Publication date 2012 topics pilgrims and pilgrimages, travelers writings, american. The book a sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus is being broadcast at the moment as bbc radio 4s book of the week. The excerpt in our summer travel issue, one schlep forward, is about a hasidic pilgrimage to uman, ukraine, one of three sacred journeys that gideon lewiskraus undertook for his forthcoming book, a sense of direction riverhead books. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. The best books purport to be about one thing and are about all other things, about tradition and decency. Peripatetic ruminations on the meaning of life and finding a sense of direction accompany lewiskraus across three very different countries.
Berlin in honor of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, genius is posting an excerpt from a memoir about being young and rudderless in. A sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus reading guide. A few years ago, gideon lewiskraus went to the central kalahari game reserve to visit the setting of a norman rush novel, and learned a thing or two about literary pilgrimages. About a sense of direction in medieval times, a pilgrimage gave the average joe his only break from the daily grind. The others took him to an ancient cathedral in northwestern spain and across the japanese island of shikoku. Gideon lewiskraus is the author of a sense of direction and the kindle single no exit. Offers accounts of the authors pilgrimages to three holy sites in search of personal direction, describing the hundreds of miles trekked and the. He was writing dispatches on the berlin art scene for american publications, making a meager living, but none of it made him content. With no electricity there was no artificial light to keep people up late so they would go to sleep early, wake up in the middle of the night the best time for conception of children and then sleep again. If david foster wallace had written eat, pray, love, it might have come close to approximating the adventures of gideon lewiskraus. By the time i got to gideon lewiskrauss a sense of direction, i was. A 200708 fulbright scholarship brought him to berlin, a hotbed of contemporary restlessness where he conceived this book.
This is one of the more interesting books i have read, with the authors impressive vocabulary helping to enforce an impression on readers about pilgrimages, our relationships with others and why we make ourselves do certain things. A sense of direction quotes showing 1 of tom and i help in common the hope that there might be a geographical ticket out of the problems of indecision, boredom, and the suspicion that more interesting things were happening in more fashionable places to more attractive people. Finally making choices that limit what he can do makes him more productive and purposeful as a writer. The topic of the role pilgrimages play in our daily lives and interactions is quite an alluring one. The brooklynbased critic and journalists travel memoir, a sense of direction. This site is like a library, you could find million book here by using search box in the widget. In medieval times, a pilgrimage gave the average joe his only break from the daily grind. A sense of direction and millions of other books are available for instant access. Gideon lewiskraus arrived in freespirited berlin from san francisco as a young writer in search of a place to enjoy life to the fullest, and to forget the pain his father, a gay rabbi, had caused his family when he came out in middle age and emotionally abandoned his sons.
Michael apted stumbled into making what has become the most profound. Pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful by gideon lewiskraus. At the start, gideon is rootless, aimless and essentially hedonistic. A sense of direction pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful by gideon lewiskraus. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. That is, he needs to write this book, but as is the case in other of my favorite travel books. A sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus is a report of three pilgrimages taken by the author, a man in in his 30s seeking direction, forgiveness and the gift of forgiving. I began the book on the flight, and i couldnt remember the last time i. His father is gay and divorced his mother when gideon was 19. For gideon lewiskraus, it promises a different kind of escape. I n 2009, gideon lewiskraus was hanging out in berlin, with no particular idea of where to go or what to do next, when he got an email from tom bissell. Homepage for the writer gideon lewis kraus, author of a sense of direction.
Meanwhile, his estranged father, a former rabbi who came out late in life, became increasingly. Irreverent, moving, hilarious, and thoughtprovoking, a sense of direction is lewis kraus s dazzling riff on the perpetual war between discipline and desire, and its attendant casualties. Pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful gideon. A sense of direction, gideon lewiskraus, tom bissell. A sense of direction is a book moving forward along two paths. He writes reportage and criticism and is the author of the digressive travel memoir a sense of direction as well as the kindle single no exit. Gideons first book, a sense of direction, is part memoir, part travelogue, and part extended quasianthropological digression about pilgrimage. Gideon lewis kraus new york times magazine dec 2016 1 h permalink.
Read online, or download in secure epub format in medieval times, a pilgrimage gave the average joe his only break from the daily grind. As a bookshop affiliate and an amazon associate, the rumpus earns a percentage from qualifying purchases. Click download or read online button to a sense of. The section on sleep discusses what was also in a recent article by gideon lewiskrausthat there were two sleep times at night. Pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful bformat paperback by gideon lewiskraus isbn. Published may 10th 2012 by riverhead books first published 2012. Read a sense of direction pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful by gideon lewiskraus available from rakuten kobo. Irreverent, moving, hilarious, and thoughtprovoking, a sense of direction is lewiskraus s dazzling riff on the perpetual war between discipline and desire, and its attendant casualties. Pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful, comes from a note that lewiskraus scribbles to himself during a fourday bender with his. Gideon lewis kraus grew up in new jersey and graduated from stanford. Gideon lewiskraus has written a very honest, very smart, very moving book about.
A sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus and tom bissell. Gideon lewiskraus grew up in new jersey and graduated from stanford. A sense of direction pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful book. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. A sense of direction gideon lewiskraus gideons first book, a sense of direction, is part memoir, part travelogue, and part extended quasianthropological digression about pilgrimage. As a twentysomething expat in berlin, gideon lewiskraus grew tired of the indulgent, posturing lifestyle of his crowds aimless intellectuals and artists. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Determined to avoid the fear and selfsacrifice that kept his father, a gay rabbi, closeted until midlife, he has moved to anythinggoes berlin.
He is a writer at large at the new york times magazine, a contributing editor at harpers magazine, and a contributing writer at wired magazine. Across three pilgrimages and many hundreds of miles the. A sense of direction by gideon lewis kraus is a report of three pilgrimages taken by the author, a man in in his 30s seeking direction, forgiveness and the gift of forgiving. Jun 18, 2015 t he 27yearold new yorker tara palmeri, a former gossip columnist and the incandescent envoy of medias future to the brussels of the past, believes it her duty to show up without fail at the. The first is an introspective story about lewiskraus experience of walking the three pilgrimages and the lessons he learns along the way. A sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus pushkin press. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Gideon lewiskraus is the author of a sense of direction 3. Thats a rather simplified explanation of the journey, which explores his relationships with friends and family and the lessons he gleans from his time. To ask other readers questions about a sense of direction, please sign up. A sense of direction by gideon lewiskraus overdrive. Years earlier, the two had met in a bookstore where lewiskraus was working, and theyd stayed in touch. Pilgrimage for the restless and the hopeful takes us from an anythinggoes lifestyle of parties and booze in berlin to the physical endurance and mental fortitude required to do three pilgrimages and many hundreds of miles in spain, japan and the ukraine.