The fantasy of leaving home for a faraway place has always held my imagination. As a boy, I dreamed of running away from our comfortable home to find new joys in the woods behind the Safeway. As an adult, I’ve twice sold my furniture and moved overseas. In novels, we know that when a character leaves for a trip, things are bound to go sideways. Still, there are levels to it, and it’s those travel novels that don’t just surprise, but unravel into something wholly bizarre and subversive and painfully human, that I love and come back to.
In my debut novel, Nice Places, a thirty-something named Georgie decides to travel the world for one year to escape the “daily existential discomfort” of his conventional life. But before he can even make it to the airport, a meditation guru robs him and he finds himself at a guesthouse in the bad part of his city, just miles from home. With only his phone and an unexpected community of guests and locals, his trip quickly takes a turn.
Here are some of my favorite novels that also feature trips going wrong.
Continue reading “Seven Novels About Trips Gone Wrong Recommended by Vincent Chu”
