WHEREVER THE ROAD LEADS

A pair of newlyweds embark on an epic trip that takes them from California to India in this travel memoir by Lang-Slattery, author of Immigrant Soldier (2015).

In the late summer of 1971, the author and her new husband, mechanical engineer Tom Slattery, set off on what they called “the honeymoon trip.” Leaving Laguna Beach, California, in their Volkswagen Microbus, which they nicknamed “Turtle,” they initially headed south to Mexico in hopes of exploring Central and South America. After struggling to find a way to bypass the notorious Darién Gap, a roadless expanse of jungle between Panama and Columbia, the two decided to board the SS Donizetti and sail from Panama to Barcelona, Spain. From here, their trip took them through Western Europe and North Africa before they headed into Turkey, Iran, India, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. The journey, which comprised almost two years of travel, was a test of the young couple’s evolving relationship as they faced all manner of obstacles—including their own van, which was in regular need of repair. The author also includes photographs, maps, and sketches to illustrate the voyage. Lang-Slattery offers some evocative passages that capture her fascination with the ever changing landscape: “Clusters of dome-roofed, dry mud villages squatted among the rocks. A camel caravan, the beasts joined tail to nose, plodded forward, one after the other, at the side of the highway.” She also includes some illuminating asides, such as when she and her spouse were forced to find a library so that they could look up the word Zouave in an encyclopedia—a window into the world prior to the internet. This attention to detail can prove tedious at times, however; the author gets bogged down in recounting minutiae, as in a description of building a sofa for the Microbus: “The seat back hung from turn screws and was easy to take down at night so we could open up the bed. The padded seat, though heavy, lifted to provide access to the new storage.” This overly meticulous approach results in a narrative that many readers will consider long-winded.

A remembrance that’s packed with adventure but feels unnecessarily drawn out.