as proof of having paid for the journey, and his reasoning for having done so.The argument with the confident state functionary is funny, but it doesn't say anything like as much about Italy as the reaction of the other people in the carriage.This is where Tim Parks is excellent.I don't think I've ever seen Italy summed up so fantastically succinctly, and so wittily.An excellent read, highly recommended. Late in this book, some Sicilian acquaintances ask Tim Parks why he’s writing about Italian railways.
“It’s not a book about Italy seen from train windows Not a travel book. And it’s not a book about trains as such.” He then struggles to explain that it’s a book about Italian culture.This gem of a book is also about the Italian people, government (or lack of same), politics, history, religion, and even food.Tim Parks' latest is filled with observations about all things Italian and, above all Late in this book, some Sicilian acquaintances ask Tim Parks why he’s writing about Italian railways. “It’s not a book about Italy seen from train windows Not a travel book. And it’s not a book about trains as such.” He then struggles to explain that it’s a book about Italian culture.This gem of a book is also about the Italian people, government (or lack of same), politics, history, religion, and even food.Tim Parks' latest is filled with observations about all things Italian and, above all, good writing. In Siracusa, Parks sees “an austerely framed mirror where travelers can check that they still have a reflection.” In Lecce, he is enjoying the atmosphere of a church when he suddenly realizes that the spoken prayer he is hearing, Ave, Maria, is “a fairly amateur recording” and compares it “with the electronic announcements in those railway stations whose capostazioini station masters have long been pensioned off together with all their underlings.”He reflects on Italians “overwhelming desire for protection; these powerful men, these powerful organizations will look after us.
Our identity lies in belonging to them and then loathing them, accepting their bounty and disobeying them, evading their taxes, traveling without tickets, then voting for them, again and again.”If you know and love Italy and have traveled its rails, all this will ring true. If you love good writing, you’ll wallow in the descriptions. It is as if Mark Twain returned to Italy today and wrote what he found. It is a book filled with good humor and incisive observations – a fine read. Tim Parks, an Englishman, has lived and worked in northern Italy for more than 30 years. Like so many of us, he commutes a significant distance to work – from Verona to Milan, where he teaches at the university.
To start with he saw his train travel as an everyday source of woes about ticket queues, late running, officious staff, and so on, but as years passed he decided to interrogate Italy’s rail system as a metaphor for the country itself. He structures this book around seven train journeys. Tim Parks, an Englishman, has lived and worked in northern Italy for more than 30 years. Like so many of us, he commutes a significant distance to work – from Verona to Milan, where he teaches at the university. To start with he saw his train travel as an everyday source of woes about ticket queues, late running, officious staff, and so on, but as years passed he decided to interrogate Italy’s rail system as a metaphor for the country itself. He structures this book around seven train journeys. It’s better suited to train spotters than to armchair travelers: there is quite a lot about train schedules and not enough about the countryside itself.(See my full review at.).
I used to think that it is impossible to write a boring book about Italy and Italians but Tim Parks managed to prove me wrong. For about the first third of the book an interesting premise of presenting Italian railways as a device for understanding 'Italian ways' drowns in endless details of the author's angry trials and tribulations in ticket queues and train wagons.
The boredom wears out when he gets to describing his railway travel through the South of Italy, but I almost did not get there wi I used to think that it is impossible to write a boring book about Italy and Italians but Tim Parks managed to prove me wrong. For about the first third of the book an interesting premise of presenting Italian railways as a device for understanding 'Italian ways' drowns in endless details of the author's angry trials and tribulations in ticket queues and train wagons. The boredom wears out when he gets to describing his railway travel through the South of Italy, but I almost did not get there with him-temptation to leave the book unfinished was very strong.And yet the prolonged initial boredom is not my main problem with this book. What bothered me most was the total lack of sympathy towards people in general and Italians and Italy in particular, the strong undercurrent of contempt and disgust towards his adopted country and compatriots.Almost on every page an inevitable question came to mind: if Italy and Italians are so awfully annoying, arrogant, dirty, loud, unorganized and exist mainly to prevent the author from enjoying his peaceful existence, why on earth is he suffering in Italy instead of returning to his dear old England, clean, indifferent, unemotional and blissfully quiet? Some of the highlights from the long list of Italian train indecencies include: Italians talk to their friends, to their colleagues (instead of pretending they don't know each other), they talk to strangers; they keep insisting on talking to the author when there are no other passengers available even though he runs away into another wagon; they don't understand the author's longing for a 'quiet wagon' and refuse to implement this institution on their noisy trains; not only they eat on the train but they also have an arrogance to share their food with other passengers, even with strangers. And as if this wasn't enough, they are also frequently covered with body hair which they don't bother to hide from the fellow passengers!
