No Baggage
A Tale of Love and Wandering
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"An engaging memoir of travel, love, and finding oneself." -- Kirkus Reviews
Newly recovered from a quarter-life meltdown, Clara Bensen decided to test her comeback by signing up for an online dating account. She never expected to meet Jeff, a wildly energetic university professor with a reputation for bucking convention. They barely know each other's last names when they agree to set out on a risky travel experiment spanning eight countries and three weeks. The catch? No hotel reservations, no plans, and best of all, no baggage.
No Baggage is at once a romance, a travelogue, and a bright modern take on the age-old questions: How do you find the courage to explore beyond your comfort zone? Can you love someone without the need for labels or commitment? Is it possible to truly leave your baggage behind?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Freelance writer Bensen gives a book-length treatment to an article she wrote for Salon, "The Craziest OKCupid Date Ever," detailing her relationship with Texas maverick Jeff and their luggageless 21-day trip through Europe in the spring of 2013. After suffering a quarter-life existential crisis, Bensen decides to dive back into life with gusto. She meets Jeff on a popular dating site, and a month later they purchase tickets to Istanbul. The resulting adventure includes serendipitous couch-surfing hosts, raucous political protests, a dust-up with security at the Parthenon, and the "grueling surrealism" of a 23-hour bus ride. Bensen exhibits a knack for description and history as she recalls touring the Hagia Sophia, the temple of Apollo, and even Bosnia's "shelled-out skeleton houses with collapsed roofs and Swiss-cheese walls." Jeff is a bit of a caricature at first, but as their relationship progresses, he evolves from a vessel of energy and New Age platitudes into a sensitive man facing his fears of commitment and vulnerability. If this sounds like a tale of ridiculous millennial whimsey, it is, but Benson is self-aware, frequently acknowledging her privileges; her account of her mental breakdown borders on maudlin, but her willingness to discuss it in detail is admirable.
