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Summer Escape: Best Books Set in South America
Take an incredible trip (or three) this summer without leaving your couch.
Published on June 16, 2023
The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir
Roman DialCOSTA RICA: When seasoned explorer Roman Dial’s 27-year-old son vanishes on a solo trek into the wilds of the Corcovado jungle, Dial embarks on a two year quest to discover what happened to his boy. Dial’s descriptions of the natural beauty (along with the deadly perils) make readers feel like they’re standing beside him in the rainforest.
The House of the Spirits: A Novel
Isabel AllendeCHILE (we assume): Travel through the lives of generations of the Trueba family and Chilean political history in “The House of the Spirits,” the novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the top Latin American talents. It’s a sprawling family tale, and the core keeping the clan together is Clara, a loving mother and wife who happens to be a clairvoyant.
The Bad Girl: A Novel
Mario Vargas LlosaLIMA, PERU TO PARIS AND TOKYO: Nobel Prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa delivers what The New York Times Book Review calls “a splendid, suspenseful and irresistible novel.” Ricardo falls in love with bad girl Lily as a teen in Lima, Peru, but she vanishes, leaving him brokenhearted. Over the course of their lives, Lily reappears in different guises in Ricardo’s life. He worships her, and she treats him, well, badly. Don’t miss Vargas Llosa’s masterful modern love story.
Papillon
Henri CharrièreFRENCH GUIANA: If you’re dreaming of escaping quarantine, there’s no better character to live vicariously through than Henri “Papillon” Charriere. Falsely convicted of murder, Papillon breaks out of multiple jails until he’s sent to French Guiana’s dreaded Devil’s Island, a prison no one has ever escaped from alive. In this thrilling autobiography, Papillon tells how he became the first.
The Voyage of the Beagle
Charles DarwinGALAPAGOS ISLANDS, ECUADOR: Charles Darwin’s classic field journal takes readers on a scientific adventure around South America, from the Galapagos Islands to Brazil, Peru, and more. A keen observer, Darwin describes firsthand the beauty of the wildlife he encounters, including the island finches that led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.
The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas
Paul TherouxBOSTON TO PATAGONIA: Join travel writer Paul Theroux for an epic train adventure as he makes his way from Boston to the wild beauty of Patagonia at the very tip of South America in the 1970s. Theroux breathes new life into the cliché that it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters with his vivid depictions of the people and places he encounters along the way.
Patagonia: A Cultural History
Chris MossPATAGONIA: Now that you’ve arrived in Patagonia with “The Old Patagonia Express,” learn the history of this ruggedly beautiful landscape that spans Argentina and Chile. The evocative locale has captured travelers’ hearts and imaginations for centuries. (Famous outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid even make an appearance!)
The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island
Terry HuntEASTER ISLAND, CHILE: The giant statues of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, have enchanted the world for centuries, but to this day there is still controversy about their origin. The prevailing wisdom had been that a large population of islanders drained precious resources to build them, devastating the ecosystem. However after extensive investigation at the site, archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo not only show the genius methods that were used to move the statues into place, but the respect to the environment that was shown by these ancient people.
The Tango Singer
Tomás Eloy MartínezBUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: Get ready to tango. This novel follows an American who travels to Buenos Aires to search for an elusive tango singer. The search takes the stand-in protagonist through the best and seediest parts of Argentina’s capital and provides an excellent introduction into the culture of tango.
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail
Thomas McFaddenBOLIVIA: One advantage to traveling via the pages of a book is that we’re able to gain access to places we normally wouldn’t in real life. “Marching Powder” takes us inside one of Bolivia’s biggest — and most unusual — prisons. (We sincerely hope none of you dear readers experience jail on your travels or at home.) Go behind the bars on an illegal tour run by inmate Thomas McFadden, a Brit busted for smuggling cocaine.