"This is a beautiful book - to be read, enjoyed and considered."
Available in Paperback and kindle from Amazon.
This wonderful collection of travel tales sensitively portrays the author Emil Rem’s experiences as he recalls time spent in Tanzania, London, Cyprus, The Middle East and Canada. Written to capture memories of his home life, family, and visits to interesting places to ensure his sons will always be able to refer to their past, this delightful book just dazzles. As a fostered child living in London, Emil recounts how at a young age he travelled each summer to Dar-es-Salaam to be with his father. He describes how his summer visits, including trips to Zanzibar, provided him with much needed respite from his London life. Each chapter is accompanied with a relevant illustration to the story and a reflective note from the author. Now settled in Canada, working as a Chartered Accountant, and married to a Filipina, with two sons, business trips take him to the Middle East and ultimately to Cyprus. We learn of his love for Cyprus, his passion for Greek delights called “Aphrodites” which he ate as a child in Africa, and his enjoyment of visiting local places and meeting their residents. In addition, family holidays are also woven into the stories, and the author cleverly explores his relationship with his two teenage sons. He highlights their differences, plus humorously describes the skills he increasingly had to employ to remain one step ahead of the more challenging son - albeit without him realising. Near the beginning of the book, the author poses the questions “Why do we travel? Do we seek the new, or the familiar?” The remainder of the book subtly addresses these questions. The title of the book may literally be “Chasing for Greek delights”, but perhaps the underlying message is that it is human instinct to yearn for and be touched by Aphrodite, The Goddess of Love. This is a beautiful book - to be read, enjoyed and considered.
Kathryn Carruthers, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Travel |
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It's very easy to read and I definitely recommend it.
I've now read three books by this author and enjoyed them all but this was my favourite. It's beautifully written, the evocative descriptions taking the reader on the author's journeys both past and present. Emil Rem has a good eye for detail and a way of commenting on what he sees that gives the reader a sense of who he is.... Read Full Review
This is a really easy to read travel memoir that delivers the adventure and the feeling of discovery you get from travel, while also detailing the author's life in a way that is compelling and encourages you to consider your own experiences.
A thought provoking travel memoir filled with a sense of nostalgia. ‘Chasing Aphrodite’ by Emil Rem is the first in a series of travel memoirs that recounts the author’s trips while also offering insight into his past and personal life. I have previously read Emil Rem’s latest book, The Vanished Gardens of Cordova, so I’ve read these books out of order but I don’t think that has had an impact on my enjoyment of the books. The book contains vignettes for travel memories that are steeped in nostalgia, from how sharing ice cream with his wife in the dark brought back memories or a worrying time of financial instability to re-visiting travel destinations of his youth to find everything had changed.... Read Full Review
