In 1971, John Hopkins wrote in his diary, "I need to go back to South America to reacquaint myself with the scene," a process which began in late 1972 and continued through 1973. Starting in Mexicali and heading southward with his companion, Madeleine van Breughal, Hopkins rediscovered the continent he had once known and attempted, unsuccessfully, to fall in love.
The South American Diaries
is the story of Hopkins's trip. Throughout, the nomad novelist blends shrewd insights with mordant wit, using historical facts and keen observations to understand the difficulties of self-exile and continually reassess what, if anything, he is gaining from his travels.
Told with a poetic intensity perfect for dissecting both the geography of the land he traverses and the failed love affair he pursues,
is a powerful, compelling work.