Yes, the author has a strange obsession with this particular characteristic of Italian males.During his numerous railway adventures, the author always expects the worst from everybody and is pleasantly surprised ('humbled', as he calls it) when they don't cheat, don't steal, or even give money to a stranger in trouble. At the same time, he constantly wonders: why is it that Italians address him in English even before he opens his mouth? Why is it that they consider him a foreigner even before they hear his tiny accent? The obvious answer that Italians don't need to hear his Italian to feel his 'leave me alone' attitude is obvious to everybody except the author himself.Anyway, after 30 years of suffering from bad manners and indecent appearance of Italian public, the author finally experiences a catharsis during his travel to forbidden South - his cheerful change of mood is stimulated by a fascinating discovery that Southerners are not as monstrous and hostile as he expected them to be. Now he finally belongs, and Italy finally has a lot to offer to a traveler. All is well that ends well, but if you are not looking for an inspiration for your own anti-Italian grudges, this book is definitely not a must read even though it is full of unique observations: for example, according to the author, southerners leave their homes not only in search of employment and better economical situation, but mainly to get rid of the stifling influence and embarrassment of their too loving and too emotional families.
“A train is a train is a train, isn’t it?” So starts Tim Parks’ Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo. The charming narrative about life and travel in Italy vacillates between complaints of the inefficiencies and inconveniences of rail travel to extolling its virtues.
Sure the bus is faster, but it isn’t nearly as romantic or interesting!I love to travel, and my very first memory is of a train trip from California to Iowa to visit my grandmother. It seemed like a grand and dar “A train is a train is a train, isn’t it?” So starts Tim Parks’ Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo. The charming narrative about life and travel in Italy vacillates between complaints of the inefficiencies and inconveniences of rail travel to extolling its virtues. Sure the bus is faster, but it isn’t nearly as romantic or interesting!I love to travel, and my very first memory is of a train trip from California to Iowa to visit my grandmother. It seemed like a grand and daring adventure at the age of three. I haven’t used the U.S.
Train system much, but I have used the train in other countries when traveling in adulthood. I loved every minute of the experiences unique to train travel in each country! So, when I spotted this book in my library’s newsletter, I snatched up an audiobook copy of Italian Ways.Tim Parks’ book did not disappoint.
I loved his use of anecdotes to show Italians’ stalwart devotion to living at home with their family while commuting up to hundreds of miles by train to work. Parks made each vignette come to life with vivid descriptions of the people and places. Whether it was officious train personnel, odiferous commuters or charming, but hapless tourists, each of Parks’ interactions on his railway travels is memorable. He truly gives readers the social, economic, and political vibe of Italy.Whether the chapter was about regional, interregional or high-speed (i.e., Eurostar) trains, the stories brought back memories of my own travels.
The book will resonate with anyone who has traveled by train in Europe—especially Italy, and readers who have not travelled to Europe/Italy, will surely begin planning their own railway adventure to experience not only the romance of rail travel but the highly organic experience of regional trains and the colorful and enriching interaction with the local community.For more reading recommendations, visit Book Junkie Reviews at. What I like about Tim Parks' writing about Italy is that it's honest. Unlike many other expat writers about the country who don a fine pair of rose-tinted specs before they sit down at their computer, his fondness for his adopted home is always tempered by his acknowledgment of the daily frustrations of living in Italy.
