The Motorcycle Diaries – book and movie review

On the 4^th of January 1952, two medical students left Buenos Aires together on an old British motorcycle, for an adventure that was double in every way. This book is the diary kept by Ernesto Guevara de la Serna on his travels through America with his friend Alberto Granado, together riding La Poderosa II, "the Mighty One".

This isn't a tale of derring-do, nor is it merely some kind of 'cynical account'; it isn't meant to be, at least. It's a chunk of two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams. In nine months a man can think a lot of thoughts, from the height of philosophical conjecture to the most abject longing for a bowl of soup – in perfect harmony with the state of his stomach. And if, at the same tme, he's a bit of an adventurer, he could have experiences which might interest other people and his random account would read something like this diary.

The nine months is of course symbolic. The adventure was both an escape and a birth, a romance and conception followed by a painful awakening to the world. It is double in every way.

Ernesto feels the pain of having to leave his beautiful girlfriend, romance succumbing to the companionship of his comic and earthy friend Alberto. The two of them and La Poderosa cross the vast expanse of the Pampas, the freezing inhospitability of the Andes, the dry world of the Atacama, and into the Amazon. With little money, they are reduced to scamming food and beds in often hilarious ways.

But this journey is an encounter with tragedy as much as with comedy. The tragedy of the peoples of America is their all along. Peasants disposesed, miners abused, a leper colony subject to the prejudices of the Catholic Church. And through all this we see Ernesto, the natural born doctor, not only helping the sick, but also slowly becoming aware of what he might do to help his fellow Latin Americans. A learning through practical encounters of the sort also documented by Ted Simon and other long-distance motorcyclists.

And by the end of the journey, these parallel lives, so different as they are, become deeply connected. Alberto and Ernesto finally refer to each other as 'Che', a special kind of Latin American friendship. Che Guevara is born.

This is a great book, although necessarily fragmented. It is now accompanied by a book by Alberto, who is still alive, and much historical research. You are probably aware that it has also been made into a movie, currently showing at the Arts Centre. The movie is magnificent. Brilliantly adapted, acted, and filmed. The double nature of the book is perfectly represented, and the words of Che echo throughout the beautiful, comic and tragic scenes.

Robert O'Toole : 03 Oct 2004 08:54 |  Tags: Bmw Gs Motorcycle Travel Travel Travel And Motorcycles Travel Writing Writing |  Comments (5) |  Report a problem