| Product: |
Motorcycle Diaries, The - Ernesto Che Guevara |
| Date: |
26/06/07 (81 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Beautiful and inspirational well-told story
Disadvantages: Not a single thing
Author: Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date of Publish: 1996
Genre: Fiction/ travel diaries
No of Pages: 176
RRP: £7.99
Amazon Price: £5.99
>>>What its all about<<<
In 1952 two friends, Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado decided to journey across South America on the back of Alberto’s less than reliable Norton motorcycle, La Ponderosa.
These are the diaries of the trip and the accompanying thrills, spills, high points and low points that ultimately lead them to a Peruvian Leper Colony where they volunteered for some weeks. The story is told through the eyes of an as yet unknown Guevara almost a full decade before the Cuban Revolution. It features a young idealistic man and his companion who are more concerned with football and drinking and friendship than with the future of his beloved nation though their compassion is still plain for all to see.
>>>Who is Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara – a very potted history of a very intriguing man<<<
Everyone, young or old has seen the image of the socialist revolutionary either in posters, protest banners or most likely, across the t-shirts of many.
Ernesto Guevara, affectionately known as Che, born in Argentine in 1928 was a Doctor first before becoming a revolutionary, a political figure, writer, follower of Fidel Castro and eventually the Leader of the Cuban Guerrilla movement. After witnessing the poverty and oppression suffered across Latin America from his travels and higly influenced by the Marxism literature he studied, Guevara reached the decision that armed revolution was the only answer to the unjustice he saw around him. Che dreamed of a borderless Latin America librated culture.
Set on prompting a revolution in Bolivia, he left Cuba in 1965 where he was captured and imprisoned by military operatives backed by the CIA and the US Army Special Forces. Two years later on October 9th 1969 Che was killed by the Bolivian Army.
It was only after his death that Che became an iconic symbol of revolution worldwide we are all familiar with today; however, he has remained a prominent figure in Latin American history since his days in Cuba.
>>>What I enjoyed<<<
Knowing only a little about the man behind the book I imagine him to have been a strong, passionate and fearsome man after all, surely leading the Cuban Guerilla movement wouldn’t leave much room for warmth or god forbid, weakness.
Reading the motorcycle diaries which were written before Che became the political figure and to many hero he died as, discounted all of the preconceptions I originally had.
There is a beautiful innocence found in this book and an appreciation for beauty, which seems long since forgotten. There is humour and joy to be found in the simplest of things, which is blissful to read of. To imagine these two boys, on the back of a clapped-out bike which insists on breaking down every 30 feet, and to read of their determination to carry on and their pure faith in each other, in man kind and even in their poor fading friend La Ponderosa, is nothing short of inspirational.
Today, it is unimaginable to us to consider it possible to travel across several countries without money, a place to stay and very little food not to mention the daily luxuries we have come to rely on such as showers. It is near impossible to fathom, the appreciation the two men felt when offered a ride on the back of a truck or hot water to make their much-loved Matte (a sort of tea) with.
Their patience and tolerance, both of which must surely have been tested frequently as they were forced to wait for days, weeks and even months to continue onto the next leg of their journey was foreign to me. In addition, the kindness and generosity with which they were met almost everywhere they went would now a days be met with suspicion and contempt.
It is plain to see the love Guevara had for Latin America. The pages of this book ooze with respect and appreciation for the land and its history. Having never been to Latin America but having long since wanted to visit I felt my urge dig in that little bit deeper as he described the roads he traveled and the surroundings he passed. No matter how harsh some roads traveled proved to be, he made them sound beautiful.
>>>What I wasn’t so keen on<<<
I feel it is necessary to include something in this section although it is a struggle. When you read a book that truly touches you, you desperately fight against any negativity that goes along with it. I am loathe to criticize what for me has been an almost life affirming book – I say that with my head held high and not an ounce of shame for the unadulterated cheesiness of what I have just said.
My only frustration with the book is that in an attempt to translated it into English, many of his mother tongue phrases and names have been given footnotes to explain them. For me, the excessive explanations took away from the beauty and the intrigue of the book. Many will feel differently I know, but the language and culture in his words lent themselves to the romance of the book and with the modernized Anglophone definitions the mystery lessens just as giving away a magicians secrets on how a trick is performed does.
>>>Conclusion<<<
My greatest fear is that those who are not politically motivated or who don’t share Che’s views or agree with his methods, will turn their backs on this book. I would implore you to remember this book is not political. It is nothing more than the notes of a journey taken by an ambitious, wide-eyed and relatively innocent young man and his friend. Sharing this journey with them is an honour and one I hope others will also enjoy.
Summary: Che Guevara tells of his travels as a young man before becoming an iconic revolutionary
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