Such faux-delicate nonsense!

"Det är bara Lone som tar med sig speglar när hon reser. Kanske är hon rädd att glömma vem hon är."

"Only Lone brings along mirrors on her travels. Perhaps she is afraid she'll forget who she is."

"Le bonheur, pour ces séminaristes, comme pour les héros des romans de Voltaire, consiste surtout à bien dîner."

Stendhal indulging in a little snark.

"He could not say: consider that in my gratitude for your succour, I will not fail to return your kindness ro someone else in need, and thus the human chain wil have one tiny link added to it."

Well said, Gurnah!

Exemplary reference work: comprehensive, full of neat historical details, and well-illustrated. My only complaint is that the "historical fiction" sections are cringy, but apart from that, Hocker has produced an excellent book.

I'm loving Morris' fake travelogue "Hav": it must have been so much fun to write. It feels like it was written especially for people like me: nerdy about Mediterranean history *and* non-existent literary countries (Ruritania, Orsinia, Invisible Cities).