Book Review – “The Backpacker” by John Harris

“The Backpacker” is the kind of book you read when you just want to breakaway.

Certainly, there are too many books about travelling on the market; however, John Harris’ book is truly unique as the author does not really care about establishing himself as an “important author” nor as “the good guy”. He just shares with the world his travels and his experiences which are first and foremost fascinating but sometimes dangerous and illegal.

“The Backpacker” is not a best-selling book and I have to say that I was expecting it to be an average read. But from the moment John begins his solo journey I was captivated and read the book in a day.

If you are into travel reading then you must have read Alex Garland’s “The Beach”. The Beach” was the ideal place to live an ideal life. John Harris found that place for real and lived for a while something ideal – although fake.

The book is about a guy who dared to live a great adventure. A guy who decided to travel but ended up doing some wild things. Whether he is running away from the mafia, surviving in the sea or falling in love, he describes things so real and so vivid that when I finished the book I did everything to find an update of his life on the internet.

Nevertheless, don’t expect too much. The story was written by someone who is not a professional author. Therefore he uses simple language, so it’s not a book for the so-called intellectual audience. By all means though, read it if you are planning to travel or if you are an armchair dreamer like me.