Intercities

"In Intercities, Stefan Hertmans thinks about what constitutes identity in present-day Europe and Australia. Looking at people and cities from the periphery, he tries to discover an 'archaeology of streets and faces' which could bring him closer to himself. Set in cities at the margins such as Trieste, Marseilles, Dresden and Bratislava, and in major ones like Vienna, Sydney and Amsterdam, Intercities is about the feeling of being abroad, of losing part of one's self in order to gain a richer life. Mingling travel stories with philosophical reflections, Hertmans's text proves the eighteenth-century observation that every journey is a 'voyage around your own chamber'. His book is a personal statement about living in Europe today which looks beyond the surface to the heart of contemporary urban existence."--Jacket.