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Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys

Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys

by Dervla Murphy (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2003

    $3.28
Synopsis

While bicycling hundreds of miles through beautiful yet tragically depopulated regions of Albania and the former Yugoslavia, Dervla stayed with families forcibly uprooted, their lives devastated by murder and pillage. Conversations revealed the griefs and confusions of ordinary people, many of whom were extraordinarily brave and resilient during the 'decade of decay'. Throughout her travels, Dervla tries to make sense of the confusing history and politics of the area. Through the Embers of Chaos is an extraordinary achievement; it describes a journey that demanded the greatest emotional and physical stamina (not least as she was attacked and robbed three times in Albania). The result is a truly unusual view on the Balkan countryside.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 388
 Edition: New edition
 Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd
Published: 03 Jul 2003
ISBN 10: 0719565103
ISBN 13: 9780719565106
Book Overview: Dervla Murphy's other books include The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe , South from the Limpopo: Travels through South Africa and One Foot in Laos .

Media Reviews
'Dervla Murphy is a brave woman and a great travel writer' -- The Spectator 'A timely and important account of a catastrophically razed corner of Europe. Dervla Murphy wears her erudition lightly, weaving personal anecdote into enduring reportage. She talks to ordinary people trapped beneath the crust of former dictatorships, and is respectful of their past suffering.' -- Ian Thomson, Sunday Times 20020915 'Generosity is a quality which shines throughout Murphy's work. But she is no soft touch or bleeding-heart liberal. While she exudes compassion and empathy she can be formidably hard-headed and short with bullshitters. In her latest -- perhaps finest -- book she has her fair share of hairy moments. Invariably, she is prepared to stand her ground with bullies.' -- Alan Taylor, Glasgow Sunday Herald 20020901 'Murphy isn't your average travel hack -- she insists on travelling by bicycle, or on foot. Her bike isn't a comic prop, as in those lightweight travelogues where men lug fridges around foreign parts for a laugh, but a way of getting closer to her subject ! As events in Afghanistan demonstrate, a war's end is only the beginning of a long, often dangerous struggle to re-establish normality. In its personal, humane, angry way, Through the Embers shows just how rocky that road can be.' -- Matthew Collin, The Guardian 20020928 'Dervla Murphy vividly conveys the bleak decay of post-war small-town life, remarkably similar in its combination of despair and bigotry whereever she goes' -- Time Literary Supplement 20030214
Author Bio
Dervla Murphy is one of the very best loved of travel writers. She was born in County Waterford and since 1964 has been regularly publishing accounts of her journeys - by bicycle and on foot -- in the remoter areas of four continents. She has also written about the problems of Northern Ireland, the hazards of nuclear power, and race relations in Britain. The Times Literary Supplement called her 'an admirable woman -- she has a romantic soul and a keen eye'.