Because I enjoy wandering the back roads (I hate interstate highways with a real passion) so much myself, I’m always on the lookout for a well written travel memoir about that kind of trip. It doesn’t matter if the travelers are walking, biking, or driving; I’m ready to make the trip with them. I’ve made lots of those trips in the US and Canada, even a bunch in the UK when I was younger, so George Mahood’s Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America from my first glance at its cover seemed just about perfect.
Two young Brits, author George Mahood and his buddy Mark, decided to spend the better part of a year exploring America, having correctly assumed that the experience would be a much better way to learn about the country and its people than exclusively following the usual tourist track instead. Their plan, however, changed even before they landed in New York because Mark was granted only a 90-day visa, leaving George on his own when it was time to turn their rather ancient Dodge Caravan (called Josephine) around and head back to New York for the flight home. (George would inadvertently have his own visa problems later on.) Thankfully, Mark was able to join George before anything happened to George as he wandered around solo through places like some of Baltimore’s most drug-infested neighborhoods on foot searching for a place to sleep.
Not Tonight, Josephine is every bit as much fun as I hoped it would be. Because the boys, due to budget restraints, spent the bulk of their nights sleeping on Josephine’s too-small seats, parked wherever they felt relatively safe, they had more than a few encounters with local cops who spotted them parked overnight in unusual spots. And because the trip began so late in the year, they often woke up with ice on both sides of the windows and chattering teeth. Even some of America’s cheapest, dirtiest, and weirdest motels began to look good to them at that point.
There is even a love story happening in Not Tonight, Josephine despite the fact that George and Rachel have the Atlantic Ocean firmly fixed between them. At one point, as George continues to move westward and Rachel decides to relocate to Ireland, they manage to put more and more miles between them. For both, it is a new relationship with an old friend, and George fears that he is destroying it even before it begins. After Mark returns to England, George wants nothing more than to have Rachel join him for the return leg of the trip, but she is not so sure that is what she wants to do.
Bottom Line: I ended up liking Not Tonight, Josephine even more than I expected I would. George and Mark steered Josephine through many of the small towns and more-isolated regions of the country that I’ve explored on my own, and reading about their experiences brought back some good memories. It’s the “little things” and unexpected encounters that make this kind of trip a true success, and despite all the things they barely missed seeing on their travels, George, Mark, and Rachel ended up experiencing a very successful road trip with a lot of help from Josephine. This one is fun.
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| George Mahood |
This does sound like a lot of fun. I love that they call their car Josephine. I'm putting this one on my summer reading list for next year because it feels like the perfect summer read to me. And maybe it will inspire me to take my own road trip. :D
ReplyDeleteI read a road trip book while on my July road trip, and that really worked out well. This would be a perfect book to do the same thing with.
DeleteGlad you ended up liking it more than you thought. It does sound like a fun road trip!
ReplyDeleteThe guys had some rough days (well, mostly uncomfortable nights) during the trip, but I don't think that any of the three of them (including Sarah) would regret a moment of it all. It was fun to read.
DeleteSounds like a really nice read. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mystica. I think that it gives a fairly accurate picture of small town America and the people who live there.
DeleteI'll see about getting a copy of this as, I'm sure you'll have guessed, it really is my kind of thing. Mainly because we've done this ourselves. Sadly, not 'all' around the US but parts of the eastern states and down to NC and TN. As you correctly say, Sam, it's the small encounters in small towns that have stuck with me. Conversations struck up with all manner of folk because I'm 'always' up for a chat with anyone let alone people in foreign countries. In fact we did very few touristy things and still haven't been to New York or Washington or Florida. We just got in the car in Pittsburgh and drove, following our noses. We have friends who go to Disney in Florida nearly every year (from the UK) and when we said what we did 3 times they look at us like we have two heads. LOL
ReplyDeleteI love that you travel this way, too, Cath. I have never been on one of those tour-guided vacation packages, and I don't intend to ever travel that way. It's just not the same.
DeleteI know what you mean about your friends thinking you are a little strange for wandering around this way. I did it so much during my years in London that I'm still convinced that I've seen way more of the UK than most Brits will see in a lifetime...wouldn't have it any other way.
Traveling the back roads is almost always a revelation, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so good. But I agree it is probably the best way to get to know the real country, rather than the part that puts on its fancy duds for the tourists.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Dorothy...not all of the revelations are good ones. But I still come out of even those situations with a level of insight into a town or region that I find gratifying...just in a whole different way. :-)
DeleteThis sounds positively delightful! We had to get back to Florida quickly this time and ended up sticking to the interstate, but the best part of the trip was when had to get off in West Virginia due to several accidents. Wandered through some small towns like I've never seen before! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've been forced to use interstates way more than I ever wanted to, JoAnn, because of time or budget constraints. But I always wonder what I'm missing by having to do it.
DeleteMy husband's last name is Mahood ... so I have forwarded this title to him to see if he's some lost relative. He's pretty big into the whole family tree business. I'm glad you enjoyed George's road trip. Perhaps you could write one better?
ReplyDeleteMahood is not a surname that I've often run across. I did see that George Mahood has written a whole series of similar travel books, and that Sarah is apparently with him for much of his traveling.
DeleteYou just virtually tossed another book on my pile, Sam!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of fun to see yourself through the eyes of others, Cathy. I enjoyed that aspect even though I cringed a few times when the boys were fooling around in some dodgy areas.
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