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Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico | 
enlarge | Author: Tony Cohan Publisher: Broadway Category: Book
List Price: $14.95 Buy Used: $3.47 You Save: $11.48 (77%)
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Avg. Customer Rating: 16 reviews Sales Rank: 69540
Media: Paperback Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 288 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5 Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0767920910 Dewey Decimal Number: 910 EAN: 9780767920919 ASIN: 0767920910
Publication Date: April 24, 2007 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Shipping: Expedited shipping available
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Product Description
Tony Cohan’s On Mexican Time, his chronicle of discovering a new life in the small Mexican mountain town of San Miguel de Allende, has beguiled readers and become a travel classic. Now, in Mexican Days, point of arrival becomes point of departure as—faced with the invasion of the town by tourists and an entire Hollywood movie crew, a magazine editor’s irresistible invitation, and his own incurable wanderlust—Cohan undertakes a richer, wider exploration of the country he has settled in. Told with the intimate, sensuous insight and broad sweep that captivated readers of On Mexican Time, Mexican Days is set against a changing world as Cohan encounters surprise and adventure in a Mexico both old and new: among the misty mountains and coastal Caribbean towns of Veracruz; the ruins and resorts of Yucatan; the stirring indigenous world of Chiapas; the markets and galleries of Oaxaca; the teeming labyrinth of Mexico City; the remote Sierra Gorda mountains; the haunted city of Guanajuato; and the evocative Mayan ruins of Palenque. Along the way he encounters expatriates and artists, shady operatives and surrealists, and figures from his past. More than an immensely pleasurable and entertaining travel narrative by one of the most vivid, compelling travel voices to emerge in recent years, Mexican Days is both a celebration of the joys and revelations to be found in this inexhaustibly interesting country and a searching investigation of the Mexican landscape and the grip it is coming to have in the North American imagination.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
A Gifted Writer; A Compelling Read! December 2, 2007 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have lived in Mexico for four years and visited most of the places Tony desctibes in this book.
I marked fully 32 passages for reading to friends--both my Mexico friends (for that delicious experience of "insider" recognition and laughs) and my friends in the States, to convey glimpses of our real experience here. And several of those friends will receive this book as a gift!
This book is a MOST enjoyable read. It's a cliche to say I couldn't put it down, but I really couldn't. I read the whole thing in two sittings!
Tony captures the spirit of Mexico with great accuracy and poetry! His many fun anecdotes, and the characters we get to meet make the book both educaional and pleasurable. I like the way Tony gently weaves his own story into the narrative, making us each think about our own relationships to the issues in his life.
Here is a sampling of the passages I marked that I couldn't wait to share with others: An evocative description of "topes;" a triptych "mural" of the history of San Miguel--both idealized and actual; an amazing comment: ". .it's the noble gesture, not the result, that redeems a life!"-- (worth an evening's discussion!); a comment about the decreasing usefulness of the term "expatriate;" a great passage about not having anyone to sue in Mexico and being thrown back on our own resources; a most imaginative comparison between Junipara Serra and Edward James!! -- and between John Huston and Luis Bunuel; coming home to a party in progress on Tony's own rented patio and a comment on the cultural differences that suggests; the increasingly generic global middle class.
Tony Cohan's writing is an inspiration; his story-telling, fully engaging; his turn-of-phrase, a genuine pleasure!
Magical Mexico: Cohan Opens a New Door to Mexican Travel July 24, 2007 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Without having read any of Cohan's other books, discovering "Mexican Days" was like finding a new friend. I loved Cohan's writing, and more than that, I came away from the book having been truly inspired to return to Mexico. In the meantime, I have a whole list of new things to explore through the Internet and other books. Cohan has piqued my interest in a variety of topics: new Mexican artists to discover, details about Mayan history to flush out, new dishes to make, and a list of places to visit on my return.
As an expat, Cohan's approach to travel writing is among the best that I have found. His tastes and interests parallel mine; he writes about much of what I would like to explore myself, never getting bogged down. His infusion of personal friendships and meetings into his writing makes it feel like you are there with Cohan, as the ultimate insider.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves travel or Mexico. There is much to enjoy here. I really feel like Cohan has given me a new door into a country that I thought I knew. It doesn't get any better than that.
Enjoying the expat life vicariously June 26, 2007 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Interesting stories written as if to an old freind. Very good look at the mexican expat experience from a living there view point without the "How To".
Expatriots, artists, intellectuals and world travelers, but where is Juan Fulano? June 2, 2007 10 out of 16 found this review helpful
Mexican Days is a travel book of sorts, but equally an exploration of themes and moods impinging on the author's own life. The book fails to deliver more wide ranging information and insights into lives of average Mexicans - hence my comment about Juan Fulano (Mexico's version of John Q. Public, or Joe Sixpack). The author writes mostly about people of his own disposition/situation (expatriot, artist, intellectual and world traveler).
Here are examples of missing information. After returning to San Miguel the author takes a taxi to a nearby shrine, the physical features of which (as usual) he describes very nicely, and afterward catches a ride back to town in a Coca Cola delivery truck. To my surprise - as someone who has traveled widely in Mexico - nothing, ni una palabra is written about any conversation with the truck driver, someone likely in the Juan Fulano category. In my experience, most Mexicans in this situation would be curious about their gringo passenger and eager for conversation. If no such conversation took place the driver was certainly very disappointed.
Secondly, the writer tells about spending a few weeks in the city of Xalapa (or Jalapa) Veracruz, and conveys a sense of the weather and physical features of that beautiful city. But he pretty much misses the boat regarding other key elements of local life. Yes, there are university faculty and students in the cafes, artists, etc., but a lot more - including hordes of political officeholders and hangers-on (Xalapa is the state capital, where I once lived).
In sum, Mexican Days is beautifully written, often fun to read, and informative as far as it goes, but not as interesting as his excellent earlier book, On Mexican Time. I wish I could recommend a book dealing more comprehensively with Mexican life, but I am out of date (I traveled and lived in Mexico in the 1960s and 1970s). As a starter, however, I suggest the old but wonderful book by Oscar Lewis, Children of Sanchez, as well as Carlos Fuentes' novels.
Feels just like Mexico June 1, 2007 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read Tony Cohan's earlier book, "On Mexican Time" after several of my friends had visited and even moved to San Miguel. It inspired me to visit and my wife and I have now been there 3 times, and will be going back soon. In just our short times there, we have also noticed the changes that Cohan points out in "Mexican Days." It is still beautiful and a great place to visit (or live) but much busier and more of a tourist destination than a few years ago.
This new book makes me want to visit other parts of Mexico. It also makes me want to learn more of the history and language. Most of us in the U.S.A. see Mexico only as the poor country to the south and have no idea of how diverse and rich the culture is, how many different ethnic groups make up Mexico, how beautiful and varied the countryside is, and how fascinating and tragic the history is. This book does a great job of telling those stories.
This is a wonderfully written, very personal, account of travels in parts of Mexico that we do not often hear about. I only wish it could have been longer and that Cohan could have written about some of the other places I have heard about, but never visited, such as Morelia, Delores Hidalgo, and the Copper Canyon. Maybe there will be a volume 2. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in or about to travel to Mexico.
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