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Worlds Apart: 2 friends, 2 journeys, and 10 life lessons - a true story
WOR(L)DS APART is a book about a friendship across cultures, and the insights it evokes.
While Smitha Murthy is in a foreign country for the first time – teaching English at a Chinese school – she chances upon a fellow traveller in the web: Dorothee Lang, who has just returned to Europe from a journey to Asia, and is trying to find the balance between everyday joys and worries, work, and the call of the horizon.
An engaging travelogue in the form of emails unfolds. It leads from the Great Wall to Shanghai, from Munich to the Mediterranean Sea, and from curious questions ("How does one type on a Chinese keyboard?") to shared life lessons that wait along the road: "And that is the beauty of travel. It's a journey to discover the truths that lie underneath."
Interlaced with photos and notes, and rounded up with practical advice for travelling and teaching in Asia, WOR(L)DS APART is both an inspiring travel read, and the story of a friendship across cultures and borders.
While Smitha Murthy is in a foreign country for the first time – teaching English at a Chinese school – she chances upon a fellow traveller in the web: Dorothee Lang, who has just returned to Europe from a journey to Asia, and is trying to find the balance between everyday joys and worries, work, and the call of the horizon.
An engaging travelogue in the form of emails unfolds. It leads from the Great Wall to Shanghai, from Munich to the Mediterranean Sea, and from curious questions ("How does one type on a Chinese keyboard?") to shared life lessons that wait along the road: "And that is the beauty of travel. It's a journey to discover the truths that lie underneath."
Interlaced with photos and notes, and rounded up with practical advice for travelling and teaching in Asia, WOR(L)DS APART is both an inspiring travel read, and the story of a friendship across cultures and borders.
- GenresTravelAdultNonfiction
242 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
About the author
Dorothee Lang
7 books34 followersDorothee Lang is into roads, stories, places, crossings, and all the things they lead and connect to.
An official and a longer version of her is online here: http://www.blueprint21.de/dl_home.html
An official and a longer version of her is online here: http://www.blueprint21.de/dl_home.html
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 22, 2012
Two world-curious travelers who've never met start an email correspondence, and over a year later the epistolary work Worlds Apart is born.
I can imagine, in the age of social networking, that millions of people do what Dorothee Lang and Smitha Murthy have done. People write emails to strangers they meet on Facebook about their travels, write blog posts about things they've learned on their travels, post pictures. And these posts and pics are interesting in their way and at their register of social interaction.
Worlds Aparts stands apart because of Dorothee and Smitha's voices, their insights and their beautiful prose.
I'm a traveler myself, so this book spoke to me. I found myself jotting down things I wanted to keep for later--to remind myself of what I'd learned. Yes, in Worlds Aparts there are lessons to be learned. Do something new every day (one I'll take with me every day).
The book is also about China and India, but also Germany. It's a deeply personal story that will remain with you wherever you travel.
I can imagine, in the age of social networking, that millions of people do what Dorothee Lang and Smitha Murthy have done. People write emails to strangers they meet on Facebook about their travels, write blog posts about things they've learned on their travels, post pictures. And these posts and pics are interesting in their way and at their register of social interaction.
Worlds Aparts stands apart because of Dorothee and Smitha's voices, their insights and their beautiful prose.
I'm a traveler myself, so this book spoke to me. I found myself jotting down things I wanted to keep for later--to remind myself of what I'd learned. Yes, in Worlds Aparts there are lessons to be learned. Do something new every day (one I'll take with me every day).
The book is also about China and India, but also Germany. It's a deeply personal story that will remain with you wherever you travel.
February 18, 2020
A truly beautiful book of shared experiences, thoughts and insights between two women, one German and the other Indian, who have never met, as they travel separately to various places, making both inner and outer journeys. The beauty of the writing - via letters and emails to each other - and the feelings expressed touched me deeply. I loved every minute of this book. Highly recommended.
July 2, 2019
This book is very special, starting with its origin, an exchange of mails that occurred between two women whose paths crossed on line. They were from different cultures and were leading very different lives, one in China and the other in Germany. What evolves is a friendship, and with it comes an appreciation of differences, surprising shared experiences, soaring joys and frustrating obstacles. And somehow the synergy of their knowing each other, though only through their mails and messages, crystalizes into a series of life lessons. These give this work another level of meaning, something that relates to and stays with the reader.
Everything about this book was crafted with patience and care. The writing of the two authors reveals very different voices, but a shared attentiveness and effortlessly articulate prose.
Physically, the book is a delight. Just the right size, with the subtle hues of the cover image hinting at the exotic but real adventures within. The thoughtful use of fonts makes it easy to follow the exchanges between them. The many illustrations are carefully chosen and nicely reproduced. The publisher almost seems like a third author, there is such a welcoming quality.
The feeling I want to share is that this book comes from the heart, and it will touch yours.
Everything about this book was crafted with patience and care. The writing of the two authors reveals very different voices, but a shared attentiveness and effortlessly articulate prose.
