[.ca] Reflections on Blue Water: Journeys in the Gulf of ... (ISBN 1860468934)

Sweetnes & Melancholy of a journey in the land of the Sirens:
As a Neapolitan who lives abroad I have deeply appreciated the exquisite description of that part of the world, and I must admit that the author has remarkably fixed both the beauty of the land and the main features of the people who are so lucky to live in it. Even though at the beginning he seems more interested in the analysis of the work of the artists who lived in those islands, he cannot help to be drawn back to the pure contemplation of the landscape that,through his words, becomes poetry. The second part of the book starting with the description of Ischia is the best expression of his lyrism. Finally he leaves the torments of the people who inhabited the places, but who seem to have never really belonged to them, and he focus on the images soothing the reader's soul with the warmth of the sun, the power of nature, the energy of the sea. As in the quoted "Voyage en Italie" by Chateaubriand it is like looking at Haven from Hell. His deep thoughts and sometimes heavy reasonings find their perfect scenario in the beauty of the Tyrrenian Sea. The book takes time to be read, also because a few paragraphs must be read more than once to retain every detail of the description, but when it is over the readers are left with a smile on their face and the heart full of melacholy for not being in such an haven for real.

A Non-Traditional Travelogue.:
"Reflections on Blue Water" is an interesting book. It is not at all what I expected. Most travel book are a chronological account of a journey or an explicit description of a place. Alan Ross's book both, but is more a description of the author's state of mind at the time he visited the Bay of Naples and the Aeolian Islands. Alan Ross first visited the area after service in World War II. Part of his book contains his journals written during these travels. Fifty years later he once again travels to the Bay of Naples and the Aeolian Islands to see how things have changed. He brings with him a number of books written from, on, & about the area. The majority of the book is given over to an aged intellectual's "Reflections" on these books and the era they were written in. Like I said, not a typical travelogue. At first my expectations were disappointed. It took me a while to accept the book for what it was, but once I had I was richly rewarded. I will mine the list of authors Alan Ross quotes from and the books they wrote for quite some time. Near the end of the book we are treated to his 1948 journals and his return to the same locale in 1998. This portion of the book is the most like a traditional travelogue. It is also the most lyrical. Take this passage, written from Porto d'Ischia: "At night, the waterfront crushes out the day's heat on its stone transfer. The sea changes colour as you look at it; houses, losing their daytime stains, acquire a mellow bloom. Girls in the semi-dark become romantic, elusive creatures, turning from peasants into icons. Old age is becoming to the matriarchs on their doorsteps. Every so often a boat slips out, its powerful lamp probing the sea. Lighted windows outline the silhouettes of men playing scopa, the card game that is a day-long ritual of fierce intensity, no laughing matter. Women cool off on steps, worn beauties replete in their seasons." If you are looking for stories and narrative, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a deeper understanding of the local history, culture & people, this is not the book for you. If you are, on the other hand, interested in the perceptions and preoccupations of a wide variety of visitors, fugitives, and ex-pats, followed by an exquisitely lyrical journal, then by all means read "Reflections on Blue Water."