A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East - Softcover

Terzani, Tiziano

Softcover

ISBN 10: 060980958X ISBN 13: 9780609809587

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY), 2002

Synopsis

"An utterly charming and engaging travel book that offers vivid portraits of unusual corners of Asia, told by a skilled raconteur whose eyes were open wide." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

Warned by a Hong Kong fortune-teller not to risk flying for an entire year, Tiziano Terzani--a vastly experienced Asia correspondent--took what he called "the first step into an unknown world. . . . It turned out to be one of the most extraordinary years I have ever spent: I was marked for death, and instead I was reborn."

Traveling by foot, boat, bus, car, and train, he visited Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Geography expanded under his feet. He consulted soothsayers, sorcerers, and shamans and received much advice--some wise, some otherwise--about his future. With time to think, he learned to understand, respect, and fear for older ways of life and beliefs now threatened by the crasser forms of Western modernity. He rediscovered a place he had been reporting on for decades. And reinvigorated himself in the process.

About this title

Review:

"Terzani's thoughtful progression provides great pleasure because he is more open to the people, and people are always the real journey." --Book Page

"A marvelous traveling companion, Terzani entertains us with his reflections on subjects from astrology to political violence, from the depravity of Bangkok to the sterility of Singapore, and introduces us to the characters he meets along the way." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"An extraordinary and nuanced account of a journey through the Far East and Southeast Asia." --Library Journal

From the Back Cover:

When a Hong Kong fortune-teller warned him not to risk flying for a whole year, Tiziano Terzani, an experienced Asia correspondent, decided to face the challenge directly. It was, he writes, 'like the first step into an unknown world'.

In the course of that year, the author travelled by foot, boat, bus, car and train, visiting or revisiting Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia – all the while consulting fortune-tellers, shamans and sorcerers and receiving much advice – some wise, some otherwise – about his future.

With time to think, he learnt to understand, respect and fear for older ways of life and beliefs now threatened by the crasser forms of modernity. He also, in the company of monks and magicians, meditated on the general problem of destiny, of good or evil fate and how to deal with it, and on the problem of identity now that the ancient world of diversity seems about to succumb to the strident demands of 'development'.

The result is an immensely engaging, insightful and idiosyncratic journey, filled with unexpected delights and strange encounters. A best-seller and major prize-winner in Italy, the book – by 'one of Europe's most accomplished writers' (in the words of William Shawcross) – is a powerful warning against the new missionaries of materialism.
(And – yes – the fortune-teller 'did' save him from an air crash.)

"My undertaking not to fly turned into a game full of surprises. If you pretend to be blind for a while, you find that the other senses grow sharper to compensate for the lack of sight. Avoiding planes has a similar effect... It turned out to be one of the most extraordinary years I have ever spent: I was marked for death, and instead I was reborn."
TIZIANO TERZANI

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 060980958X
• ISBN 13: 9780609809587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384