19 September 1999

Book Review: Bad Times in Buenos Aires (1999), by Miranda France, ****

Synopsis

In 1993 Miranda France moved to South America, drawn to Buenos Aires as the intellectual hub of the continent, with its wealth of writers and its romantic, passionate and tragic history. She found that is was all these things, but it was also a terrible place to live. The inhabitants of Buenos Aires are famously unhappy. All over South America they are known for their arrogance, their fixation of Europe and their moodiness.

11 September 1999

Book review: Cobra Road, by Trevor Fishlock, ***

Synopsis

Trevor Fishlock set off from the harsh and haunted gables of the Khyber, zigzagged to the dazzle of India's southern tip at Cape Comorin and came at last to the little town called Cobra Road. Here, he presents his experience, the smell, feel and history of the subcontinent.



Review

This is a fairly typical jounalist's book. A good journalist for sure. It is full of sharp anecdotes and vivid vignettes of India's immense diversity.

It is also a very disorganized book, his personal explanations intertwined with more detached historical explanations, eyewitness accounts and stories he picked up along the way.

They style is uneven, at times fun and witty, at times rather boring.

All in all a book that I would recommend, even with the reservations above, especially for readers who have never been to India or read much about the country.

Read my other reviews of books on India here on this blog.