1. While relaxing at a café in Paris, Steinbach reflects, "what
adds up to a life is nothing more than the accumulation of small
daily moments." What does she mean by this? Do you think it is
possible to gain a greater understanding of the whole by looking,
individually, at its parts? What factors in Steinbach's life, and
perhaps your own, caused her to overlook such minute, beautiful
moments?
2. Over the course of the book, Steinbach often personifies the
cities, towns, and villages she visits. "Rome and I are not lovers.
We are not even friends," she writes, when reflecting on her
unpleasant experience on the Spanish Steps. When describing three
towns along the Amalfi coast she comments, "If Amalfi were a
man…he'd be dressed by Calvin Klein and reading Tom Clancy.
Positano would wear Armani and carry a book by John Le Carré. But
if Ravello were a man…he would be in chinos and a fresh white
oxford shirt with no tie, buried in a book by Graham Greene." Why
do you think she chooses to describe the places she encounters in
human terms? What effect does this technique have on you, the
reader?
3. In her travels, Steinbach meets people from all walks of
life. In one observation, she provides a fresh take on the old
maxim, "don't judge a book by its cover," when she writes, "Paris
guards her inner beauty from the casual observer. To find it one
must look beyond the façades. It is true of people also, I think:
their spirits exist behind their façades, beyond their words." Who
does she meet along her journey that helps to reaffirm this belief?
What do these encounters teach her about herself and the world
around her?
4. Steinbach constantly reflects on her own sense of adventure
or lack thereof. She tries to nurture it and let it grow at its own
rate, a rate that is both comfortable and exciting for her.
Reminiscing about her youth she notes, "I made dangerous choices in
those years, thinking myself bold and adventurous. Later I would
come to understand I hadn't been daring at all, just driven by
confusion and hormones. The person capable of true daring, I knew
now, possessed two admirable qualities: curiosity and courage." Do
you agree with that definition of a "daring" individual? Thinking
back to all of Steinbach's European adventures (and misadventures),
do you think she fits her own bill of what it means to be
"daring"?
5. Remembering an interview she once conducted with French
actress Jeanne Moreau, Steinbach realizes that "Moreau's
declaration of independence from 'looking into the mirror that
others hold up to me' was a deft description of what I was after on
this trip." Searching for the approval or acceptance of others
seems to be a recurring theme in Steinbach's book and, more
importantly, a recurring theme in her daily life in America. To
what extent was she able to overcome these insecurities during her
travels? Do you think you would react similarly? Why or why
not?
6. What role does Steinbach's grandmother, or more correctly,
the memory of her grandmother, play in her road to self-awareness?
Are there people or events in your past that continue to help you
understand the present, and perhaps, address the future?
7. Steinbach asks herself, "Is it possible to change your outer
geography without disrupting the inner geography? The travels
within yourself? Today I traveled back to my past and forward to a
future shaping itself somewhere at the edge of my thoughts. But I
also traveled to a place less often visited: the childlike purity
of the ticking moment." If Steinbach's grandmother is a symbol of
her past, are there characters that embody Steinbach's immediate
present? To what extent does Steinbach's unexpected relationship
with Naohiro serve as reminder of the beauty of the present? If
Steinbach's grandmother acts as a constant connection to the past,
Naohiro a reminder of the present, which character, if any, is the
embodiment of the future?
8. When in Venice, Steinbach imagines herself, if only for a
brief moment, to be Katharine Hepburn in the film,
Summertime. Observing a lounge singer in a Paris café, she
asks, "Who did she imagine herself to be? Marlene Dietrich? Edith
Piaf? Was that the image that sustained her when she examined the
realities of her life?" At what other moments in her travels does
Steinbach seem to slip into the safe world of fantasy, and at what
moments does she seem to awaken herself to reality? At what times
in your own life does fantasy plays an important role for you?
9. Steinbach often views the people and places she visits
through the lens of literature. For instance, at the prospect of
reuniting with Naohiro in Venice, she compares herself to Penelope
awaiting Ulysses' return from Troy, and often she draws parallels
between her own experiences and those of a young Jane Eyre. What
other literary figures does Steinbach evoke? Have you ever used the
world of literature to better understand your own feelings? How do
you think our interactions with literature help to shape our
responses to the world around us?
10. In a postcard to herself referring to her frightening
experience in Rome, Steinbach notes that Albert Camus once wrote,
"what gives value to travel is fear." Do you agree with this
statement? Why or why not? Steinbach goes on to write: "a little
dash of fear gives value to more than just travel. For one thing,
it can teach us to be brave." Do you think travelling alone would
instill in you a sense of bravery you might otherwise not have
possessed? Some might argue that it is not brave, but rather
foolish to travel alone. Have ever you subscribed to this line of
reasoning? If so, did Steinbach's book convince you otherwise?
11. Without Reservations is rich with one woman's
observations, reflections, and personal philosophy. By the end of
her travels, Steinbach discovers in herself a woman she thought had
been lost in time or worn down by age. Her time alone, time spent
encountering both old memories and new ideas, helps her re-ignite
her independent spirit and reawaken her sense of fierce
individuality. Did reading Steinbach's story inspire you in the way
that Freya Stark's memoir inspired her? If you were to take such a
journey, where would you go? What would you want to do? What
aspects of such a journey appeal to you the most?