Paul Smith is shopping at a supermarket when an idea suddenly comes into his mind – to travel to the other side of the world (which he judges as Campbell Island in New Zealand) only using Twitter – accepting travel and accommodation offers from strangers to achieve his goal. What could go wrong? Will he succeed?
Paul Smith proves himself to be a more-than-competent writer: clever, informative, honest and witty writer that manages to engage the reader into following his story, and what a story it is. Smith’s actions to fulfil his dream are inspiring as he prepares to take a huge risk in what seems to be an impossible, if not dangerous, task, placing enormous trust in the hands of strangers on Twitter. At times, he reveals his feelings about his bi-polar disorder, his family and his moments of self-doubt along the way, but the people he meets via Twitter are more than happy to help and encourage Smith to keep going on his journey. Whether he achieves it or not is something I won’t spoil, but Smith treats us to vivid descriptions of the places he visits in stupendous detail, making it a joy to read for travel fans, but this book is for anyone really – it is life-affirming, inspiring, and hilarious to read. One criticism I have is that it lagged in some places and failed to capture my interest but on the whole, it is a good and captivating read. 3.5 stars.
