The Modern Caravan is a wonderfully romanticized look at campers and life on the road collected and curated by Kate Oliver. Due out 1st March 2022 from Chronicle Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
This is one of those gorgeous glossy hardcover books full of full-color inspiration and dedicated to the romance of a life of adventure on the road which has struck all of us at one point or another. There's a lot of intimacy in the author's honest and unvarnished account of her family's acquisition and remodeling of their first airstream camper from the beginning on a very limited budget, learning as they went along how to strip and rebuild whilst still maintaining an aesthetic restoration to wind up with a functional product at the end.
She's chosen to showcase 13 different profile stories with in-depth photos and background for each of the projects. This is, certainly, a love poem to the durability and iconic nature of the classic aistream camper, but additionally it's a really gorgeous book of instagram-worthy interior shots which are full of wonderful interior details and which reflect the individual personalities of their owners. There are some which are restful and calm, some which are exuberantly colorful, some which are whimsical with a wry humor and warm and inviting vibe. In between the larger profile chapters are little one page snapshot pages with abbreviated background stories and a picture of the people involved. Their stories are as varied as their projects.
I enjoyed getting a look at the stories behind the builds. It should be noted that this is not a tutorial or how-to book. This is a collection of stories of people who chose to travel part time or full time in a camper (there are a couple van rebuilds also, but only in the shorter snapshot entries). The profiles are diverse, representing singles, couples, families, and friends who collaborated on projects and enjoy traveling alone or together.
Four stars. Lots of inspiration here.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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