In terms of travel, the year 2020 couldn’t be more unusual. First, local lockdowns forced people off planes and into their homes, and as limitations eased up, travel bans compelled many to answer the call for adventure by land instead of air. It’s no wonder that RV sales hit a peak in June. Neither is it that Disney’s streaming service hit its 60 million subscribers goal four years ahead of schedule, as many of us sought escape of the virtual kind.
It makes sense then that one of the most interesting new travel guides of the year combines close-to-home reality with a somewhat fantastical twist. That’s the essence of Accidentally Wes Anderson, the print offshoot of an Instagram account by the same name that has amassed over one million followers. Both feature images of buildings, outposts and landmarks from around the world, each one adorned in symmetry, bright pastel hues or some innate quirkiness that evokes the sets and scenes of films like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
“While we may think we need to venture far from home to find something extraordinary, there are so many amazing things in our own backyard waiting to be found,” writes Wally Kopal in the book’s introduction. That might mean an auto shop, an ice fishing shanty or a courthouse, all of which count among the book’s 200-plus images.
Whether you’re familiar with the director’s films or not, Accidentally Wes Anderson deftly suggests that a shift in perspective is all that’s necessary to transform the everyday to the extraordinary. The photographs and accompanying stories encourage a second and third look at our usual surroundings while we’re still stuck in them, and they’re sure to inspire a new travel bucket list for when we’re not. Here’s a peek at what’s inside.
Price: $32
