Genre: Coming of age, road movie, autobiography
Summary
Diarios de motocicleta is legendary revolutionary leader Che Guevara's personal diary, a documentation of his cross-continental journey through Latin America. The book describes his experiences as he, a medical school student, and his friend Alberto Granada motorcycle, and later hitchhike their way from Argentina all the way to Venezuela and Miami. Along the way, Che encounters people from all walks of life, but mostly ones suffering from corrupt governments. Through his diary entries, you can see the young med student turn into the revolutionary he became later in life.
Mini-Critique
A great read in English and in Spanish, Diarios de motocicleta is a fascinating peek into historical figure's young life. Although the book is inherently performative, it gives readers an impressively frank of Che's inner thoughts, musings and actions. Because it is a diary, Diarios de motocicleta can be a little slow at points, but the author's nomadic lifestyle will keep you intrigued even at the most dull points. Novel-lovers may not find the "plot" intriguing enough to keep them hooked, but this book is definitely a goldmine. for history-heads.
Difficulty Rating
★★★✩✩ Intermediate
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Usually, I would rank a diary as ★★✩✩✩ Easygoing given the genre's tendency to avoid unnecessarily long words or fluffy descriptive scenes, but Che was a wordy fellow and his journal reflects that. Most of the diary should be accessible to an ★★✩✩✩ Easygoing audience, but there are three or four chapters that may need direct translation given the complexity of their story and Che's sometimes romantic writing style.
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