The Global Soul

Iyer's new book begins with a quote from Nietzsche: 'Philosophy is really homesickness: the wish to be everywhere at home'. Nietzshe's axiom gets us in the mood for what is an extraordinary journey through the never-land of nowhere in which we appear to live. In the 60s they spoke of the 'Global Village', but Iyer's book has gone a step further. Part philosopher, part anthropologist, Iyer is searching for the 'Global Soul'. Jet travel, the Internet and world consumerism have blurred all definitions and jumbled our lives. Plonk any of us down in Las Vegas, Cape Town or Tokyo, and we'll survive quite well. But do we ever feel at home anywhere? Iyer contends that the Global Soul can roam the world, as if in a dream, existing virtually anywhere without a true identity. 'Everywhere' he says, 'is so made up of everywhere else.' Millions of businessmen trundle around the globe day in, day out, living on fast food and inflight meals. For them, as for any Global Soul, the new cities are not cities at all, but airports. Iyer says: 'airports have become something more than just an international convenience zone, and it is easy to see them as models of our future'. Like many of us, Iyer is 'from' many places. Born in England of Indian parents, he studied in the USA before moving to Japan. He has travelled widely, and lives in the Twilight Zone of an international world. In a search for answers, he zigzags on long-haul flights, from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, to Canada, Europe and on to Tokyo. Our grandparents might have taken this book and the world it describes as sci-fi, but to most of us it is cold, hard reality. Review by TAHIR SHAH Editor's note: Tahir Shah is a travel writer and the author of Sorcerer's Apprentice, published by Phoenix. (Kirkus UK)