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The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance
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Review
‘His exhilarating, sometimes burlesque narrative introduces several fascinating characters…Ethiopia provides the questing spirit, as does this thrilling and intelligent book.’ Daily Telegraph
‘He rises above the physical trail to produce short intense vignettes that transport us to a world that few of us will ever see…As both Traveller and Scribe, the best travel writers, like Marsden, hammer out a chain between two worlds: the foreign and the familiar, the present and historical, the journey physical and interior, the road hard travelled and the story well told.’ Sunday Times
Praise for ‘The Spirit Wrestlers’:
‘Marsden has movingly captured these communities in a series of exquisitely drawn word pictures. His encounters sing with a lyric intensity and he approaches his subjects with the clarity of a historian and the pity of a tragic dramatist.’ Amanda Foreman, Independent
‘Marsden … has painted a picture of the land between the Black Sea and the Caspian which can only leave us aghast with wonder.’ Teresa Waugh, Literary Review
‘Having turned the last page of Philip Marsden’s book, I sincerely regretted that it was my first encounter with this excellent travel writer. ‘The Spirit-Wrestlers’ charmed me’ Vitali Vitaliev, Daily Telegraph
Praise for ‘The Bronski House’:
‘Magnificent … a Polish Wild Swans meets Dr Zhivago, written in some of the most exquisite prose in the genre since the death of Chatwin.’ William Dalrymple, Sunday Times Books of the Year
‘A tragic story, beautifully told.’ Colin Thubron, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year
‘The book I’ve savoured most this year.’ John Fowles, Spectator Books of the Year
Guardian
'Marsden has a talent for unpretentious prose that locks into the
rhythm of the places and people he sees...'
rhythm of the places and people he sees...'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Philip Marsden returns to Ethiopia in 2003, having been entranced by the country during a short visit in 1982. This time he hires a guide and a succession of mules to walk across the north. He explores churches, meets a variety of monks and discusses Ethiopian history. You have to admire his courage and persistence as he sweats and climbs with his mules through the mountains - why doesn't he catch a bus? But he makes it all the way to his final destination without a vehicle, and gives a real insight into the country. In the beginning he writes "if there is any purpose to our time on earth, it is to understand it...to celebrate its heroes and its wonders - in short, to witness it". Witness it he does. Through his book I've gained an understanding of Ethiopia. And now I'd love to go there. What greater vindication of the success of a travel book could you want?
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this on the strength of Marsden's other book: "The Crossing Place", he seems to have a knack for writing books about countries I'm slightly obsessed with. I hate to get bogged down in cliches but this is another modern classic. Within any travel book there needs to be a sound motivation for the journey, without this central motivation it often seems like somebody is just writing a book for money, or doing something to please a publisher. All my cynicism was left behind as I followed Marsden and his numerous guides through both the difficult topography and turbulent history of Ethiopia. I recommend this book to casual readers in search of some escape or serious students of history and theology. The strong point of the book is that he undertakes the journey on foot so we get highly lyrical descriptions, written from someone who has had alot of time to compose their thoughts and take in surroundings.
There has been little written about Ethiopia and it is still tarred with images from news footage of famines. Marsden offers us a new reflection on a truly unique place, unique in culture, customs and in it's general isolation from the West and the rest. If you intend on learning more about this quirky corner of Africa I recommend reading both "The Emperor" and "The Pale Abyssinian".
There has been little written about Ethiopia and it is still tarred with images from news footage of famines. Marsden offers us a new reflection on a truly unique place, unique in culture, customs and in it's general isolation from the West and the rest. If you intend on learning more about this quirky corner of Africa I recommend reading both "The Emperor" and "The Pale Abyssinian".
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having recently had a wonderful trip to Ethiopia I bought this book to enhance my knowledge of the country and to learn from someone elses experiences. It seems all the author does is walk....and walk..... and talk to old men without any really interesting conclusion. Theres very little down to earth sharing of his travels except all the struggles of walking over mountains to places of little interest to anyone. I struggled to get through this book and found very little satisfaction in it. In many places it was poorly written.
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