Lee Child checks in to our travel Q&A
This week best-selling author Lee Child checks in to our travel Q&A.
He reminisces about his 1970 first visit to America and many more…
What’s the most earliest HOLIDAY MEMORY you have?
When I was three years old, flying to Belfast with an unpressurised airplane to visit my grandparents in Belfast. The steep slope of the aisle was due to the fact that the plane was sat on its tail, which I still recall. Even better, before the plane landed, the steward arrived with a plate of boiled sweets. My joy was too great to resist.
FIRST TRIP AROAD
School trip to France aged 11 Our school trip to France was aged 11. We took the ferry from Granville on Cherbourg. I love the solid French towns of medium size. French is my only language. The school’s strategy worked.
This is YOUR FIRST VISIT to THE USA
New York City, July 1974. It was love at the first sight. It was a raucous, brutal, high-speed cacophony, allegedly dangerous, but I walked miles through the streets that summer and never had a moment’s trouble. My visit also included Nixon’s resignation on television, which meant that I saw both administrations.
FAVORITE PART OF USA
I have an immigrant’s neutrality — I don’t have a place I was born or grew up — so it’s a level playing field. You have to see the beautiful emptyness of much of the country in order to fully understand it. I can be at my place in the Rockies for three months, fly back late in the day to New York, go shopping for breakfast stuff, and I’ll see more people in one city block at midnight than I saw out west all season.
DO YOU SHARE YOUR CHARACTER JACK REACHER’S LOVE OF DINERS?
They do. They’re perfect in every way. But they depend on being there round the next curve, just when you’re hungry.
TOP TIPS FOR BRITS VISITING USA
Despite their flaws, Americans tend to be polite and helpful regardless of where they live. The British accent can be worth an extra 20 IQ points. Harry might also know you, which will make the default response full of kindness.
The best stuff is on the beaten track — it’s beaten for a reason — but random side trips to lonely places might get you the best conversation.
Is Travel Essential?
My rule is to take only the shoes I’m wearing. That’s the key to packing light. This is not the case for everyone. Legroom is important to me, so I prefer rooms with a view of the street from hotels and planes. It can be noisy, but it is all part of the experience. It is important to just take everything in.
Lee describes the Orkney Islands as his favorite destination. It is like living in a watercolor.
TOP TIP FOR JETLAG?
You can ignore it. Go to bed at the normal local time and you’ll be fine in the morning.
WHERE IS THE NEXT?
It’s almost two years since I was in the UK, so that’s top of the list.
Do you want to DREAM of a Destination?
The Orkney Islands. They’re wild and dramatic, but also calm and soft. Living in a watercolour is like being inside one. I’d like to go back. You could spend a month there.
- Now, Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Bantam Press) is available.