T H I S+W E E K

Stormy weather
Paul Theroux on Hong Kong's troubled times to come
By Don George, Editor

The party's over
The decadent charm of Hong Kong past
By Simon Winchester
- Books on China

D E P A R T M E N T S

The Surreal Gourmet
By Bob Blumer
The Queen's favorite cocktail

Mondo Weirdo
On grilled house rat and crude urinals

Postmark | Prague:
Slacker Central
By Melissa Morrison
Affordable Bohemia in the land of the Velvet Revolution
> Books on Prague

Passages
"Yak Butter and Black Tea"
By Wade Brackenbury
Looking for a village untouched by time in forbidden Chinese territory

Readers' Tips and Tales
R.I.P. in Disneyworld?

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Your virtual travel agency

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L A S T + W E E K

Tuesday, June 17

Gonzo Congo
Redmond O'Hanlon hunts dinosaurs in the African jungle

PLUS:
Fetishes and fossils
A talk with Redmond O'Hanlon

A full list of all
Wanderlust articles

               B O O K S   O N   P R A G U E

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

BY MILAN KUNDERA | in this international bestseller, Kundera tells the story of Tomas, a womanizing doctor, and his wife, Tereza, who is torn between her love for him and her jealousy over his philandering. This is the plot vehicle, but this novel could just as well be described as a loving lament for Prague by an author infatuated with its memory and devastated by the war and subsequent conflicts that destroyed the city's innocence -- and the lives of many of its inhabitants. Tereza and Tomas do not escape the consequences of Prague's demise -- they are forced to flee. When they return out of sheer longing for the city they love, they must lose their jobs, their security. Throughout this moving, masterful narrative, Kundera weaves his philosophy of lightness and weight and his theories about Oedipus, Neitzsche and love, relying equally on his own voice and on the voices of the characters he's created.

Select this link to order this book online.

PRAGUE: A TRAVELER'S LITERARY COMPANION

EDITED BY PAUL WILSON | the editor of this collection of tributes to Prague explains that the process of selection was "like trying to pick the perfect bouquet from a large field filled with beautiful flowers." Not an easy task, but a pleasant one. What he ends up with is a bright, illuminating gathering of odes, essays, anecdotes and fiction written over the past century. One highlight is Bohumil Hrabal's charming story about serving beer in the plush Hotel Pariz, followed by a lament on the city's transformation under Communist occupation. Another is a piece of short fiction by Prague's most famous author, Franz Kafka. In all, the effect of this glorious "bouquet" is to provide the reader with a colorful portrait of the city, from its famous bridges to its dank alleyways, its regal past to its rebuilt present.

Select this link to order this book online.