Review: Infectious loving portrait of a country
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 10, 2014
"I Live in Chile" by Thomas Jerome Baker could be called "I love Chile", because that emotion oozes from the first page to the last in this beautiful and engaging book about Chile.It caught my attention from many amazing pictures the author has used to promote his work on twitter and I finally succumbed and read the book.Baker writes about his own personal experiences, so this is not an exhaustive guide to the country as such but a mesmerizing declaration of love to the country, its people, the countryside, habits and customs - all of which he has grown to love since living in the country.Chile is a fascinating country with a wide range of landscapes and points of interest and Baker has infected me with his enthusiasm and has created a curiosity and a desire in me to travel there.The book however also serves as a personal memoir of how he came to be there and how his experience has been from the telephone interview for a job there to his actual move and subsequent happy life there.It is rare to find someone so happy and content with his life and so in love with his surrounding.I am an ex-pat myself and - although happy - wish I was quite as enthusiastic and cheerful.Baker has a sound knowledge of the country, probably because of his language skills and more so, because of his Chilean wife.He writes with competence, and with his thoughful and reflective persona which give his descriptions always that extra bit of gravity and food for thought. The book is delightful, entertaining and a pleasure.to read.