Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals: Adventures in Love and Danger (Paperback)

by Wendy Dale (Author) "Moving to a Third World nation with no job and no concrete plans for the future was an interesting plan, the kind that could seem..." (more)
Key Phrases: Costa Rica, United States, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
As television writer Dale explains, "travel as a means of escape" was almost a genetic predisposition in her family. Raised by parents who continually pulled up stakes and moved somewhere they'd only vaguely heard about, Dale came to view travel as "the real-world version of falling down a rabbit hole," with everything slightly off-kilter and unreal, like a good drug high. If things went sour-perhaps a lover bailed-well, it wasn't real, it was traveling, and it was over when she hopped her return flight anyway. The right to do nothing and be irresponsible were her life goals, until she met Francisco in a Costa Rican prison (she was just visiting). Dale thought Francisco was worth stopping for. Once Dale extricated the man from prison and went live with him in his native Colombia, she began to see her life in a different light. Sure, she still smoked and drank too much, and neither she nor Francisco could get anything like a job with a salary. Nonetheless, she tried to settle down and make a life with him in California. Clever readers will know this foreshadows disaster, and could skip the last three chapters of the book, wherein Dale gets dumped by the boyfriend and moves in with her parents to experience the adolescence she felt she'd missed. It may be what really happened in the end, but readers who've come to savor Dale's "girls wanna have fun" attitude might been happier leaving her at an ATM in California with an unexpected fistful of 20s.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
“This is a very smart, very funny book. Wendy Dale is an extremely talented writer who can make even the scariest vacation sound like a good time. I’m off to buy a new suitcase and a few extra passports right now.”—Paul Feig, author of Kick Me

“Funny, impulsive, and alluringly naïve, Wendy Dale is repeatedly swept into adventure and trouble and love, mostly when she’s looking the other way.”
—Rita Golden Gelman, author of Tales of a Female Nomad

“Mix David Sedaris, Lucille Ball, and a fifth of tequila in a blender [and] you get Wendy Dale, who is quite possibly the funniest travel writer since Homer. But strain off the foamy giggles and you’re left with a raw, smart, and passionate woman in search of herself and awestruck at the beauty of even the ugliest corners
of the earth.”—Deborah C. Kogan, author of Shutterbabe


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (May 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609809830
• ISBN-13: 978-0609809839
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #515,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So there I was standing in B&N laughing like an Idiot!, August 1, 2003

By	Propel - See all my reviews

Product Placement and a catchy title really are important. I, who have zero interest in Travel, happened by this section in my quest to find the "Horror" section, which by the way, does not exist at my local B&N. And this book, nicely displayed on the aisle, caught my eye. I picked it up, and as I usually will do, read the first page of a book to see if I would want to read further. After about 15 pages, and getting weird looks from other customers for standing there like an idiot failing to stifle my laughing out loud like an idiot, I decided it would be easier reading it at home so I HAD to buy this book. Even a person who has no interest in travelling will find this book hysterical.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's the best travel writer today!, June 22, 2003

By	Daniel Halevi Bloom ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

Move over, Paul Theroux. Wendy Dale has now taken the stage with a travel book that redefines travel writing in a way no one else can! Witty, charming, funny, comic, insightful, biting, ironic,sarcastic, philosophical ... this is a travel writer worth waiting for. If you read one good book this summer, read this one. And for expats around the world, dig in!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not your typical travelogue. , June 22, 2005

By	Carl (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

I loved this book from start to finish. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Probably because of a non-typical childhood, Ms. Dale chose to live an unorthodox life while traveling. In so doing, she experienced the countries she's traveled to in a wholly different way than most American travelers. It did me good to see the side of Latin America that she describes. We here in the "States" think we know all there is to living. I think we need to think again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to enjoy some laughs, some suspense and, some tears of joy. It is an enjoyable read.