Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy is a sincere and authentic account of a brave woman's journey from Ireland to India by bicycle over 50 years ago. The book captures the essence of traveling as a deep human action, emphasizing self-sacrifice, effort, and endurance. It's a personal diary that avoids triviality and offers a profound understanding of exotic cultures.
Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy is a fantastic adventure that stands out for its sincerity and authenticity. The author's decision not to include general information about the countries she visited makes the book a very personal diary of her journey. Riding a bike from Europe to India was a huge physical challenge, especially for a single woman over 50 years ago. The book captures the essence of traveling as a deep human action, emphasizing self-sacrifice, effort, and endurance. Dervla's philosophy of traveling is straightforward and difficult to obtain today. She meets people as a guest, always aware of her limitations. The book also highlights the virtues of traveling, such as being resourceful, which are often lost in modern travel. Dervla's emotions, like fear, anger, homesickness, sadness, joy, and delight, are shared in perfect proportions, making the reader feel touched without being overwhelmed. The book is highly recommended for those who treat traveling seriously.
Quick quotes
nothing worth having comes easy.
Although I believe in some sort of familiarity with others the full and deep understanding of exotic cultures does not come easy.
Dervla did it in perfect proportions: I didn’t feel overwhelmed with the description of the situations that caused these emotions but it was powerful enough to be touched.