I came to this book through the television series Monkey, and then attempted Arthur Waley’s condensed translation as a child. Of course, a definitive Top 10 road novels is almost an impossible feat for one person, for who am I to say which grand works should be on such a mighty list? (I have no desire to revisit On the Road, which I read in my youth, for instance, although it might be interesting to see if I read it now with a less dismissive shrug.) So I’m depending on other readers to expand on my choices in the comments below. My new novel, The Book of the Gaels joins this long tradition of road novels (although I didn’t think of it as such while it was being written), which has made me look back at the sub-genre with some interest. So it’s no surprise that road trips have been used as a storytelling device for such a long time. Need some light relief? Meet a politician in the lavatories of the next Costa. Character not working? Leave them in the gas station. A s a travelling musician, I spend a fair bit of time on the road, and the possibilities such a lifestyle brings – a new bed every night, new friends every evening (hopefully) – makes it an obvious scenario in which to place a novel.
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