Simply put, this could have been a book about a nightmare trip.

The author penned this book decades after his travels, and while his recollection of events remains mostly intact (thanks, in part, to hundreds of pages of his writings and notes made during his adventure), what makes this book truly inspiring is its sense of remembrance.

Now, if there’s one thing that makes this book so special, it’s the way young Leigh Fermor’s boyish appreciation of everything he encounters converges with the wisdom of the old man (also Leigh Fermor) who wisely and wistfully reminisces on his memories. The evocation of a night in a barn, or of tiresome days simply walking is, through his pen, transformed into a nearly divine occurrence. The best aspect of his writing? To us, it’s his capacity for rapture: Every moment, every step in his path, is an event, something worth noting and sharing. Such is the setting of A Time of Gifts, regarded by many as the world’s finest travel book, which recounts Fermor’s adventures on the first part of his journey, as far as Hungary.Ī story about a place, a Europe, that no longer exists, and at the same time a gorgeous coming-of-age tale, Leigh Fermor’s writing is delightfully eloquent, a true exposition of what can be achieved with the English language when the pen that writes it is held by a brilliant mind. The clouds of turmoil were yet to close in. Monarchies were still powerful, old regimes lingered. Even if some signs of the war ahead were already manifesting, Hitler had only just come into power, and the Communists had not yet taken over in the east. It was the early 1930s, and chaos had not yet broken out in Europe. Up this month is Patrick Leigh Fermor’s highly acclaimed and beloved A Time of Gifts, an outstanding real-life travel tale set in a place that no longer exists: pre-WWII central Europe.Īt age 18, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off on an ambitious, epic journey starting in the heart of London and ending in Istanbul, known at the time as Constantinople. The only determinant is quality: a book that makes life more vivid, more inspiring – a gifted piece of work you want to share. Each month, American Express Essentials highlights one definitive literary work, old or new, across any and all genres.

A time of gifts by patrick leigh fermor