They're frustrations that anyone who has lived there will recognise with a wry smile, and they are the reason why many of us who might otherwise have made a life for themselves i What I like about Tim Parks' writing about Italy is that it's honest. Unlike many other expat writers about the country who don a fine pair of rose-tinted specs before they sit down at their computer, his fondness for his adopted home is always tempered by his acknowledgment of the daily frustrations of living in Italy. They're frustrations that anyone who has lived there will recognise with a wry smile, and they are the reason why many of us who might otherwise have made a life for themselves in Italy (myself included), decided not to.And so to this book - a sojourn on and off the rails of Trenitalia over the past twenty years - and the huge changes that have taken place since the introduction of high speed trains.
Doesn't sound too enticing really, does it? But Parks' light touch and amusing anecdotes made it an easy and quick read and I really enjoyed it. I particularly sniggered over the bus journey (one of several replacement bus services he was forced to use), from Palermo to Modica in Sicily, but there were many of these humorous set pieces, as well as some history and geography, politics and sociology.Truly, all life is to be found on the trains and Parks observed it with humour and humility and more than a little grumpiness, at times. Why is it that many of the travel writers I enjoy reading are actually quite intolerant and grumpy? Paul Theroux and Anne Mustoe spring to mind. I appreciate the sentiment though that a quiet carriage in which to read one's book in peace is the holy grail of any train journey!
I listened to the unabridged version of this book during a marathon solo car journey. It was in fact my first experience with an audiobook. In the given circumstances I couldn't have made a better choice. Parks is an astute observer and a gifted raconteur. He mixes a string of amusing first-person anecdotes and off-stage reflections into a consistently interesting, effervescent narrative. But as often in his books the burlesque element is counterbalanced by more serious concerns. Parks' lighthea I listened to the unabridged version of this book during a marathon solo car journey.
It was in fact my first experience with an audiobook. In the given circumstances I couldn't have made a better choice. Parks is an astute observer and a gifted raconteur. He mixes a string of amusing first-person anecdotes and off-stage reflections into a consistently interesting, effervescent narrative. But as often in his books the burlesque element is counterbalanced by more serious concerns.
Parks' lighthearted account of his travel experiences on Italian railways is also a critique of the commercialisation and social segmentation that accompany the progressive reshaping of a public service. Most of these points are raised and elaborated in the book's middle part. As a result the final chapter that covers his train journey to Italy's deep south is perhaps a trifle too anecdotal.
All in all Italian Ways offers an entertaining read and is certainly to be recommended as an audiobook to brighten up a long, solitary and boring car ride. Very well written and funny insight into the Italian character via the national train system. Much of the book covers his home turf in the north, with the final section being a trip to Sicily and back. I confess that never having been to the country myself, and even with the assistance of provided maps, I wasn't able to easily differentiate say Turin from Verona as distinct places, but I'd accept that an Italian who'd never been to the States might have trouble with, say, Dallas vs.
Houston as w Very well written and funny insight into the Italian character via the national train system. Much of the book covers his home turf in the north, with the final section being a trip to Sicily and back. I confess that never having been to the country myself, and even with the assistance of provided maps, I wasn't able to easily differentiate say Turin from Verona as distinct places, but I'd accept that an Italian who'd never been to the States might have trouble with, say, Dallas vs. Houston as well.
My quibbles with this overall excellent book would be that Parks does get bogged down in the intricacies of the ticket purchasing regulations a couple of times, as well as that although his time in the far southeast of Italy (the 'boot') was interesting in that he rode their network of (very!) local trains, he waxed a bit philosophical for me as the book drew to a close.Definitely recommended! I was prepared to immerse myself in Italian culture: people pushing ahead in line, people renegotiating every rule, wild reunions among everyone who is aquatinted with everyone else, frustrating yet endearing bureaucracy. I looked forward to feeling a sense of peace and solidarity knowing someone else has spent 30 minutes trying to buy a train ticket at the kiosk only to be kicked out and sent back to the beginning and to hearing of how someone else deals with the local who tries to go through t I was prepared to immerse myself in Italian culture: people pushing ahead in line, people renegotiating every rule, wild reunions among everyone who is aquatinted with everyone else, frustrating yet endearing bureaucracy. I looked forward to feeling a sense of peace and solidarity knowing someone else has spent 30 minutes trying to buy a train ticket at the kiosk only to be kicked out and sent back to the beginning and to hearing of how someone else deals with the local who tries to go through the process for me for his fee. It was some of all that but it basically is uninteresting and dull. The author is clear that this isn't a travelogue.
