To The Last City

This was a book I had not heard of previously but I saw it at the library and it looked interesting. It is a short novel about a group of travellers trekking to the last Inca city of Vilcabamba. Evidently Colin Thubron is also a travel writer and this shows in the almost photographic imagery he employs to bring alive the isolation of the jungle. The form of the novel is interesting as each of the travellers voices their perspective on the unfolding journey. The author makes no allowance for readers who may not speak French or Spanish as he writes what each of the characters says with no translation. I found that rewarding and it made the book feel more real and documentary-like but I am sure that it would irritate readers who do not understand those languages. The author poses some interesting questions as to the value of culture tourism, the folly of soft westerners who automatically think that they can go into any foreign environment and he even questions the role of writing in recording history.

This book is a great achievement for what it manages to contain in less than two hundred pages. I will be looking out for more work by Colin Thubron with interest.