A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
It was 1976 when Tiziano Terzani was warned by the fortune-teller in Hong Kong: "Beware! You run a grave risk of dying in 1993. You mustn't fly that year. Don't fly, not even once." Sixteen years later, Terzani had not forgotten. Despite living the life of a jet-hopping journalist, he decided that, after a lifetime of sensible decisions, he would confront the prophecy the Asian way, not by fighting it, but by submitting. He also resolved that on the way he would seek out the most eminent local oracle, fortune-teller or sorcerer and look again into his future. So after a feast of red ant egg omelet and a glass of fresh water, he brought the new year in on the back of the elephant. He even made it to his appointments--Cambodia to cover the first democratic elections; Burma, for the opening of the first road to connect Thailand and China; and even Florence to visit his mother, a trip that would take him 13,000 miles across Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Siberia. In this way, the jet-hopping journalist rediscovered the art of travel, the intricate chains of chance which lead to discovery, and the mass of humanity he'd overlooked in his rush for newsworthy quotes. And he also saved his life. Terzani's odyssey across Asia is full of revelations and reflections on the dramatic changes underway in Asia. Having spent two decades on the continent, he brings a deep love for the place to his journeys, but also the eyes of someone troubled by the changes he sees. Burma and Laos, finally open to outside contact, are now funnels for AIDS and drugs; Thailand has been traumatised by its rapid development; China is an anarchy fuelled by money rather than ideology and Mao has been transformed into the God of traffic. Surrounded by the loss of diversity wrought by modernism, Terzani asks if the "missionaries of materialism and economic progress" aren't destroying the continent in order to save it. Fortunately, there is a flip side to his occasionally dispiriting commentary, which Terzani discovers in his hunt for fortune-tellers. Through his side trips to seers who read the soles of his feet, the ashes of incense, even the burned scapula of sheep, it becomes clear that the Orient of legends, myths and magic still determines people's lives as much as the quest for money. By staying earthbound, Terzani lived to tell of an extraordinary journey through the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of Asia.--Lesley Reed
Product Description
Warned by a fortune-teller not to risk flying, the author – a seasoned correspondent – took to travelling by rail, road and sea. Consulting fortune-tellers and shamans wherever he went, he learnt to understand and respect older ways of life and beliefs now threatened by the crasser forms of Western modernity.
William Shawcross in the Literary Review praised Terzani for ‘his beautifully written adventure story… a voyage of self-discovery… He sees fortune-tellers, soothsayers, astrologers, chiromancers, seers, shamans, magicians, palmists, frauds, men and women of god (many gods) all over Asia and in Europe too… Almost every page and every story celebrates the mystical and the unknowable. It is a fabulous story of renewal and change… Terzani is already something of a legend. He has written magnificently all his life. Never better than now.’
Yes, the fortune-teller did save him from an air-crash in Cambodia. Looking back afterwards, Terzani reckoned that ‘I was marked for death and instead I was reborn.’
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the most beautiful travel books I've ever read. Terzani travels across Asia looking for the most capable fortune teller, but the search for the fortune teller is an excuse to focus on people and the way they live their lives; it's an excuse to rethink the western rationality and compare it to the oriental one; it's an excuse for showing the reader slides from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam....; it's an excuse to tell you about Asian political regimes, and economies and societies. In other words, it's an excuse to make you think. At the end of the book the reader discovers that the perfect fortune teller, the one who really can read the future, actually exists. But the reader also discovers that he has just read one of the best travel guides to Asia.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For anyone who has travelled through places such as Thailand, Laos, Vietnam; or who wishes to gain an insight into this fascinating part of the world; this book provides a very entertaining and educative read. The author's self-imposed 12-month ban on flying as a result of an encounter with a fortune teller and his numerous further encounters with others along the way provide a fascinating backdrop to a lush, rich description of Asian culture, with both a historical slant and a modern twist. The author writes poetically with many a profound point to leave you mulling over how much life has changed here, and what remains constant. For those who have travelled through these parts - a chance to go back and immerse yourself in the memories.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I borrowed this book when I first read it, and liked it enough to recommend it to a friend, who bought me a copy as a leaving gift on my return from Singapore. Although I did not live in Asia as long, or travel as widely, the book epitomises how different lfe seems only one step away from the rush of modern life. I agree that the author seems too harsh about Singapore, but should be forgiven as this book has a wider scope than tourist destinations. Although I believe the book to be accurate, there is an amusing translation of "hua ren" as "flower men" rather than "exiles/expatriates" Only one of five tonal versions of the word means flower. However, everything else seems to be accurate, and descriptions are vivid enough to tempt readers to visit at least one of the many places on his journeys.
The investigation of various methods of fortune-telling is properly sceptical, but gives a broad view of how many there are, and how different cultures have very different approaches. The helicopter accident lends credence to the original warning, but is overshadowed by the richness of life available in travelling more slowly.
Intermittent references to his own history and family life, and details of how different the world seems at a slower pace, provide the reader with an opportunity to pretend this is a series of letters from a friend. One who took a road less travelled by and was kind enough to relate the tale.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Fortune-Teller told me...
A superbly written book about parts of the far East. Interesting angle on the author's travel during a year of strictly 'No Air Travel' as recommended by a fortune teller many... Read more
Published 15 days ago by E. Moss
captivating account of travels in Asia in 1993
Terzani was a journalist and this book is a journalistic account (more factual than analytical) of a year travelling in Asia without taking a plane. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Carno Polo
One of my favourite books of all time
I'm not going to be too in depth about this as I'm not a professional critic. Like another reviewer I was given this book as a gift when I was in Singapore. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Elainey
not only enjoyable...amazing!
I really liked the fact that the author himself is skeptical about what he have been told (don't fly or you'll have an accident), and keeps being so in his atypical journey through... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Teresaio
Loved it!
If you're into travel literature, this one is a gem. Tiziano travels all around the far east and his stories are centered on fortune-telling, something he doesn't actually quite... Read more
Published 22 months ago by depro
Excellent
This book was so enthralling that important jobs were put aside until I had finished reading it. My wife felt exactly the same about it. A must for every serious reader.
Published on 2 Feb 2010 by K. J. Phillips
Good in Italian, good in English
This book is my favourite form Tiziano Terzani and I bought it for my girlfriend in English...
It is so nice and interesting that I strongly recommend it to anyone interested... Read more
It is so nice and interesting that I strongly recommend it to anyone interested... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2009 by Follinverno
Did the writer check his facts?
I'm not a writer but I was born and bred in one of those countries mentioned in his book for I know for sure 2 incidents mentioned were untrue. I hardly got pass half the book. Read more
Published on 27 July 2009 by S. Chan
Beautiful... I love this book
I read this book while I as travelling from Vietnam to Thailand. One of the most interesting travel books I have ever read and it is so much more than just a travel book. Read more
Published on 1 May 2003
A man in touch and in love with SE Asia
This book grows on you. At first I was annoyed at some of the inaccuracies about Laos, the country from where Terzani starts his journey, and with which I am very familiar. Read more
Published on 20 April 2003 by R. G. Mabbitt
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