Travels with a Typewriter
Reviews
[Frayn] is a quietly empathetic and unintrusive presence as he criss-crosses the lost world of the late 20th century… One of the strengths of this collection is Frayn’s open mind and evident curiosity. Frayn seems simultaneously to see the funny side and the melancholia of the human condition… Reportage that has stood the test of time
The reporter as amused onlooker, his eye cocked for the absurd, the whimsical, the offbeat … Several pieces are about societies that have now vanished - divided Berlin, communist Moscow, Cuba when the revolution was young. [Frayn] hopes they are of archaeological interest. They are more than that. They are of human interest, which doesn't date. Good writing is good writing
If they have a historical flavour, they also have a timeless kind of ease and an indelible freshness of observation