Perhaps I should have heeded his warning and stayed away. I did not finish this book. To be honest I barely made it into it.
I was intrigued with learning how the Italians are, but the author had a bit of a negative tone. Due to his tone, I found myself not wanting to pick it up and read. I am getting ready to go on a trip soon and this was actually making me question visiting Northern Italy. There's nothing worse than being all pumped and excited about your overseas adventure and then reading a book that makes the people there sound like sel I did not finish this book. To be honest I barely made it into it.
I was intrigued with learning how the Italians are, but the author had a bit of a negative tone. Due to his tone, I found myself not wanting to pick it up and read. I am getting ready to go on a trip soon and this was actually making me question visiting Northern Italy. There's nothing worse than being all pumped and excited about your overseas adventure and then reading a book that makes the people there sound like self indulged assholes. Maybe the Italians are, maybe they're not. I just didn't want to be jaded before I made it over there so I opted to put the book down.
A discussion of the Italian State Railway (Ferrovie della Stata) and his adventures on the train, starting with his regular commute from Verona to Milan and ending with a journey to the South. His point is the Italian railway system can tell you a lot about Italian culture, and I think he proves his point. Parks is an excellent observer of people and places, but he is also critical. If you want Tuscan sunshine and romance in your travel books (and you are not interested in trains) this is not fo A discussion of the Italian State Railway (Ferrovie della Stata) and his adventures on the train, starting with his regular commute from Verona to Milan and ending with a journey to the South. His point is the Italian railway system can tell you a lot about Italian culture, and I think he proves his point.
Parks is an excellent observer of people and places, but he is also critical. If you want Tuscan sunshine and romance in your travel books (and you are not interested in trains) this is not for you. As someone who will soon go to Italy for the first time, to visit and to meet relatives, I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I found someone who seemed to be perpetually negative about virtually everything he saw and experienced.
It wasn't until he nearly completes the book that the author says something clearly positive: that he loves train compartments for their ability to mix people, and that he enjoyed relaxing for a brief time in the southern tip of the the country. I struggl As someone who will soon go to Italy for the first time, to visit and to meet relatives, I was intrigued by the premise of this book.
I found someone who seemed to be perpetually negative about virtually everything he saw and experienced. It wasn't until he nearly completes the book that the author says something clearly positive: that he loves train compartments for their ability to mix people, and that he enjoyed relaxing for a brief time in the southern tip of the the country. I struggled to finish the book and am disinclined to read anything else by this author. Train travel sounds romantic until you actually board the train. In the United States, the country is so large and trains are so slow that flying or driving makes much more sense. In Italy, train travel is plagued by strikes, bureaucratic red tape, and a ticketing system that’s incomprehensible even to people who have been riding the train for years. So why even bother taking the train?
In Tim Parks’ new book, Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo, he explores his adopted coun Train travel sounds romantic until you actually board the train. In the United States, the country is so large and trains are so slow that flying or driving makes much more sense. In Italy, train travel is plagued by strikes, bureaucratic red tape, and a ticketing system that’s incomprehensible even to people who have been riding the train for years. So why even bother taking the train? In Tim Parks’ new book, Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo, he explores his adopted country through its rail system’s quirks and ultimately decides that the train provides a “beautiful respite” from everyday life.Parks, who moved to Italy from England when he was in his 20s, commutes from his home in Verona to his teaching job at a university in Milan—by train. In Italy, it’s common for people to commute long distances to work.
He also has students who live at home with their parents but travel long distances to go to class. The first hurdle in train travel is getting a ticket, and Parks explains the many different ticket options.
Or tries to, at least. In Italy, there are all different kinds of trains, like regional and fast trains, and while sometimes you can buy a ticket from a person at a window, sometimes you cannot. Sometimes you have to use a machine with sticky buttons.
