Title: Voyage around my Room
Author: Xavier de Maistre
Genre: Travel
Written: 1790
Length: 82 pages
Original in: French
Description：
What do you do when you find yourself imprisoned in your room for 6 weeks?
Xavier de Maistre, a 27-year-old Frenchman found himself in this uneasy situation when he was arrested in Turin after a duel, in the Spring of 1790.
But with only a butler and a dog for company,
Xavier de Maistre managed to fill his time by embarking on a journey around his bedroom,
later writing an account of what he had seen.
Whether venturing from his bed to his sofa, or even to his mirror,
he wears his “traveling outfit”—his favorite pink and blue pajamas.
Out of his forced reclusion comes a captivating fantasy—a novel take on travel literature that would inspire many later writers, including Marcel Proust.
This edition also contains de Maistre’s A Nocturnal Expedition around My Room. Xavier de Maistre was a military man, who supplemented his army career with short works of fiction.
The complete review's Review:
In 1790 Xavier de Maistre was punished for having gotten into a duel by being put under house arrest for forty-two days. De Maistre cleverly took advantage of his sequestration, finding within his own four walls a wealth of material to dwell on. His short book, Voyage around my Room, recounts his expeditions during that time. It is a travel book like no other.
De Maistre suffered few hardships: he had his faithful servant tending to his daily needs, and his dog, Rosine, is a stalwart companion. Physically de Maistre could not roam far and so most of the travels were, indeed, leaps of the imagination -- but he did find a surprising amount of material in his fairly comfortable room. He slowly leads the reader around it, describing the pictures on the walls, the vistas and prospects within and beyond the room, exploring and dwelling on objects that are otherwise taken for granted. And what he see brings back memories, focusses ideas, leads him to look at things anew.
De Maistre proceeds at a leisurely pace -- and is disappointed (as is the reader) at how soon the allotted time is up, knowing that in the outside world everyday life will not permit such fine contemplation. The room is "that enchanted realm containing all the wealth and riches of the world", revealed and revelled in when he has the time and peace to dwell on it.
From the pleasures of waking or the contemplation of ancient myths, de Maistre describes his journeys -- his flights of fancy -- well. The tone is lively, often even exuberant, as he is surprised by all his discoveries. The chapters are very brief, and he jumps from topic to topic quickly. He covers little in great depth -- but it is just enough depth.
An enjoyable voyage, nicely presented.