What do readers think of Peking to Paris by Dina Bennett? Write your own review.

My expectations were a bit too high; the descriptive title and lovely cover had me intrigued by the subject and excited to learn more about the journey and how it influenced the author's relationship with her husband. A few chapters into the narrative I found myself a bit annoyed with the continual descriptions of the author's personal character flaws; I already "got it" and did not need the constant reminders of the more challenging aspects of her personality and how they related to the journey ahead. Generally I can read a book of this size within a day or two of my busy schedule but it did not maintain my interest enough so it took several weeks to finish it.

I rated the book as average because there were redeeming qualities to the story, however, I would like to have been able to get a more visual picture of the amazing countryside they traveled and anticipated a deeper and more lovely description of how their relationship was transformed by partnership in the rally. Overall, a nice attempt by the author to share her personal experience with us and she indicates there are more adventures ahead for this couple; my recommendation would be for more visual writing of the landscape and a richer description of the relational in order to provide something of value to the reader.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a quick read which took me on an adventure I was totally unfamiliar with. The thought of traveling 7,901 miles in
a 1940 La Salle from China to France recreating a rally race from 100 years ago is mind-boggling. I enjoyed the novelty of the rally itself, the constant mechanical issues, & the interaction of the racers. The luxury of being able to do something of this nature is way beyond me, but many thanks for letting me come along vicariously through your book.

I found Peking to Paris to be very unevenly written. As I thought about the writing of this review I did wonder if Dina Bennett writing in the book was a metaphor for her trip; lots of starts and stops, very uneven. It was almost as if she couldn't quite decide on the focus for the book; her relationship, the car, the rally...I would agree with other reviewers in that I anticipated more of a travelogue or a detailed account of the rally. Again, seemed like she couldn't quite decide on the focus.

As someone who found herself driving the wrong direction against 3 lanes of traffic in Italy, and who almost tossed the rented GPS unit out the window in France after it tried to lead us onto another boring backroad, I can only admire Dina Bennett's decision to act as her husband's navigator on the 2007 commemorative Peking to Paris rally in a vintage 1940 LaSalle Coupe, particularly as she claims to have no sense of direction and gets carsick reading a map in a moving car. This is not the bohemian rebellion of Jack Kerouac on the road or John Steinbeck's philosophical musings with Charley; it's a somewhat lightweight but charmingly related adventure travel tale, at its best when focusing on the relationship between Dina and her husband Bernard. Don't expect to learn much about the exotic places the rally passes through-- the rally is all about the car, not its context. When the narrative brings in the other contestants, I can't help but think that these are people who have too much money and too much free time on their hands who've chosen to go on the 35-day package tour from hell. I like Bennett's writing style, but would be more interested in reading about her subsequent adventure travels where she and her husband went where they wanted to go and at their own pace without having to nurse a vintage car—the details of car maintenance and repair don't interest me.

Unfortunately I was a little disappointed in the writing of this book. I was looking forward to living through the author a trip I would never take to places that I would never see. However she spent more time about the repairs of the car then the places she was traveling through. In spite of the short time that was spent in these places and the long hours in the car, a little description of the places, people, or even stories of the people on the rally would have added to much. Also, where are the pictures? Not even one of the wonderful Roxanne? What were you thinking?

Editor's Note: The copies of Peking to Paris provided to BookBrowse's members, including Marion, to review were advanced reading copies (ARCs), produced some months ahead of the finished book. Usually ARCs will not have the "finishing touches' that the published book will have such as pictures and maps - both of which are to be found in the published copies of Peking to Paris.