Hav

Hav consists of two novellas, "Letters from Hav" and "Hav of the Myrmidons". They are written as travelogues, thoughtful memoirs of a country that doesn't exist (but could have, easily). The writing style is very similar to the H.V. Morton books I loved in my youth – not travel guides, but insightful and colorful observation.

The novellas were written twenty years apart, and describe an initial visit to Hav by a well-known travel writer, and another that followed twenty years later. I really don't want to say too much, to spoil the story, though there isn't much story to it, really. The closing of the first novella is very powerful - I can imagine readers in 1985 screaming, "No, you can't stop there!" - I certainly did, but only had to turn a page to continue.

I don't really know how to describe this further - I think it's like Cloud Atlas in that a reader will take it to their heart, or not. A unique reading experience.