The South American Diaries - by John Hopkins (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: Paris: Quai Voltaire, 2005.

Book Synopsis

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, The South American Diaries is a powerful, compelling work.

About the Author

John Hopkins has lived for extended periods in Peru, France, Morocco and England; he is the author of numerous books including The Attempt (Viking Press); Tangier Buzzless Flies (Atheneum); The Flight of the Pelican (North Point Press); In the Chinese Mountains: A Novel of Peru (Peter Owen); All I Wanted Was Company (Arcadia Books; and The Tangier Diaries, also published by Cadmus Editions.
He resides with his wife and children in Oxfordshire, England, in a house set aside by the English Arts Council for an American writer.