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The Mango Orchard: Travelling Back to the Secret Heart of Mexico

The Mango Orchard: Travelling Back to the Secret Heart of Mexico

by RobinBayley (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2010

    $3.41
Synopsis

As a child, Robin Bayley was enchanted by his grandmother's stories of Mexican adventures: of bandits, wild jungle journeys, hidden bags of silver and a narrow escape from the bloody Mexican Revolution. But Robin sensed there was more to these stories than anyone knew, and so he set out to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather. The Mango Orchard is the story of parallel journeys' a hundred years apart, into the heart of Latin America. Undaunted by the passage of time and a paucity of information, Robin seeks out the places where his great grandfather Arthur 'Arturo' Greenhalgh travelled and lived, determined to uncover his legacy. Along the road Robin encounters witches, drug dealers, a gun-toting Tasmanian Devil and an ex-Nazi diamond trader. He is threatened with deportation, offered the protection of Colombian guerrilla fighters and is comforted by the blessings of los santos. He falls in love with a beautiful Guatemalan girl with mystical powers and almost gives up his quest, until a sense of destiny drives him on to western Mexico and the discovery of much, much more than he had bargained for.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 277
 Edition: 1st
 Publisher: Preface Publishing
Published: 04 Mar 2010
ISBN 10: 1848092237
ISBN 13: 9781848092235
Book Overview: An extraordinary travel book which ranks up there with Sandra Cisneros's Caramelo, Tim Butcher's Blood River and even the great Bruce Chatwin.

Media Reviews
Sharply observed, very funny, and infused with the longings and possibilities of the road, it's a succulent tale. Wanderlust Cleverly constructed, well paced and very exciting. I like the way Robin Bayley balances two strands of narrative - the family quest and the travelogue. Bayley has a vivid, uncluttered style which is excellent at conveying both mood and sense of place. Andrew Lycett, author of 'Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond' and 'The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle' The Mango Orchard is charming. I love the way Bayley skillfully draw the reader into what is a very intimate and personal story. The fact that almost all families have skeletons in the cupboard somewhere gives it a universal appeal - but then the sheer drama of his discovery takes it well beyond the ordinary. And I got a real sense of the power of the mango grove - this magical, almost mythical place ... It had great resonance. Jason Webster, author of Duende, !Guerra! and Sacred Sierra I loved it. Really touching and skilfully done. A beautiful book ... I shed a few tears at the end. Ben Richards, lead writer of 'Spooks', and author of 'Confidence' and 'The Mermaid and the Drunks' The Mango Orchard is a story so engrossing that once you begin it is hard to put down. Every spare moment would find me buried within its pages, eager to learn the next step of his intrepid adventure ...[It] allows the imagination to run wild. It forcefully encourages the reader to think outside the box. It is the potent truth and reality behind the story that makes it both truly astonishing and an essential read. Real Travel magazine, book of the month
Author Bio
Robin Bayley was born in an isolated shooting lodge in the middle of a North Yorkshire moor. He grew up in Sheffield and after college, lived in London, working in advertising and children's TV. He has worked as a teacher in Colombia and was once cast as a drug smuggler in a Bollywood feature film. The Mango Orchard is his first book.