- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; First Edition edition (1 Sep 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571204430
- ISBN-13: 978-0571204434
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 661,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Trieste
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Located on a narrow, mountainous finger of Italy hard by Croatia and Slovenia, the port city of Trieste is little-visited and seldom in the news. As Jan Morris, who first came to Trieste as the English soldier James Morris in 1945, writes, "It offers no unforgettable landmark, no universally familiar melody, no unmistakable cuisine, hardly a single native name that anyone knows." Yet, as historian and travel writer Morris ably demonstrates in this homage to one of her favourite cities (others about which she has written are Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, and Venice ), Trieste has many charms. Its history is foremost among them, thanks to the city's former role as the sole port of the otherwise-landlocked Austro-Hungarian empire, which housed a small fleet there--a fleet which, from time to time, would sail off to make war against the Ottomans or the Italians. At the beginning of the 20th century, Trieste had grown to international importance as an entry point into Central Europe, so much so that it was referred to as "the third entrance of the Suez Canal". Trieste briefly took centre stage at the onset of the Cold War, when Marshall Tito claimed it for Yugoslavia; it narrowly avoided being enveloped by the Iron Curtain. Morris tells all these stories and more, bringing the city's past to life; no one should be surprised if Trieste sees more visitors thanks to her spirited study.
Yet Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere is also a work tinged with melancholy. That befits the city's faded glory, but it also has to do with the sad fact that this will be Morris's last book--or so she promises. Let's hope she changes her mind. If not, however, this serves very well as the capstone of a distinguished career. --Gregory McNamee
Observer
".. If it proves to be her swansong then this is a fittingly passionate end to a distinguished literary life."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Trieste is a city I knew nothing about, but always had a vague impression of. That impression, of faded grandeur, old-Europe cosmopolitanism gone to seed, and melancholy, is largely confirmed in this, the first of Morris' books I've read. The fishing village at the top of the Adriatic was a sleepy burg until the Austro-Hungarian empire transformed it into it's only seaport and HQ for its imperial navy in the early 1700s. It rapidly became one of the leading seaports of the world, and an international center of commerce. Following the defeat and dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Trieste was handed over to Italy, which already had plenty of ports, and thus it quickly reverted to sleepy backwater. Over the last century it was occupied by the Nazis, Allied forces, was a UN free territory, and eventually reverted to Italian rule. Nowadays, as Morris writes, "It offers no unforgettable landmark, no universally familiar melody, no unmistakable cuisine, hardly a single native name that anyone knows."
And while Morris ably rambles through the city's history (which she first visited in 1946), the book is a bit of a metaphor for human aging and memory. She has vowed this is her final book in a prolific career, and the melancholy tone echoes the melancholy of a city whose glory days lie a century in the past. She writes, "Trieste makes one ask sad questions of oneself. What am I here for? Where am I going?" That's not to say the book is depressing or sad, because her love for the city is evident throughout, as she grapples with its place in her own psyche. While she clearly enjoys recreating in her mind's eye the hustle and bustle of the imperial era, she also finds, "For me, Trieste is an allegory of limbo, in the secular sense of an indefinable hiatus." So while the narrative is studded snippets of history, amusing and telling anecdotes from her own visits, and evocations of past residents such as Richard Burton and James Joyce, it's also rich in introspection. Above all, Morris' meandering prose is beautiful and has inspired me to delve into her past work. I do wish the publishers had included a few historical maps, some photos, and a bibliography of other works on Trieste.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As an Englishman living in self-imposed exile in Trieste, I find that Jan Morris eloquently expresses the unique atmosphere of this unusual, beautiful and all-but forgotten city, along with the strange spell it casts on anyone possessing a sensitive and inquisitive nature. Much more than a travel guide, the book prompts the reader to reflect on many aspects of life, just as the city itself does to those that visit it. A haunting book about a haunting city.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Trieste is an amazing city - the sort of place the haunts the memory ofr years after you visit. In Italy, but not really Italian - a real mix of cultures and influences.
Jan Morris seems to have captured the spirit of this remarkable city so clearly - whilst writing some of the most eloquent, beautifully-written prose that I've come across in a non-fiction book for very, very many years.
Memorable and wonderful.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Trieste - a place apart
A simply superb book, about a place apart, "capital of the nation of nowhere" of which I am proud to be a citizen. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Spooney
Irrelevant, tedious trash
I bought this book. Then I went to Trieste. It wasn't in the least as she described it in that drearily wistful, annooyingly fanciful and pretentious prose of hers. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2009 by Nt Deregowski
Not Nowhere
I really enjoyed this book about a city I drove through many times but only recently stopped in to enjoy its atmosphere. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2007 by Mr. Peter Brady
A proper piece of travel writing
God, it's so refreshing to read a proper piece of travel writing for a change. Forget the ridiculous faux-madcap adventures as our hero travels with a ridiculous companion or... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2003 by Donald
interesting book about a city, melancholy and displacement
jan morris wrote an interesting book about the frontier town of trieste, capturing the city's soul, history and feelings, often greyish and melancholic, sometimes curious and... Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2002 by daniel tedesco
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