Book Review: The Robber of Memories

I don't know how many times I've been having a terrible day and a little break with a great book has saved me. Throwing yourself into a fantasy world can make you forget your troubles, but sometimes it's the non-fiction books that really help, showing you that another place, another real place, has it much harder. It makes you appreciate the fact that you get to sit in Starbucks and read for an hour, even if you have to leave eventually.

The Robber of Memories: A River Journey Through Colombia by Michael Jacobs

I'm a big fan of Tom Feiling so I wasn't really looking for a new perspective on one of my favourite countries. I found the novel in the stock room of Granta, the publishers of the book, whilst I was doing an internship. But The Robber of Memories is an immensely fascinating and emotional read, so it's no wonder that it was a runner-up for Dolman's Travel Book of the year, and i'm so glad I didn't get blindsided by amazing Tom.

Jacob's intertwines a physically exerting exploratory journey down the Magdalena with the mystifying history of Gabriel Garcia Marquez- which is absolutely fascinating if you've previously fallen in love with One Hundred Years of Solitude. Probably the only romantic story I have to tell is the fact that my boyfriend bought me a copy from a old bookstore, with absolutely no hints dropped from me. Most interesting during the book though is not the name-dropping of the prolific writer but Jacob's incorporation of his own struggles with parents with alzheimers with the group of townships he meets on the river. I'm sure that it's not just me that can relate to these struggles.

His writing is gorgeous but I do have a bone to pick. My need to go to Colombia has reached it's absolute peak and i'm in desperate need of £700 for a ticket. Damn you Jacobs!

Oh and also.. This week I made...

Raspberry cream and white chocolate ganache macaroons and cinnamon Christmas cookies (because it's never too early!)