In Xanadu: A Quest

by William Dalrymple

Release Date: April, 2000

Edition: Paperback

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Better to Come?

"In Xanadu" is the story of William Dalrymple's (and his companions') journey in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo and reach the site of Xanadu.

Much of the book is the usual stuff of travel accounts: difficulties in getting official clearance to travel in certain countries; locals who are funny because of their faulty English (conveniently overlooking the fact that they had English was frequently of credit to them, and of great assistance to the travellers themselves); stomach upsets; strange food (causing the aforesaid upsets); and so on.

There are sections of the book in which Dalrymple pauses to reflect on more interesting themes - such as just how dull Polo's own account really is, developments in Islamic architecture, the history of some of the places.

But these better parts are all too brief. Most of the book is done in fast-forward, that is how they got from one border post to the next. As I attempted to follow the route in the maps provided, I realised that large tracts of country were just not mentioned in the narrative. Why?

As irritating were the bits of undergraduate pretention (Dalrymple's over-the-top reaction on first seeing the Euphrates) and the plain absurd (the scene at Xanadu itself, in which my sympathy was firmly with the Chinese police). I could have done without the almost obligatory preening over Cambridge too - OK, OK we know it and Oxford are fine seats of learning. Message received.

I thought that Dalrymple could have done better than this, but perhaps as a first, immature piece of travel writing, better is to come, and I will read his other stuff - not least because I thought his "White Mughals" was an exceptionally fine book.

G Rodgers

A mad grad school students dash across a continent

Of the three William Dalrymple books I've read this one is the least satisfying. Its a fun read but ultimately not a very substantial one. City of Djinns & Age of Kali are both excellent books on India and highly recommended. In Xanadu is one of those travel books that is dominated by its itinerary. You hear lots of exotic sounding words and place-names but are not left with much more than a glimpse of each place passed through. Each country just feels like a check point as the border crossings are what give the book what drama and humor it has. For example in Iran he is detained by a policeman at a remote checkpoint but when he produces his Cambridge library card the officer exclaims, "Oh, Agah, by the great Ali! This is the most famous university in the world." And then the officer not only lets him go but offers his services as a tour guide. It is a funny story but as a reader you begin asking yourself what the point of the journey is if all Dalrymple is really concerned with is crossing borders and finding the next mode of transport to get him to the next town. The journey at times feels more like an endurance challenge than anything else. Dalrymple does quote from a number of great travel writers at timely moments along the way but in doing so he simply makes you wish you were reading their books instead of his. There are a number of books about the Silk Road or Persia in particular(Robert Byron's In Oxonia) that may be worth considering as an alternative to this book. Dalrymples expertise is architecture and he spends time speculating about the medieval churches and crusader fortifications which he encounters. The few architectural passages are interesting and informative but there are only a few of them. Later he will put his architectural expertise to much greater use in Delhi for his book City of Djinns. There is an admirable amount of information in the book but there are a few moments when he suggests that he is perhaps the first person since Alexander the Great or Marco Polo to see certain sights at which time you become very aware of the authors age. By the time he arrives at the ruins of Xanadu you feel Dalrymple has conned you into believing he has actually achieved something. And when he quotes the poem by Coleridge with his girlfriend I was kind of embarrased for the author. After leaving Xanadu and seeing that his journey has come to a close he feels depressed and then quotes Sir Richard Burton who after reaching Mecca wrote about experiencing a depression. But no reader of travel books will mistake Dalrymple for Burton. After all the Silk Road is now for the most part a paved highway and the most formidable foe most ravelers are likely to encounter is the drinking water. Dalrymples later books are much better. He wrote City of Djinns after living in Delhi for five years and the book is a well organized telling of that citys long and diverse history with portraits of its most famous inhabitants. And Age of Kali full of excellent reportage and gives you detailed glimpses of the different regions of India.