John Lockwood

I didn't read any reviews before starting to read this book apart from the one-liners on the sleeve which of course praised it to the skies. I managed to get 150 pages or so into it, thinking that the relentless nastiness was simply a platform from which the characters could emerge and turn out to be salt of the earth heroes who rise from the abyss to show their inner humanity. As there seemed to be no hint of this I decided to look at reviews and realised that there is no positive turnaround or happy ending so I reluctantly decided to abandon it. I recognise that the failing is mine and that J.K.Rowling has probably written a masterpiece full of gritty realism, it just is not for me. I like to read for an escape from reality rather than an overdose of it.

I really enjoyed this book very much. I was initially drawn to it because it visited many of the places I visited decades ago when "Interrailing" but found that I was just as interested in the places I hadn't been to. The additional historical background, as well as lots of contemporary information, explains a great deal about Switzerland that I didn't know. The author has a very good style and the chapters are peppered with dry humour which I found very entertaining.