Outpost journeys deep into the heart of Saudade

In the words of the author, the untranslatable Portuguese notion of saudade represents 'the feeling of yearning for something impossible to regain because it never quite existed.' It's a sense of longing rather than a variety of homesickness or wistfulness. That vague, not-unpleasant feeling pervades each essay in this thought-provoking collection.

The book is a psychogeographical exploration of human nature tinged with faith, death, renewal and the perceived difference between privilege and want, set amidst the sort of exotic backdrops that prompt careful soul-searching. As the author journeys from a fishing village in Sri Lanka to a booze-soaked bar on the fringes of Australia, from the Canadian Rockies to a potholed country road in the Republic of Georgia, she journeys deeper into this elusive feeling. See notes that it is only in the simplicity and silence of those places, while sitting still, that we can overcome the manic speed of our forever rushed society and seek the meaning in everyday moments. The book's structure further reinforces the process at play — that gradual deepening of awareness that calls up the feeling of saudade in the first place.

Anik See, a former contributing editor of Outpost, has produced a book that is impeccably written, carefully observed and vividly detailed. A mesmerizing read that is highly recommended.