Customer Reviews

God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I first came across this book, I sort of pictured the story of a foolish quest by a white man way over his head in some of the most dangerous parts of Mexico. I imagined that the title of the book reflected his hardships while doing hands-on research for God's Middle Finger, leaving the author wondering why exactly he decided to travel one of the most violent places in North America - alone - to begin with, with comical results for the reader. While the story does certainly touch on some dangerous encounters, I was instead surprised to see that the title is more of a reflection of life in rural Mexico; it's as if God himself turned a blind eye to this land and the poverty and violence is reflected in the people there.

God's Middle Finger certainly has its comical elements to it but what I most got out of reading this was the amazing contrast between the lives of Mexicans and those of us Americans right across the border. Life in rural Mexico is difficult, brutal, unforgiving, and spontaneously violent. To balance out the many hardships faced, Mexicans overindulge in alcohol, cocaine, and religious festivities involving a laughably large amount of the two.

The book is almost a perfect length, with a lot of ground covered in the story and never is there a point where it feels as though the author is dwelling too much on a certain point. Despite describing quite successfully the brutal and difficult lives Mexicans face, Grant never comes across as preachy, or that the rest of us are spoiled for enjoying much less violent lives. In fact, on a few occasions he reacts with scorn towards the absurd level of machoism that Meixcan men display, and their often callous disregard for human life.

The only reason I gave this book four stars as opposed to five is due to its abrupt ending. After returning from Mexico, I expected Grant to give us at least a quick chapter of reflections on his experience in the Sierra Madre, but instead I turned the page to find the bibliography and wondering "what happened next??" Nevertheless, this is one of the most entertaining books I've read in some time, and I'll definitely be checking out more of Grant's work.

"The old gringo came to Mexico to die" is how the second chapter of Fuentes' fine novel The Old Gringo begins. That novel (made into a movie) is about Ambrose Bierce, who disappeared in Mexico during the revolution. In that novel Bierce says that being shot in front of a Mexican stone wall is much preferable to falling down the cellar stairs or dying in a hospital. You get the feeling with God's Middle Finger that Grant must have a similar deathwish: Grant pushes fate to the limit and, still alive by some strange quirk of chance, comes back and gives fate an even stronger jab. It this were live TV rather than a book Grant wrote you might be yelling "Go back!" at the TV or covering your eyes. This is a harrowing book, with an appallingly close sense of imminent death.

The book begins with Grant being hunted by half-drunken drug gang members: one of them told him that killing Grant would "please his trigger finger", and Grant is on their home turf--they know the area and he does not. They are having fun--sport--and Grant at this point is terrified. The episode resumes in the last chapter, and in between you see how Grant got into that predicament. This area of Mexico is bad, very bad indeed, but you find that there's really bad and really really bad, and then worse yet. There is no effective difference between the drug gangs and what passes for law enforcement. In one town the police chief and some of his men make Grant join them in snorting lines of cocaine, and as touchy as the situation becomes, it's a walk in the park compared to much of what Grant encounters. But Grant keeps returning, pushing deeper into the worst parts of the area, pushing the envelope.

Most of us, with exceptions such as Sebastian Junger who is quoted on the cover of the book "you can't decide whether to keep reading or go to Mexico to see for yourself", would happily stay a long way away. If we did feel brave and foolhardy enough to go near the fringes, the first time we had stone killers point their AK-47s at us, we'd leave in a great fornication of a hurry (as the book might phrase it) never to return. This is a wonderfully-written book, hair-raising to a degree that would put any Stephen King novels to shame, one that you won't forget.

Although I enjoyed reading this book I am left feeling a little bit annoyed. I have travelled many times into the areas Richard Grant writes about and have had very different experiences.
We have had picnics at the side of streams high in the Sierras, have sat in the square in San Bernardo drinking beer scores of times, drank whisky on the river bank in Chinipas, drove hundreds of miles on dirt roads and camped in a tent. We even went down into Batopilas on our 1969 Lambretta with our dog in a basket on the back and spent the night down there.
Although I don't dispute what he is saying, I think that there is also another aspect to this beautiful area. If you go to seek out the danger in any part of the world you will find it, whether it's a city or wilderness. This area is definitely worth a visit and I would hate anyone to miss out because they have read this book.

