BOOK REVIEWS
I
Iceland Serow Saga
HELEN LLOYD
2020
ISBN 9780957660649
From the very start Helen Lloyd
grabs you by the hand and drags you
into an adventure that you never want
to leave, she takes you on an Iceland
Serow Saga.
Three months riding the wilds of
Iceland, it’s the height of summer yet
one of the wettest in recent years.
Helen takes the reader on this ride
aboard her tiny Yamaha Serow, the
perfect bike for her sort of travel;
slow, considered and engaging. The
way it should be.
There are no exploits of racing
through the landscape to get from
one point to the next as quickly as
possible, Helen meanders at times
aimlessly as she explores this land
of extremes. It’s a chance for author
and reader to engage with the locals,
the landscape and the history. It’s
beautifully constructed.
At 262 pages, you’ll want to knock Iceland Serow Saga over in a day or
two, then go back to the beginning
and start it all again, each time you’ll
find something new as did Helen,
often revisiting familiar places and
discovering new adventures.
Iceland Serow Saga is not only well
written, it’s engaging and warm, hon-
est and to the point. Helen discovers
perhaps a lot more about herself than
she does Iceland, and it would be
remiss to suggest she doesn’t discov-
er the island nation. Her little bike
takes her to places and situations that
challenge, yet she never shies away
and takes up what is thrown at her
… you won’t question that next river
crossing or steep hill.
If you like travel writing as it
should be written, then Helen Lloyd’s
Iceland Serow Saga is the book for
you … we’ll see you in Iceland …
It’s always interesting to read a ‘lo-
cals’ point of view of their own coun-
try and in Tenu Main ‘ Leh’ Javanga
we get just that.
First time author, Kamlesh Kaltari,
set out with seven friends to explore
a region of their home country that
they’d never previously explored; the
often-disputed territory of Kashmir,
notably Ladakh. What comes is not
necessarily so much a travel biog-
raphy rather the tale of eight mates
enjoying themselves, whilst riding
motorcycles through the Himalayas.
There’s a flowery rhythm to Tenu
Main ‘Leh’ Javanga through the use of
Indian English, it forces the reader to
slow and in doing so enjoy the story.
It’s an easy read that draws the reader
in, you almost become a part of the
group, although at times you might
have to reread sections to fully under-
stand that is being conveyed.
The area travelled is very different
to what the writer and his group are used to, this should have been a great
theme to follow however, it’s a little
lacking and diminishes from what
could’ve been an outstanding insight;
Tenu Main ‘Leh’ Javanga is let down
by this however, the personable ac-
count the travelling group somewhat
makes up for the shortfall.
Kaltari describes in detail the
banter between the eight friends and
this is enjoyable enough to make you
laugh, while marvelling at the ex-
ploits as they ride the high mountain
passes. Kaltari says they lost their
‘biker virginity’ on this ride and that
comes through, and for it Tenu Main
‘Leh’ Javanga is worth a read.
We wish Tenu Main ‘ Leh’ Javanga
was a little longer, sharing more de-
tail of the region being ridden howev-
er, for the comradery and friendship
it’s worth a read.
W
E
Tenu Main 'Leh' Javanga
Kamlesh Kaltari
2019
ASIN B07Y5PZ46F
TRAVERSE 117
S