Hellholes of the World

Hellholes of the World
A Love Story

David G. Brown

  Publication date: May 2018,
  978 047341 782 6, paperback, 344 pp
  maps, rrp: $35

“What makes this an unforgettable read is the clarity of gaze and the playfulness of language which David Brown brings to it. More than a global journey across some of the world’s less known and more burdened cultures, this is one remarkable man’s journey through life - from childhood in small-town New Zealand, through early adulthood in a kibbutz, to love, marriage, love, and self-renewal in unlikely places, to the last ascent of Kilimanjaro. The result is a complex and fascinating pilgrimage through a life of sad brevity and fearless engagement with the world. We are very fortunate to have this dazzling book, already claiming a place in the New Zealand literary canon of journeys.” Kapka Kassabova, January 2018

In an age of mass tourism, aspirations to make voyages of discovery increasingly degenerate into tramping in the footsteps of the masses, with interaction reduced to incessant facebook posts. How different the experience of inveterate traveller David G. Brown, who set out on the backpacking trail in the early 1980s and in his heart never really left.

Hellholes of the World compiles writings over three decades of travel until his untimely death – some published in magazines, others now finally landing on the printed page. Part memoir, part travelogue, part reportage, it voyages from Singapore in the 1980s to Tanzania and Kilimanjaro in 2014, taking in the familiar (Hamilton, Phoenix, Rotterdam) and the still exotic (Amazonas, Belarus, Rwanda).

Short ‘postcards’ from some choice hellholes intersperse chapters that detail and dissect the unglamorous realities of long-term travel, and include unvarnished reflections on his New Zealand homeland and his adopted homeland of Finland.

David G Brown was born in Tuakau, New Zealand, in 1962.He lived in New Zealand, Israel, Denmark and Finland, where he worked in publishing, English language teaching, and as a writer and journalist. His articles have been widely published in New Zealand and internationally. He died in Helsinki in 2015.

 
Hellholes of the World is published by David’s brother Neil through Archetype and distributed by Upstart.