Random Things Tours: Livingston Unfound by Mara Benetti

´Stripped to its bare bones, life can be simple´.

 

Yes, I know that right now travel, and subsequently travel writing in general, is going through a dramatic challenge, which should consider the constantly changing nature of the travel regulations and health-related aspects. However, we are considering those restrictions from the very limited point of view of our - mine, for sure - life which depends so much on Google Maps and beautiful selfie-locations. We want to travel to see beautiful places, exotic corners and floating breakfast trays. (Nothing wrong with that) But in our hurry to catch the colourful beautiful sunrise or sunset, we ignore more often the people living in that land, their struggles and for sure, their histories. Will the new post-post-Covid travel indulge the travellers into peace and a pace which suits more the human need of empathy?

Livingston Unfound by Mara Benetti is a work of literary fiction mostly set in the city of Livinston (Izal) in the Eastern part of Guatemala. Monica, the woman character, is on her own, in the 1980s, on a mission to discover a land and its people she mostly heard about through theoretical encounters - like books or academic classes. Caught in times of turmoil and political change - the Cold War was a bloody playground in Central America those years - Monica is a candid observer of social challenges and, most importantly, she is able to get in touch with local people and discover the diversity of cultures and languages.

Although it has the format of a travelogue, Livingston Unfound is mostly a book about people connecting, people with relatively various background and histories, that are creating friendships and enmities. I´ve found very interesting the interactions between Monica and other foreigners, as well as with the local people and the connections she is able to build. For the travel writing part, it offers an inspiration as it switches the spin from a predominantly consumerist perspective to a more human-focused narrative. From an adventurer - ´Ah una adventurera, entonces´ - she succeeds to be considered as ´one of us´, a human curious that is there to better understand the world.

The book is inspired by the adventures of the author herself. With a degree in Latin American Studies and Anthropology, Mara Benetti went alone for two years in Central America and then returned in the 2000s, in a Guatemala that changed significantly, including in its own perception of the minorities living on its territory.

In times when many of us - particularly the frustrated writer of those lines - travel mostly from our chairs, set in the front of the computer - books like Livingston Unfound prepares for a different take on travel, more empathic using creativity as a tool to bring together people and cultures.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own