Motorcycle Diaries
Unlike almost every other men of my age, I was never really into motorcycles. No two-wheelers for that matter. I was into Moto GP for a while and used to visit the homepage of Max Biaggi , a Yamaha rider and 3 times 250cc champion, once in a while. That fantansy has worn off.
Recently on airpot wait during my trip to San Diego, I read The Motorcycle Diaries by Earnesto Guevara the Argentinian doctor, the Cigar smoking asthma patient, symbol of youth, epitome of passion and rebellion. The book was wrtitten during an adventurous motorcycle trip across Argentina, Chile and Peru a 23 year old Che and his friend Alberto embarked upon in 1952. The book is brilliant. With my already short attention span further reduced by gruelling workouts, I haven't been able to truly complete reading a book of non-fiction in the last two years. This blew me away as it was totally different from what I had expected. The Times calls it "Das Kapital meets Easy rider", but the words communism or communist appear only 7-8 times in this book. Che wasn't a communist when wrote this journal. The book doesn't have the pompous imagery and embellished portaits of the landscape. Every sentence about the terrain or the environment seems deliberately interspersed with the effect it has on his mind and body. Nevertheless it has a undeniable lyrical quality. It progresses from the imprudent spirit of wanderlust to Che discovering himself through the pain and suffering of the people he meets. Even the most hardened unromantic can not deny the pathos in his narrative, the solidariy Che feels towards the exploited people and their wretched condition. It is not difficult to see how the six months he spent on this trip shaped his beliefs and the life of revolution and sacrifice he would later lead. Anybody with even the slightest interest in Che should make a it a point to read this memoir.
Now I am a convert. I am seriously thinking of getting my motorcycle license (it would cost me around 300 bucks) and join some riding club. I've heard that biker groups are white supremacist bastards, into crimes like drug traficking (Hell's Angels, for sure), but its worth giving a shot.
A movie based on this book made by the Spanish director Walter Salles, has been released- I am waiting for the DVD to be available on Netflix.
posted by MattP @ 10:00 AM
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