[.ca] Backpack (ISBN 074726676X)

From Amazon.co.uk:
It's New Year's Day and the year isn't kicking off well for Tansy: her mother's dead, she's a cocaine addict and her boyfriend has just left her. A trip around the world seems like the only option except that she's not interested in seeing the world, just escaping from it, and the last people she wants to hang out with are backpackers. Like a lot of travellers on the Lonely-Planet-led Asian Grand Tour, Tansy is intensely irritating at first. Always on the look out for the "real" Vietnam--the one in which she can walk around "like a model, fanning myself gently, strolling into ancient temples and learning about inner peace"--she is opinionated, narrow-minded and remarkably naive (for a supposed media luvvy). Once she has shrugged off her addiction to lines of coke, skinny lattes and Nicole Fahri jumpers, she becomes more appealing. So by the time she's fallen for Max, a fellow traveller, she'll have won you over and you'll be just as worried as she is about the serial killer who appears to be on her trail. Emily Barr is a former Westminster researcher who now writes for the Guardian and the Observer. Backpack is her first novel and, like Tansy, takes a while to find itself. City-girl pretensions jostle with shoestring-style travelogue and it is only when it hits full-throttle thriller mode that Barr's strength as a novelist becomes apparent. Be prepared for echoes of The Beach--hardly surprising given that Barr was an extra in the film. Also be prepared to get itchy feet--if nothing else, you'll be tempted to reach for that backpack and slap on the insect repellent.--Jane Honey

pathetic:
This book was absolutely terrible. The writing, plot structure, voice, and characters were all awful. It depresses me that publishers pay money for fiction like this. There is nothing "intelligent" about this book at all. The ending is contrived and unoriginal. The whole serial murder thing seems thrown in and completely unbelievable. If the author wanted us to despise Tansy, then she at least accomplished that. I bought this book at a bookstore and within a week, I sold it to a used book store for fifty cents. I just wanted to get it out of my hands as soon as possible. I think I ripped off the used bookstore guy for allowing him to give me two quarters in exchange for such a piece of garbage.

Wannabe backpackers take heed:
There's a lot of good backpacking info in this book and that's a big plus. However a minus is the awkward use of flashbacks. Very confusing. Also, have your England to American dictionary handy; you'll need it.

Nice Story ý Keeps you Guessing:
Backpack is the story of a lost British girl named Tansy. After her mother dies and she meets her long lost brother she decides to go on a backpacking trip through Asia with her boyfriend. Of course the boyfriend dumps her before the trip and she decides to go without him (in hopes that he will join or be impressed). Basically she is a big city girl who isn't interested in the backpacker lifestyle but finds herself in Asia wishing she were anywhere else. Tansy does a lot of growing and learning while on her travels. Meanwhile murders start happing all over Asia and Tansy feels they are somehow connected to her. An interesting story with a loveable leading lady.

Intelligent and entertaining:
It's really a shame that Emily Barr's novels are promoted as frivolous pop-thrillers when they are anything but... She is a very intelligent writer and the characters she creates are believable and complex. The plot lines in both Backpack and Baggage are compelling, the settings are well-researched, and both novels are a joy to read. I am eagerly awaiting "Cuba". Ms. Barr - You are a serious writer! I wish the packaging of your books would indicate as such!

Contrived ending, obvious burnout of author:
If you like reading about bratty over-privileged girls then this book is for you. The ending was a complete cop-out. It disguised the fact that the author Emily Barr was suffering from burn-out. I won't put the spoiler in this review; let's just say that it was an all-too convenient way to wrap things up.