THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

I re-read The Motorcycle Diaries (Ernesto Che Guevera), an account of a long, adventurous journey of two Argentines through Latin America back in the 1950`s. Why the book again after almost three years: I thought I was not competent enough a reader back then to get the book well. This time, I did like the book and actually finished in almost two sittings. The 9-month long journey of Ernesto (23 then) and Alberto is a very fine read for any adventurer. The first thing that I could think of after finishing the book was to unravel India on a bike, which whenever I do, would be the most amazing thing of my life. However, the story has another aspect to it than being daring and venturesome: the social aspect as I call it. Ernesto, a medical student at the time, is heavily moved by the terrible conditions in which the people of the subcontinent live in. The journey, an unplanned one as it was, eventually became the first major event for this most-celebrated Hero, influencing the ‘bigger journey of his life’ he was about to embark on and affect millions. However, what I feel as a reader is that not being a person from that part of the world, I couldn`t well appreciate the book on levels of non-adventurism. As I compare it with my last read “India after Gandhi” (which not only I liked reading as a story, but also affected me on numerous occasions), the difference here lies only on the point on how much I could link to the story.