Green Dreams
Steven Benz
At first this thing threw me, because it's written in the Queen's English, but the narrative voice was distinctly American. All that - and the book is set completely in South and Central America.
Imagine.
Actually, as far as a travel memoir goes, it's not half-bad. Mostly he's very respectful of the lands and communities that he writes about - probably because he's not an adventurer, tourist, or thrill-seeker, as much as a person who was simply looking for something. Something simple. That's the impression I got. And although the majority of the book explains his theories on eco-tourism, it still seemed to me that he was more of a wandering Zen seeker rather than a staunch tree-hugger.
Therefore, some might find the book boring. Who cares about insights anyway? We want to hear about jaguars ripping off people's limbs - caves filled with human skulls, the tension of roadside barricades and buying off lowly goverment officials - that's what we want from our latinamerican tourism books, right?!
Well, you won't get that with this guy. To be honest, I was only disappointed because mainly I was wanting to read about volcanic activity in El Salvador, and that seems to be the one country he totally bypassed! Oh well.
So, yes, while I will admit I skipped over several chapters - actually I flipped back and forth throughout the book - the parts that I landed upon were often engaging, insightful, and compassionate. A true distinct eye for the human character. He also mentioned quite a bit the movie Mosquito Coast, which was supposedly about part of the lands that he lived in for a time, and he talks about the discrepancies between reality and the movie.
He also ends the book by showing how the popularity of eco-tourism actually destroys the very jungle that it purports to preserve. Basically - how the almighty American dollar just mucks up all that is pristine and natural.
I'd say it's a fairly decent read, but you must have no preconceived expectations - probably best read on a rainy afternoon, when all your life's chores are done and you've nothing at all whatsoever else to do!
VG
PS - The reason why an American was using the Queen's English is because the publisher was Australian. Those crazy Aussies - they certainly love to travel!
At first this thing threw me, because it's written in the Queen's English, but the narrative voice was distinctly American. All that - and the book is set completely in South and Central America.
Imagine.
Actually, as far as a travel memoir goes, it's not half-bad. Mostly he's very respectful of the lands and communities that he writes about - probably because he's not an adventurer, tourist, or thrill-seeker, as much as a person who was simply looking for something. Something simple. That's the impression I got. And although the majority of the book explains his theories on eco-tourism, it still seemed to me that he was more of a wandering Zen seeker rather than a staunch tree-hugger.
Therefore, some might find the book boring. Who cares about insights anyway? We want to hear about jaguars ripping off people's limbs - caves filled with human skulls, the tension of roadside barricades and buying off lowly goverment officials - that's what we want from our latinamerican tourism books, right?!
Well, you won't get that with this guy. To be honest, I was only disappointed because mainly I was wanting to read about volcanic activity in El Salvador, and that seems to be the one country he totally bypassed! Oh well.
So, yes, while I will admit I skipped over several chapters - actually I flipped back and forth throughout the book - the parts that I landed upon were often engaging, insightful, and compassionate. A true distinct eye for the human character. He also mentioned quite a bit the movie Mosquito Coast, which was supposedly about part of the lands that he lived in for a time, and he talks about the discrepancies between reality and the movie.
He also ends the book by showing how the popularity of eco-tourism actually destroys the very jungle that it purports to preserve. Basically - how the almighty American dollar just mucks up all that is pristine and natural.
I'd say it's a fairly decent read, but you must have no preconceived expectations - probably best read on a rainy afternoon, when all your life's chores are done and you've nothing at all whatsoever else to do!
VG
PS - The reason why an American was using the Queen's English is because the publisher was Australian. Those crazy Aussies - they certainly love to travel!
posted by Verble Gherulous | 5:01 AM
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