Chasing Bohemia
Carmen Michael
'Carmen Michael is a female Bill Bryson.'
Malcolm Knox, author of Jamaica'Michael's winning cocktail gives off the fumes of the deadly rum-based caipirnha and the sweet, sticky smell of cane-sugar ethanol.'
Tony Maniaty (Weekend Australian)'Michael is a daring narrator who is unafraid to tackle her own insecurities and she bravely reflects on the morality of her experiences. Her attention to detail is captivating and lifts this above many in the genre.'
(Sun Herald)Carmen Michael, a twenty-eight-year-old travel industry executive, ditches her job in London and visits the city of Rio de Janeiro for a holiday. Wary of the allure of glossy brochure promises, she starts out very much as a jaded jetsetter.
Her scepticism, however, is swiftly overcome when she moves into a yellow mansion owned by Gustavo, a flamboyant bachelor who lives in the hills between the favelas.
In the forgotten bairros of old Rio, Carmen embraces Latin American life with all its colour, danger, and unpredictability. She flirts with Brazilian high society, collaborates with an Italian revolutionary, walks straight into the well-sprung trap of a local hustler, runs away from him to Buenos Aires and then runs back — only to fall for a samba musician from the local bohemian quarter.
Winding its way through the anarchic backstreets of bohemian Rio, far from the glitzy beaches for which the city is more famous, Chasing Bohemia looks at the extraordinary musical culture, unapologetic hedonism, and rampant infidelity that rule this far-flung paradise of the tropics.
Written with great vivacity, Chasing Bohemia is a story about living for the day — and the surprising little truths about yourself you can discover through being immersed in poverty, isolation, and a culture that is not your own.
'If ever there was a book that was going to make you pack in your job and move to Brazil, this would be it.'
Kate Wilson (News Mail)'Carmen's Rio is not the world of the tourists, but rather the "avant-garde world of Santa Teresa". This makes her memoirs of Chasing Bohemia all the more engaging and entertaining.'
Kerry Hennigan (Travelbeat)'... written with an observant, truthful and often humorous clarity. Never attempting to hide Rio's dangerous moments, this book, nevertheless, draws you in to the beautiful times, ever-interesting people and magnetic culture.'
(Wentworth Courier)'Carmen Michael is a very funny writer and divinely descriptive of people and places. This is a well written roller-coaster for anyone who has travelled and wants to fall in love with Rio.'
Maryan Heffernan (Manly Daily)'[Michael] describes the city in prose that sings with excitement ... this is great travel writing; never self indulgent and always intelligent.'
Bruce Elder (Sydney Morning Herald)'You'll get more important information from this than an Insight or Lonely Planet book.'
(SA Life)Carmen Michael
Author photo
Carmen Michael first visited Brazil in 2003 for one week, and has been there ever since. After completing a degree in economics at the University of Sydney, she worked in the travel industry and travelled extensively. She contributed to Lonely Planet’s Rio de Janeiro Guide, set up a site for women travellers (www.womantraveller.com), conducted radio interviews for the ABC, and has written articles across a wide variety of subjects, including travel, politics, economics, and the arts. Carmen lives in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro.
Extent: 272pp
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781921215407
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: October 2007
World
Rights sold:Hungarian translation (Jaffa Kiado);
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