Madlesohn writes of Paddy’s style, and which is noticable as one begins reading A Time of Gifts –
Expansive, meandering, circular, it allows him to weave what is, after all, a relatively straightforward tale of a youthful backpacking hike into a vast and highly colored tapestry, embroidered with observations, insights, and lessons about the whole panorama of European history, society, architecture, religion, and art.
But then there are also the exploits, that make the accounts appealing at a time when it was an instagram-less world.
Contested Realities 