Physically, the book is a delight. Just the right size, with the subtle hues of the cover image hinting at the exotic but real adventures within. The thoughtful use of fonts makes it easy to follow the exchanges between them. The many illustrations are carefully chosen and nicely reproduced. The publisher almost seems like a third author, there is such a welcoming quality.
The feeling I want to share is that this book comes from the heart, and it will touch yours.
July 24, 2012
I loved publishing this book and am so happy that it is now available for others to enjoy.
February 26, 2013
I was lucky enough to win this book through Goodreads First Reads contest. I was really excited to start reading this book, since I have been pen palling for the better part of my life. However, it took me quite a while to get into this book, and it was not the type of story that I just "couldn't put down". In fact I had a hard time picking it up, until I got about 50% through.... then I read the last half of the book in a day. When I first started the book, I figured I'd be able to read the whole book in 2 days because of how thin it is. Instead it took me about 2 weeks!
This is a true story, based on actual emails between two friends Smitha and Dorathee. Smitha is teaching English as second language in China, and is originally from India. Dorothee is a journalist living in Germany, and has traveled several times to India. She has a travel blog online, where she posts pictures and stories of her travels. This is where Smitha finds pictures of India, while searching online for pictures of her homeland to cure her homesickness. One email, develops a life-long friendship, between 2 women who have never met, and may never meet in person.
I give this a 3 star because it was hard to get into the story. The letters were written more like intellectual essays, full of poetic run on sentences, and metaphors that proved very confusing.
This is a true story, based on actual emails between two friends Smitha and Dorathee. Smitha is teaching English as second language in China, and is originally from India. Dorothee is a journalist living in Germany, and has traveled several times to India. She has a travel blog online, where she posts pictures and stories of her travels. This is where Smitha finds pictures of India, while searching online for pictures of her homeland to cure her homesickness. One email, develops a life-long friendship, between 2 women who have never met, and may never meet in person.
I give this a 3 star because it was hard to get into the story. The letters were written more like intellectual essays, full of poetic run on sentences, and metaphors that proved very confusing.
November 17, 2012
Worlds Apart: 2 friends, 2 journeys, and 10 life lessons - a true story by Smitha Murthy and Dorothee Lang is a calm, meditative journey throughout the world, from China to India and Europe. The two authors provide a mix of emails, letters and essays about their travels and the sentiments they shared with each from thousands of miles away.
The book is fascinating on many levels. First, the authors had never met when they started corresponding with each other. The mutual love of travel and places is what bonded them together in this 21st century pen pal tale. But it went far beyond sharing travel stories. The authors go deeper, contemplating the teachings of Buddha, the meditative actions of travel itself and the discussion of what a place can mean to a person. Anyone who can't get out and travel a lot will love reading this because it will help them discover what traveling and seeing the world is all about. Those who are well traveled will delight in those moments described in the book that all travelers can relate to.
*Reviewer received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads
The book is fascinating on many levels. First, the authors had never met when they started corresponding with each other. The mutual love of travel and places is what bonded them together in this 21st century pen pal tale. But it went far beyond sharing travel stories. The authors go deeper, contemplating the teachings of Buddha, the meditative actions of travel itself and the discussion of what a place can mean to a person. Anyone who can't get out and travel a lot will love reading this because it will help them discover what traveling and seeing the world is all about. Those who are well traveled will delight in those moments described in the book that all travelers can relate to.
*Reviewer received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads
September 28, 2012
Worlds Apart Author Question & Answers
"Were there things that were far too personal to include in the book?"
"Do you do your physical writing while moving? Or do you get motion-sick and have to recreate that experience later when the paper is still?"
These are just some of the questions that were part of the Author Question & Answers at Goodreads, a live chat about the "Worlds Apart" book and about traveling and writing.
The nice thing about Goodreads live chats is that they remain there, and you can read through them in the after-live - the page is online here:
Worlds Apart Author Question & Answers
"Were there things that were far too personal to include in the book?"
"Do you do your physical writing while moving? Or do you get motion-sick and have to recreate that experience later when the paper is still?"
These are just some of the questions that were part of the Author Question & Answers at Goodreads, a live chat about the "Worlds Apart" book and about traveling and writing.
The nice thing about Goodreads live chats is that they remain there, and you can read through them in the after-live - the page is online here:
Worlds Apart Author Question & Answers
November 26, 2012
This looks fantastic, I can’t wait to get this book. I have followed Dorothee’s meandering literary and artistic paths for a few years now, and whatever emerges from her workshop is exciting, original and inspiring. Will come back here when I've received and read it!
August 31, 2012
I'll be adding a review this coming week.
July 8, 2017
While the premise of the book is rather captivating (two women, travelers, in different parts of the world, strike up a friendship through a series of emails), I found their correspondence to be contrived and rather meaningless. Maybe it was just me, but I never felt connected to either woman, never got a sense that they were indeed developing a strong friendship, nor did I learn much about the places they were immersed within. As they responded to one another, the emails seemed framed and too much concern placed with trying to impress each other. It was a quick read, but lacked in a compelling message.
March 14, 2013
Two women meet through email and share their philosphies on life and travel. Interesting enough.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews