Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It

From Amsterdam to Cambodia, from Rome to Indonesia, from New Orleans to Libya, and from Detroit to Ko Pha-Ngan, Geoff Dyer finds himself both floundering about in a sea of grievances and finding moments of transcendental calm. This aberrant quest for peak experiences leads, ultimately, to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where, to quote Tarkovsky's Stalker, 'your most cherished desire will come true'.

**

From Publishers Weekly

Dyer's ninth book (Out of Sheer Rage; Paris Trance), a collection of 11 personal essays covering his travels around the globe, begins in New Orleans when Dyer is in his late 20s and concludes in the Nevada desert some 20 years later. In between he touches ground in destinations such as Bali and Amsterdam, usually seeking a "peak experience." More often than not, he is disappointed in his quest, but makes engaging stories of many aimless walks, such as wandering stoned through Amsterdam in search of a lost hotel, touring the ruined Roman city of Leptis Magna, or stumbling upon a suicide on South Beach. Even more intriguing than the far-flung locales he describes-such as Cambodia, Libya and Thailand-are the seemingly pedestrian ones he makes exotic. His essay "The Rain Inside," on experiencing a near emotional breakdown at a techno music festival in Detroit, is a masterpiece, equal parts introspection and cutting observation. Though the moments and perceptions he records are fleeting, Dyer deliberately provides touchstones-repeat references to Auden; the durability of his Teva sandals-that mark a path through the book. Fittingly, it's only when he finds himself in the metaphorical nowhere of the TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone) at the Burning Man Festival, that this postmodern pilgrim finally finds his place in the world. This original book from a genuine writer-a modern Montaigne-should provide serious readers with a lasting high.

Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A British novelist ( Paris Trance , 1999) and D. H. Lawrence critic ( Out of Sheer Rage , 1998), Dyer makes himself the subject in these travel-themed essays. However, some other identity may be speaking, which he slyly warns from the get-go: "Some of the things that happened only happened in my head." With this helpful latitude for the facts, he writes a delightful series of stories subsumed under a theme of lassitude and ruin. Often doing and thinking nothing--and achieving this state of mind without yoga--Dyer applies a cavalier attitude to whatever is at hand--a sunset, a party, a girlfriend. Not exactly seizing the day, Dyer takes the momentary scene lightly before moving to the next, or to the next (often stoned) friend. He becomes more deliberate contemplating ruins in Cambodia, Libya, and Detroit, his differing reactions to them folding into his dolor about aging (he is in his early 40s). A moodily humorous collection for Dyer's fans. Gilbert Taylor

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