Patagonian Road

April 1, 2017

Debut author McCahill measures her yearlong memoir on the Patagonian Road in seasons and countries. We follow her through markets, on buses, in hostels, barrios, brothels, streets, and mountains, as she simultaneously captures the solitude as well as the wonder of the path. McCahill takes a similar route to Paul Theroux's 1979 travelog The Old Patagonian Express. But where Theroux is confined to the rails--no immersion--McCahill plunges in, body and soul. Although this road has been trodden, the author's journey and insights, as she explores (and teaches) her way from Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, have a presence and immediacy. She struggles candidly with fears, identity, love, vulnerability, homesickness, and road weariness, but is also open to the perspective "the moment" can bring. She considers the reciprocity between traveler and local; the inward exploration of self that travel delivers; the connectedness to our surroundings; and reawakening our senses. VERDICT This welcome (and timely) call to explore foreign borders as well as our own comfort zones is highly recommended.--Benjamin Malczewski, Toledo Lucas Cty. P.L.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2017
McCahill's debut grants readers a passenger ticket for her yearlong trip through South America on a writing fellowship. She follows the Patagonian Road, traveled and written about 30 years prior by famed author Paul Theroux. McCahill takes Spanish lessons as she travels, observing the customs and qualities of small and large cities in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The detail of her accounts is impressive. Instant coffee, hotel-room doors, and noisy birds unseen are recorded with care. The narrative adopts the arrival-departure rhythm of travel, and each chapter presents a city's personality. In Antigua, for example, earthquakes are part of the psyche. At first, McCahill fears her trip on the Patagonian Road. A year is a long time to be separated from family and from her lover, with whom things become strained. By year's end, she has struck a different path than Theroux. This is a compelling addition to the growing genre of solo travelogues by women who end their journeys stronger, more self-aware, and more connected to the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)