The Dark Tourist by Dom Joly

279 pages Trade Paperback (Non-Fiction Humor)
I stayed in hotel on the island of Santorini, in Greece, this summer and this book was sitting on a shelf. After reading a few pages I was drawn in. I had no idea who Dom Joly was and knew only what was on the book. Joly is a comedian and is apparently quite famous in England. He has had a few hit TV shows. At some point Dom sees a photo of women skiing in burkas in Iran. He decides it would be funny to go visit a bunch of places most people would never visit and treat it all like it is a big vacation.

Joly travels to Iran, Cambodia, North Korea, Assassination sites in America, Chernobyl and finally returns to Lebanon to revisit the home of childhood. The book focuses mainly on his misadventures and the trouble he has getting through airport security. Then we experience the constant questioning as to why he would want to be visiting the places he is visiting. We laugh at the strange looks he gets when he claims to be going to Iran to ski. We sweat it out during the interrogation he goes through in the USA when he tells them he really was going to Iran to ski. The reader is amused by the bizarre rules that must be followed as he goes on a guided tour in North Korea. We feel uncomfortable with his group as they are all tested in the radiation machine coming out of Chernobyl.

Dom’s style of writing is straight forward and humorous. It feels as if we get to know him as we continue on his trip. He is likable and his desire for adventure in forbidden places becomes a bit infectious. Honestly, I don’t see myself making plans to visit any of these places anytime soon, but seeing these sites from his eyes gives the reader a chance to see that around the world we are all very similar. We all are just trying to make it in this crazy world.

4 Intellectual/Emotional: I found out a lot about the places Dom visits and it really allowed me to see the people as people rather than strangers or enemies on the other side of the world.

3 Style/Readability: The book is light reading and with its lean towards humor I burned through it in just a few days.

2 Long Term Impact: I imagine this will get lost in the mountain of travel books, but I found it worthwhile for more reasons than it just being a “travel book”.

9 out of 13. If you are looking for a quick, humorous, read that will give you a little insight in the “darker” side of travel this book is perfect. Some may find it a waste of time.

Either way…

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