The Journeying Boy: Scenes from a Welsh Childhood (Traveler)

Rating:
Summary: Journeying, Albeit Vicariously, with Professor White
Review: Professor White writes from the perspective of a man who, at his chronological prime, embarks on a period of introspection common to most everyone who reaches that station in life.

As he rediscovers his Welsh roots, weaving legends and history among rich descriptions of Wales' people and scenery, Professor White draws readers into his idyllic native land. Professor White describes for readers the struggles he and his family faced during several generations in Wales. However, he does not focus on maudlin reminiscences or weigh the book down with potentially snobbish personal details. Rather, Professor White takes readers by the hand and invites them to join him from the first tenuous moments after he arrives in Cardiff until the end of his trip when he emerges as a different man, one who has stitched together several rent pieces of his soul.

Professor White's style is extremely easy to read, and his descriptions of people and places make them literally come alive. The magnificent detail, coupled with an astounding ability to weave together the perfect words in his descriptions, give Professor White's prose incredible impact.

The book's title, taken from a segment of Thomas Hardy's poem, Midnight on the Great Western, aptly describes Professor White's physical and spiritual journey on this short, but seminal trip.