Backpack Book Analysis

Backpack, By Emily Barr, is a hilarious yet dismal novel about Londoner Tansy Harris. In the aftermath of Tansy’s mother's death, she makes a tentative decision to make a journey through Asia. Tansy chooses to make this voyage in hopes of finding peace with herself and to prove everyone back home wrong. Little does she know what the foreign continent has in store for her. The story begins in present-day Gatwick, London, England. A month after her mother's death and a trip to a hospital, Tansy makes a decision to travel to Asia. She travels through many places in Asia through the book such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Laos. In each new checkpoint on her venture through Asia, she meets other voyagers and locals, as well as discovering who she is and who she wants to be. The story’s being told by and in Tansy’s point of view. One person that Tansy talks about often throughout the story is Tom. Tom is Tansy’s boyfriend from back home who planned to go on the trip with her then pulled out at the last minute. A voyager alike Tansy meets in Asia is Max. Tansy meets him towards the beginning of her trip; they end up spending most of the rest of the book together. The main goal of Tansy is to find composure and to flaunt her adventurous persona to everyone back home of course. Tansy’s trip is hurriedly interrupted

34, Backpack by Emily Barr). As she faces various trials through the book, her self-righteous arrogance is diminished and overtaken by a more experienced traveler with more compassion and overall improvement. As this is a story about a girl being stalked by a killer, this is also a story about change and improvement. That once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up. This is an important and influential book that deserves praise for its unique take on