The Great Northern Express

I recently had the opportunity to read The Great Northern Express: A Writer's Journey Home. I frequently get the opportunity to review travel-related books for this blog, but this book is a genuine pleasure in every way. I picked it up and couldn't stop reading until I had read from cover to cover.

The Great Northern Express tells the story of a roadtrip undertaken by author Howard Frank Mosher. Driving 20,000 miles in a 20 year old Chevy Celebrity that wouldn't exceed 58.5 mph, the purported reason for the journey was a book tour — visiting more than one hundred bookstores all over the United States. But the trip was more than that, much more.

Reminding me of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, the book also brought to mind Joseph Campbell's metaphor of the heroic journey in which the hero leaves the safety of home; undertakes a perilous journey [cf. 20 year old Chevy Celebrity, above]; encounters unusual, almost mythological creatures; and experiences self-discovery in the course of overcoming those challenges and returning safely home again. Mosher is a very good storyteller, weaving together humorous glimpses of life back home in northern Vermont and memories of his 60+ years.

There were times I laughed out loud. You will too!


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