Or sometimes there’s a person and you can buy tickets from them, but they can’t answer questions—that’s someone else’s job. The process of just getting on the train is difficult. Then, once you’re on the train, sometimes there are strikes, over things such as milk production, that pause the train for an hour. And sometimes, you may get off at the wrong Verona train station, since there are two with the same name.Read the full review and get the recipe inspired by it, for gluten-free Italian pistachio cookies,. Tim Parks, an Englishman living in Italy for over 30 years, describes a number of train journeys he has taken around Italy. Parks' anecdotes cover the trains and the stations, the passengers and the ticket inspectors, the history of the railways and the modern political attitudes to rail travel.This is an interesting and quirky look at train travel, more from the point of view of Italian society and culture than a true travel book.
Parks observes the Italians with a sympathetic eye, occasionally Tim Parks, an Englishman living in Italy for over 30 years, describes a number of train journeys he has taken around Italy. Parks' anecdotes cover the trains and the stations, the passengers and the ticket inspectors, the history of the railways and the modern political attitudes to rail travel.This is an interesting and quirky look at train travel, more from the point of view of Italian society and culture than a true travel book.
Parks observes the Italians with a sympathetic eye, occasionally irritated by the crazy bureaucracy he encounters, but ultimately relating the joy of travelling around his adopted country. There are some interesting historical facts thrown in along the way.The middle section of the book repeats some of the journeys of the first part, but at a later time period. This section dragged a bit, as it seemed a bit repetitive with the same observations being made several times. The final section, however, really sparkles. This covers travel around Sicily and the south, and Parks' appreciation of this unfamiliar region shines through in his descriptions.Overall an interesting angle on Italian life, well worth a look for anyone interested in Italian cultural history, or in trains!
Tim Parks wonderful description of his journeys across Italy is so infectious - and his love of his adopted country shines through every syllable of his journey. He attempts to diagnose the Italian question by travelling across the country by rail and succeeds in capturing that elusive quality.This is surely one of the best books about what it means to be a train commuter.I salute Mr Parks ingenuity and admire his prose.
With this book he has surely cemented his name amongst the finest of mode Tim Parks wonderful description of his journeys across Italy is so infectious - and his love of his adopted country shines through every syllable of his journey. He attempts to diagnose the Italian question by travelling across the country by rail and succeeds in capturing that elusive quality.This is surely one of the best books about what it means to be a train commuter.I salute Mr Parks ingenuity and admire his prose. With this book he has surely cemented his name amongst the finest of modern travel writers.Chapter 5 which describes his trip to the south of Italy is hilarious.As one who has travelled some of the territory covered here - on tracks between Milan Florence Naples for instance - these observations have a ring of truth.Quite how anyone could dislike this narrator is beyond me. One presumes the detractors have no soul or at any rate no understanding of either Italy or trains. My commute in America was 45 minutes each way.
This author had a commute in Italy of 2 hours each way every day 100 miles each way. Tim Parks is English and has lived in Italy for 30 years. I am American and have lived with a man of Italian descent for 30 years. There are observations here that tell me more about my husband.
These shall remain untolf hrre. Parks rides the rails. All over Italy he gathers vignettes of railway stations, passengers, conductors, ticket sellers, ticket machines, scen My commute in America was 45 minutes each way. This author had a commute in Italy of 2 hours each way every day 100 miles each way.
Tim Parks is English and has lived in Italy for 30 years. I am American and have lived with a man of Italian descent for 30 years. There are observations here that tell me more about my husband. These shall remain untolf hrre. Parks rides the rails. All over Italy he gathers vignettes of railway stations, passengers, conductors, ticket sellers, ticket machines, scenery, and various conditions.
From these together he and the reader discern the Italian character. It is a mixed character with both positive and negative. In reading this book one can see the mixture that makes Italy with all its separate places connected by railways and disconnected by economics and the Italiatreni system. It was a delightful experience to read a large portion of this book while traveling on the very trains Tim Parks describes. Parks, an Englishman who has lived in Italy for over 30 years, uses the country's train system as a way to describe many aspects of the Italian psyche. His writing is a wonderful combination of information, humor, vignettes, and love for his adopted country.
