A Month in Siena, by Hisham Matar

 

Hisham Matar takes the reader on a spiritual and aesthetic journey

​Award winning British-Libyan writer Hisham Matar spent a month in the Tuscan city of Siena, with the aim of immersing himself in the city's great galleries, especially the Sienese School of painting, which had its great period from the 13th to 15th centuries. While Matar did spend a lot of time standing in front of famous paintings by artists such as Lorenzetti and Duccio (the gallery attendants even gave him a chair, seeing him so frequently visit), the writer also made some unexpected friendships and found himself on a voyage of inner discovery.

A Month in Siena, the result of that brief sojourn, is many things. In the main a travelogue, but also a profound meditation on art and life. Matar describes the paintings of the Sienese School in fine detail, but interpolates important events from his own life, fusing art and life into a compelling narrative. Some of the book's meditations are quite moving as death, the loss of partners and the nature of love are discussed in a language that is both intimate and beautifully wrought.

Presented with exquisite colour illustrations, this short book will magically transport you to other places while also opening a window into the soul. 

A Month in Siena, by Hisham Matar. Viking $24.99

First published at northmelbournebooks.com.au June 2020

Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne

Staff Review by Chris Saliba

David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries takes the reader on a two wheeled journey to cities such as Berlin, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Manila, Sydney, London, San Francisco and New York.

David Byrne, singer and musician extraordinaire, has always used a bicycle as his main means of transportation. In the introduction to his Bicycle Diaries, he writes that he found cycling exhilarating. It was a way of being part of the street life around him, while also travelling at a quicker speed. Byrne is now in his early sixties and says that cycling is something you can do at any age. In the 80s, when travelling the world, he started taking fold up bikes on his plane trips so he could continue his passion for cycling while overseas.

The title of this book is, perhaps, a misnomer. Bicycle Diaries is a travel book that covers many cities across the world: Berlin, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Manila, Sydney, London, San Francisco and Byrne’s own home city of New York. Most of the travelling done to these places is by plane. The actual writing in the book that concerns itself with cycling around these cities is fairly small, except for the epilogue where Byrne discusses in more detail his cycling activism. He’s involved in trying to get more cycle paths and more people riding bikes. I suspect the title and nominal theme of the book are part of his way of campaigning for the cycling cause.

What, then, makes up the 300 odd pages of the Bicycle Diaries? It’s mostly a travel book, with many interesting digressions and philosophical musings. Byrne has many hobby horses that he likes to peddle and is very much the autodidact, having educated himself on a range of topics. I like David Byrne’s style on the page very much. He seems a good guy, a congenial fellow, a self-confessed shy person who would make good company for his conversation and insights.

This is a highly enjoyable read. David Byrne is an unassuming everyman whose interest in the world around him infects the reader with a similar urge to explore, both the intellectual and physical.

Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne. Published by Faber. ISBN: 9780571241033  RRP: $24.99

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