Review: The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey

The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is historicity in the Motorcycle Diaries that compelled me to put it down every once in a while to research some or other historical event. Guevera travels in a tumultuous period in Latin American history, and his observations are simple but cutting. He observes and he notes, and in that the beauty of Motorcycle Diaries lies.

Granado and Guevera are interesting adventurers to follow, they are travelling with little money and they are travelling far. There is a romance to the story, and through descriptions of pain and pleasure you see a spirit of adventure. One that emerges slowly, which is important because it makes it feel real. A lot of their time is spent hungry and sleepy, and so a lot of the book is about the food and lodging that they found. The only thing more important to Guevera than these is the travel and the people.

There is constant movement forward. On their bike, then by other means, with vague notions of a future destination slowly crystallising into Caracas. On the way, Guevera describes interactions with people from across the Latin American continent. These are largely people without privelege, lepers and Indians, and Guevera's interactions with them feature a growing undercurrent of his future convictions. His transformation is blurred and unclear, but on stepping away you can feel the way he has changed based on what he sees and what he talks about.

It is a good book.

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