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Morris's account of his 19th century travels in Iceland are wondrous, quirky and refreshing: a truly modern exploration, a kind of "Three Men in a Boat" (high praise indeed), with courage, fords across raging rivers, self-deprecating campground failures, and marvellous Icelanders without a hint of the Blue Lagoon about them. The text has been edited down (too bad), is exquisitely printed (the book is a fine work of print craft), and Greenlaw has set each page of Morris's journey against a set of...
More of an essay on the very nature of travel than necessarily on Iceland. Stunning in its own way. The occasional ramble, as journals are wont to do. Lavinia Greenlaws additional poetic notes taken from the journals are a fantastic addition.
I first came across this interesting little volume at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal and was immediately intrigued—I love William Morris’s textiles and furniture designs, I’d long wanted to travel to Iceland, and I love travel essays and writing. I ordered a copy a while back and then read this during my recent trip to Iceland. I loved Morris’s travel journals and Lavinia Greenlaw’s juxtaposed musings on travel were thought-provoking and lovely, a great editorial detail. Morris...
Beautifully produced and printed book, and interesting idea, but this didn’t work for me.
I read this book during/after a trip to Iceland, and I loved it for that reason alone, because I loved the place, and reading about someone else's experience of loving it also made me so happy. I'd recommend for anyone who has a love affair with Iceland.
Beautiful book production. Loved the text but sadly wasn’t hooked by the commentary that often seemed a little pointless.
A beautiful little book, in high quality printing, clothbound, would make a lovely present. Bought it on a whim at Foyles. Interesting introduction by Lavinia Greenlaw, amusing selection of Morris's travel diary. Not sure what to make of Greenlaw's interspersed aphorisms though, commenting on Morris's observations. They try to add an additional layer to the travelogue, but I found them rather distracting, and a bit pompous at times. - With hindsight I would rather have read Morris's text in an u...
Better in theory than execution. Greenlaw often simply paraphrases instead of elevating Morris's own remarks, which make for worthwhile reading on their own for the honesty and humor and humanity that shine from each page. His willingness to describe his flaws, his foibles, his fears would have won me over if I hadn't already counted myself a fan of the man. Lord! what littleness and helplessness has taken the place of the old passion and violence that had place here once — and all is unforgot...
like trying to absorb what the speaker is saying on a webinar while constantly being distracted by chatbox chattering.5 for iceland, 4 for morris 0 for greenlaw...not what i expected at all..every page turned i'd be pulled from the text by the nagging guide on the opposite page. i have no idea what it was there for but as meaningless distraction.
Unique in its concept. A side by side; a) journal of a 6 week trip to Iceland by a prominent British designer, b) with non contemporary commentary on the content and perhaps deeper meaning of the author’s entries.Fascinating and informative on a number of levels.Thanks.
Questions of Travel: William Morris in Iceland is so painterly in sections that it's failure to carry this graphic imagery consistently was tremendously disappointing.
I enjoyed this book on a number of different levels. I love Iceland - a truly beautiful, amazing and intriguing country - which is what first drew my attention to this book, and then the quote on the front cover completely sucked me in:' . . . a great mass of dark grey mountains worked into pyramids and shelves, looking as if they had been built and half ruined.'It reminded me of my own travels in Iceland and the sights I had seen. On top of all this I've always liked the work of William Morris
William Morris’ travel journal is entertaining and an interesting read, and stands very well on its own. However, Lavinia Greenlaw’s poetical comments don’t add anything. On the contrary, her contribution, when read side by side of Morris’ text, disturbs the flow of the story. I therefore chose to read Morris’ text on its own without glancing at the comments, and at the very end I breezed through Greenlaw’s text. Which still added nothing, so can easily be skipped altogether. However, I am grate...
The perfect accompaniment to a trip to Iceland. Some of the commentary was a little superfluous, but Morris writes excellently.
The bits written by William Morris were very interesting and enjoyable. The bits written by Lavinia Greenlaw were irritating and inappropriate. However it did spur me on to read a biography of William Morris by Fiona Macarthy which was brilliant.
No good, very bad. The William Morris travelogue bits are good, but Greenlaw ruins it with the left-hand pages. She chopped up what seemed like a perfectly fine book and essentially highlit her favorite parts in the most annoying way she possibly could. It feels like you're trying to read a book and she's breathing down your neck and pointing out the bits she liked. Don't read this.
