Between the woods and the water by Patrick Leigh Fermor

Reading and Literacy Librarian Laurence Foe reviews 'Between the woods and the water' by Patrick Leigh Fermor.

"A few years ago, I chanced upon a new author whose work I liked a great deal—Henning Mankel. He was a much-admired writer, and I only found out about his work when I prepared him as a topic for a reading group meeting. I have come across another personal favourite in the same way.

I am reading this book, and I am impressed by this writer. Leigh Fermor’s style is very rich and full of detail, yet it does not obscure the narrative. The author is very well-versed in the English Language. He also adds a lot of historical detail to the account of his travels.

The section in Hungary talks about the history of the Magyar people and the battles they had with other groups in centuries past. Fermor gives vivid accounts of ceremonies and traditions. I felt I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Fermor travelled through Europe on horseback in the 1930s before cars were mass-produced. He traveled across regions with agrarian, peasant societies. The modern traveller might be hard-pressed to find similar environments in the post-communist world."