“We may value foreign elements not only because they are new, but because they seem to accord more faithfully with our identity and commitments than anything our homeland could provide.”

— Alain de Botton

With its misleading title, “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton is not what it appears. It is not a guide on how to travel, but rather a deep philosophical exploration of why we travel and the role it plays in our lives.

The bestseller breaks up travel into sections beginning with departure and its anticipation working its way all the way up through the return from a journey.

De Botton draws from the lives of great writers and artists, using them as tour guides through his travels: Gustav Flaubert’s view of Egypt to his of Amsterdam and Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings of Provence for de Botton’s first-time visit. Instead of attempting full biographies of his subjects, de Botton provides an overview of their lives, then shifts his focus to certain periods of their work that pertain to the idea of travel.

He uses his own travels as an addition to this, sometimes directly and sometimes only partially, but takes care to never reveal too much of his own life and his personal travels. Beginning with the excitement of anticipation and sometimes-harsh reality, de Botton moves between his trip to Barbados and the disappointing trips of the Duc des Esseintes in J.K. Huysman’s novel A Rebours. The “guides” de Botton uses to contrast his own experiences to are early 19^th century figures, which limits the scope of the concerns of modern travelers; sustainability, the destruction of natural habitats, economic strife.

What is most striking about de Botton’s work in “The Art of Travel” is his keen eye for detail, especially evident in his passage on service stations — airports, trains, and rest stops. Writing in beautifully careful and clear prose, he is able to juxtapose the common with the sublime. The meek smile of a woman on a train or smudges on a window pane take on a life of their own, outside the daily mechanisms of travel too often taken for granted.

Although at times difficult to digest, “The Art of Travel” is entertaining and thought-provoking. It will certainly help to question and rethink some of our own travel experiences and also leave a slight imprint on how we approach new ones.

I’ve decided to extend my donations from this post for Haiti and Chile. For every comment on the post, I will donate an additional $1 to the Red Cross to help earthquake efforts in both Haiti and Chile through April 20.