No doubt is a well written book by a gifted story teller. But just came a month ago back from Chihuahua's Sierra Madre, (I live in central Mexico) spent two weeks birding and doing nature photgraphy there with my wife in areas far away from the Copper Canyon, Creel and all the normal tourist spots and not a single problem. We were riding our own jeep in order to be able to visit one of the few remaining nesting sites of the thick-billed parrots 6 hours north-west of Basaseachi Waterfall (Tutuaca) in the worst-middle-of-nothing road you can imagine. But ALL of the people we encountered in our trip was the most helpful and nicest country-people. We never felt threatened or endangered, encountered trucks with loggers, miners, cattle-ranchers (for sure some narcos also) and no problem!! Made stops in Cuahtemoc, Cebadillas, Vallecillos,Creel, Yahuirachic and other small communities, an army checkpoint...... and did not found any risk situation. No doubt there is trouble in that area of my country, and a lot of violence thanks to the narcos up there and their drug smuggling, but if you have common sense, know how to move and you are not looking for trouble is a wonderful place to visit. I think Mr. Grant embellished quite a bit his story and was looking by purpose for trouble. Who in the world would have cocaine and beers with local folks and police men if you dont whant trouble???

As might be expected from the title and the cover blurb by Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm), God's Middle Finger is of the macho school of non-fiction reporting made popular by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air). Richard Grant is an intrepid risk-taker, and the opening of this book, in which he is being hunted by a bunch of drunk, coked up narco-Cowboys with itchy trigger fingers is one of the most gripping first chapters I've ever read. After that, we are transported back to the beginning of Grant's journey, one that becomes increasingly more foolhardy as it progresses and one in which, ironically, Grant becomes more and more disturbed by the machismo of Mexican culture.

I loved the book for its look into what sounds like one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, and one which I will no doubt never see due to both the destruction of the natural habitat by logging and over-grazing, and the danger of travel there due to the violent cultivation and transport of drugs. Grant's account of his attempt to travel the entire length of the Sierra Madre, culminating with a trip into the so-called "Golden Triangle" that is the hub of Mexican drug production and run by the local narco-mafiosos, is well-written and almost always entertaining, while occasionally heart-breaking as well. The rest of the book never quite holds up to the drama of the opening paragraph, but I was never bored reading it, and it definitely made be thankful as all get-out to have been born in the United States.

Grant remains largely non-judgmental, as befits a good anthropology writer, although he is never a neutral observer, choosing to get high with some of the people he visits and indulging in some truly reckless behavior. If it all feels a bit exaggerated in places, it's still quite entertaining, and by the end, Grant's emotions are all too real. Well worth reading for anyone interested in Mexico, drug trafficking, or indigenous American peoples.

"God's Middle Finger" reminded me of a much racier version of articles from the old men's adventure magazine, Argosy. The writing here is proficient, and each of the many episodes included in the book is eminently readable and fun. Ultimately, what I didn't get about this book was why anyone would want to go into the Mexican Sierra Madre. If Richard Grant's description of the area is half accurate, there's not much there but dust, heartache and the great risk of dying a violent death. There's a lot of Mexico that I find more appealing.

Still, Grant's adventures in the lawless Mexican north make for some interesting reading. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for a story with a beginning and tidy ending.

Grant does a superb job describing the culture and personalities he meets along the way. The story can come across unbelievable, unless you have visited any parts of "real" Mexico. Parts of the book are funny, scary, depressing, and a range of other various emotions from page to page.

It is hard to imagine that people live in countries and areas in countries like this all over the world. As an American it makes you feel grateful to live in a country where a woman has rights, bandits aren't lurking on every highway, and AK-47's aren't the common travel accessory.


Good author and a great read. I look forward to reading more of his work.

T.

I was enchanted with the book, "God's Middle Finger", specifically the insight into the Mexican people and their mores.
My first Mexican adventure began with naivety in 1969. We, dictionary in hand, aimlessly drove the country winding up on the southern coast of Oaxaca where I live today.

I particularly appreciated vernacular translations
I received it on my Kindle in Oaxaca. Wow

I read this book about 6 months ago and can't stop thinking about it. I have had a love affair with Mexico for 10 years. But I have become more afraid with each journey. This book made the hair on my neck stand up. It explains the culture and people of the Mexican mountains...their survival and the power of drugs and money. To the average tourist who is just passing through it is possible not to notice what is just below the surface in Mexico. This book scrapes off the top layer to a world that isn't so welcoming. If you want a look at the drug trade from the other side of the border this is the book for you.

This book was recommended by a friend who had spent 15 years in Mexico, knows the culture intimately and has little fear of Mexico - except for the Sierra Madre. His recommendation was something like this, "This is EXACTLY what it's like in the Sierra Madre." The first paragraphs grabbed me and I was hooked, each riveting chapter leading to the next. I read the book in the summer of 2008, and was reminded of it (and its apparent accuracy) by the front page lead-article of the Wall Street Journal on Sat/Sun June 13-14, 2009 entitled "The Drug Lord Who Got Away" -- a graphic, detailed 3 page investigation into the lawlessness of the Sierra Madre featuring many of the same towns Grant visited. I'm now looking to find where I put Grant's book so I can read it again. -- Terry Hunefeld, San Diego