Off The Map

Submitted by Anonymous Hitchhiker on 13 November 2009 - 12:47pm

A punk rock vision quest told in the tradition of the anarchist travel story, Off the Map is narrated by two young women as they discard their maps, fears, and anything resembling a plan, and set off on the winds of the world.

Without the smug cynicism that seems to permeate most modern radical tales, this story is told with genuine hope, and a voice that never loses its connection with the mysteries of life, even in the midst of everyday tragedies.

Wandering across Europe, the dozens of vignettes are the details of the whole—a squatted castle surrounded by tourists on the Spanish coast, a philosophizing businessman on the highways of France, a plaça full of los crustos in Barcelona, a diseased foot in a Belgian train squat, a glow bug on the dew-covered grass of anywhere—a magical, novel-like folktale for the end of the world.

Author of the book: 
Hib and Kika

Format:

Comments

ive had the pleasure ov being tipped off about this book whilst volunteering at the Anarchist library in Reykjavik. And let me tell you, it was one ov my main inspirations for seeing the continent as i did. In a flat, easy to read style, i gathered information and techniques for getting out there and doing it. It also encouraged me to write myself. Highly recommended!!

OTM was definitely one of the first zines I ever came across that made me fall in love with the idea of traveling around Europe, and inspired me to do it myself several years later. Unfortunately my trip didn't meet with nearly as interesting encounters or stories, OTM is still a great read. Just keep in mind that it's a little bit overly glamorous in its story telling, so don't expect to have as great of adventures as these, but it's definitely still worth doing if it's something you're interested in.