'Modern Italian genius is largely about inhabiting the past in a way that makes sense and money,' says Parks, and he It was a delightful experience to read a large portion of this book while traveling on the very trains Tim Parks describes. Parks, an Englishman who has lived in Italy for over 30 years, uses the country's train system as a way to describe many aspects of the Italian psyche. His writing is a wonderful combination of information, humor, vignettes, and love for his adopted country.
Scarface the world is yours pc ita download. 'Modern Italian genius is largely about inhabiting the past in a way that makes sense and money,' says Parks, and he is so right. The past surrounds the modern traveler to Italy, and Italians have found a way to preserve, celebrate and exploit their heritage. And, after watching people flout the rules everywhere, from where to get on a bus to where to park, I also laughed out loud at this line: 'Anarchy is rare in Italy, but legality is always up for renegotiation.' A great read! Who knew a book solely about the craziness that is Italian train travel would be so lovely!? I love trains.
Tim Parks Italian Ways Pdf Free Download
I wish this country was more of a train culture - no traffic, less pollution, ten times as relaxing! Italian lives by their trains. People literally will live 2 hours away from their job and commute by train for 4 hours a day.
It's totally normal. I like how my commute is 45 minutes and I bitch and moan about it all the time, but that's a different story. Anyways, a book about Who knew a book solely about the craziness that is Italian train travel would be so lovely!? I love trains. I wish this country was more of a train culture - no traffic, less pollution, ten times as relaxing! Italian lives by their trains. People literally will live 2 hours away from their job and commute by train for 4 hours a day.
It's totally normal. I like how my commute is 45 minutes and I bitch and moan about it all the time, but that's a different story. Anyways, a book about train travel turns into a lot more. This guy is a great writer and his anecdotes and observations are fascinating. Recommended for lovers of Italia and books about random stuff! If you're an Italophile, this is a very enjoyable description of a journey from Verona to Sicily (and back again) by train and the accompanying and inevitable contradictions unique to Italy.
Parks (a translator and lecturer at the University of Milan and twice Man Booker Prize nominee) is occasionally still seen as an outsider despite 30 years in Italy. His entertaining and exasperating encounters with his fellow travelers give a birds eye view on life, social attitudes and manners across modern If you're an Italophile, this is a very enjoyable description of a journey from Verona to Sicily (and back again) by train and the accompanying and inevitable contradictions unique to Italy. Parks (a translator and lecturer at the University of Milan and twice Man Booker Prize nominee) is occasionally still seen as an outsider despite 30 years in Italy. His entertaining and exasperating encounters with his fellow travelers give a birds eye view on life, social attitudes and manners across modern Italy. Born in Manchester in 1954, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since, raising a family of three children. He has written fourteen novels including Europa (shortlisted for the Booker prize), Destiny, Cleaver, and most recently In Extremis.During the nineties he wrote two, personal and highly popular accounts of his lifBorn in Manchester in 1954, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard.
In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since, raising a family of three children. He has written fourteen novels including Europa (shortlisted for the Booker prize), Destiny, Cleaver, and most recently In Extremis.During the nineties he wrote two, personal and highly popular accounts of his life in northern Italy, Italian Neighbours and An Italian Education. These were complemented in 2002 by A Season with Verona, a grand overview of Italian life as seen through the passion of football.
Other non-fiction works include a history of the Medici bank in 15th century Florence, Medici Money and a memoir on health, illness and meditation, Teach Us to Sit Still. In 2013 Tim published his most recent non-fiction work on Italy, Italian Ways, on and off the rails from Milan to Palermo.Aside from his own writing, Tim has translated works by Moravia, Calvino, Calasso, Machiavelli and Leopardi; his critical book, Translating Style is considered a classic in its field.
Tim Parks Italian Ways Pdf Free Online
He is presently working on a translation of Cesare Pavese's masterpiece, The Moon and the Bonfires.A regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, his many essays are collected in Hell and Back, The Fighter, A Literary Tour of Italy, and Life and Work.Over the last five years he has been publishing a series of blogs on writing, reading, translation and the like in the New York Review online. These have recently been collected in Where I am Reading From and Pen in Hand.