For almost twenty years, Dave Eggers has been travelling widely and chronicling his interactions with the countries and people he has encountered during his journey across continents. Visitants is his first collection of travel writing, one that spans his entire career and includes pieces on Sudan, China and a dozen other destinations.
The book begins at 140kph, with Eggers being driven across the deserts of Saudi Arabia by a hired driver who declares, 'American, boom boom!' This opening sets the stage for the collection's vast cultural scope and ever-present sense of adventure, inquisitiveness and daring.
From Saudi Arabia, Eggers takes us further on caterwauling sojourns in the likes of Cuba and Thailand, followed by brief stopovers in Croatia and Syria, and thought-provoking, meditative expositions on South Sudan, expanding on issues explored in his previous books. Globetrotters and Eggers fans alike will find a faithful companion in his unique combination of humour, humanism and empathy.
