Various: Literary Trips: Following in the Footsteps of Fame

Reviewed by BARBARA HARRIS

Sadly, this collection of travelogues inspired by the work of famous writers, gets off to a shudderingly bad start. And it's all down to editor Victoria Brooks' interview with science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke.

Guess what Clarke, the futurist, wants to talk about? Mainly science, space and the stars. "He dazzles me with science, something I confess, with acute embarrassment, I know little about."

The biographical notes tell us that "Victoria started dreaming, travelling and writing about her travels when she was 10. She is older now."

But apparently not old enough to think that maybe as editor, she should have picked someone who knew about science to talk to Clarke.

While there are insights into the man they are interspersed with distracting, pretentious tripe.

"I admire two young men, lean and brown-muscled in white cotton boxers and scoop-necked undershirts, stretching under a fast, light sky shot through with orgies of marigold-stained clouds."

At other times she acts a cross between the grand dame - "I am expected" - to a particularly unctuous private secretary announcing "Weekends for Clarke are a time to gallivant: to an important gallery opening or to a convocation ... "

Stick with it, because as lost as Brooks seems with Clarke she makes a real connection with Saigon and its people when she retraces Graham Greene's footsteps. Here her "mood" writing works better.

The collection features a diverse range of 22 writers, from Franz Kafka and John Steinbeck to Beatrix Potter and Robertson Davies. The people writing about them are all inveterate travellers who offer mixed styles.

However, with electronic publishing, you can simply buy a chapter or two.

I particularly liked Tom Henighan's piece on Evelyn Waugh and company in the Yemen. It has even inspired me to try to track down Waugh's When the Going was Good.

At the end of each story, there's a comprehensive fact file that tells you how to get there and where to stay, with suggestions of some innovative ways to indulge in the hero worship of your favourite scribe.

* Distributed by Addenda, PO Box 78-224, Grey Lynn, Auckland.

GreatestEscapes.com Publishing

$59.95

ISBN 0968613713