The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker's Journey
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.52 (759 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0770436900 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-05-24 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"In defense of drink." according to Vital Spark. Lawrence Osborne is erudite, a fine writer, and an alcoholic, capable of writing sentences that make the reader stop to reread and admire. One example, the first taste of a gin and tonic:"The drink comes with a dim music of ice cubes and a perfume that touches the nose like a smell of warmed grass. Ease returns. It is like cold steel in liquid form." He loves drinking, by himself, in a good bar, or enjoying the comradeship of jolly companions. In defense of alcohol, he traces its ancient history and the idea of new life springing from decay through . a love letter to all things related to drink S.E. Poza This book was not quite what I expected from the description I initially read. That description emphasized the sociological and self-reflection aspects of the content, not the travel diary aspect. This is much more a loving caress of alcohol of all sorts as it is consumed worldwide. Though there are reflections on various cultures and how they regard drink, as well as a clear acknowledgement of the author's status as someone who can't stop drinking (with a clear tone, but lack of overt expression of self-loathing at various points - he uses societal. Erudite. Intelligent. Remotely irreverant. Even profound. T.M. Reader This book is a sort of travelogue from Europe, lingering in the Middle East, reaching into the Far East. All strangely woven together within the fabric of; the production, consumption, and subsequent metabolization/digestion of alcoholic beverage.Strange theme. What I found even stranger is the nature of the author - a paradox of dissipation and, often, sublime prose and insight. Intelligent, well traveled, articulate, alcoholic. And unashamedly so. The book is not a "downer". It's entertaining and intelligent, and gives frequent pause for rereading
Selected as a Top Ten Book of the Year by Dwight Garner, New York TimesA “fearlessly honest account” (Financial Times) of man’s love of drink, and an insightful meditation on the meaning of alcohol consumption across cultures worldwide Drinking alcohol: a beloved tradition, a dangerous addiction, even “a sickness of the soul” (as once described by a group of young Muslim men in Bali). In his wide-ranging travels, Lawrence Osborne—a veritable connoisseur himself—has witnessed opposing views of alcohol across cultures worldwide, compelling him to wonder: is drinking alcohol a sign of civilization and sanity, or the very reverse? Where do societies fall on the spectrum between indulgence and restraint? An immersing, controversial, and often irreverent travel narrative, The Wet and the Dry offers provocative, sometimes unsettling insights into the deeply embedded conflicts between East and West, and the surprising influence of drinking on the contemporary world today.
His latest novel, The Ballad of a Small Player is out in April 2014.He has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal Magazine, the New Yorker, Forbes, Harper's, and several other publications. . A celebrated novelist and journalist, LAWRENCE OSBORNE is the author of six travel narratives, and a novel, The Forgiven. He lives in New York City and Bangk
It’s about how East and West think about alcohol; quite often it’s about one man’s search for his 6:10 p.m. Osborne comes across in The Wet and the Dry as a real human being indeed—a complicated man mixing complicated feelings into fizzy, adult, intoxicating prose.”—New York Times“In this entertaining travel essay/memoir, Osborne combines both of his loves with a combination of sparkling prose and insightful observationsEndlessly fascinating.” —Chicago Tribune“Mr. A NEW YORK TIMES 2013 TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR“Instantly among the best non