Lost, found and outward bound, crossing lines and rendering borders
non-existent, both spiritual and physical alike, these Collected
episodes from a journey of unbridled freedom across the South American
continent serve to inspire and invigorate everyone that yearns for the
road. The author has woven a tale that carries you along with soulful
vivacity, a carnival of characters and situations all enriched by the
synchronicity that pervades all such ventures, when you live
deliberately and open yourself up to all. An account of friendships born
of shared experience or, moments of insight and revelation all to the
backdrop of Earth's great continent of fecundity, beauty and mystery. A
quest into profundity in myriad forms, a test of the self, Corti's novel
takes life to the limits and shows us that staying faithful to the credo
of accepting that anything is possible and permitted has both its
rewards and its pitfalls. He effortlessly illustrates through his tale
that even floating downstream requires strong swimming when shooting the
rapids. We bear witness to the full gamut of life in South America both
in cities and out in the wild. A search for the new, the ancient and the
unseen on paths and ways untrodden or half-forgotten, a search for magic
indeed. -Lloyd Harrison- A one-year journey through South America. The
authentic adventurer knows that there's no destination but the road,
that the real borders to cross are in our mind; the counterpart of
freedom is being always able to leave, also when the love for a woman
tells you to settle down. He doesn't want to give sociological or
political explanations, though his eyes are able to catch the complexed,
contradictory reality of the South American countries. His outlook is
enthusiastic but objective, clear, realistic; even if he never renounces
the romantic taste of things and situations. You'll find picaresque in
some episodes, like in any literary journey worthy of respect; we'll be
walking happy go lucky with the protagonist, swimming with him, bravely
facing the strength of the ocean, crossing forests and deserts, touching
the heart of nature: a charming sequence of vivid images of landscapes
and people, as clear as photographs, or mesmerising visions feeding our
imagination. Searching for the magic in life. That is what the author is
telling us: be fully aware of life at any time, anywhere you are.
-Monica Galanti-
