Dysentery, drunken soldiers, and corrupt officials provide the background for Neil Peart's physical and spiritual cycling journey through West Africa. The prolific drummer for the rock band Rush travels through African villages, both large and small, and relates his story through photographs, journal entries, and tales of adventure, while simultaneously addressing issues such as differences in culture, psychology, and labels. Literary and artistic sidekicks such as Aristotle, Dante, and Van Gogh join Peart and his cycling companions, reminding the reader that this is not just another travel book—it is a story of both external and introspective discovery and adventure.
The Masked Rider
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Neil Peart cycles his way through West Africa and brings us along with him, dysentery and all. The Masked Rider details his physical and spiritual journey, through photographs, journal entries, and tales of adventure. Peart's "masks" are the masks that we wear--culture, psychology, labels, expectations--and his book reveals how traveling in a very foreign land allows us to peer behind them.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From the Back Cover
"Cycling is a good way to travel anywhere, but especially in Africa. You are independent and mobile, and yet travel at people speed--fast enough to travel on to another town in the cooler morning hours, but slow enough to meet people: the old farmer at the roadside who raises his hand and says, 'You are welcome,' the tireless women who offer a smile to a passing cyclist, the children whose laughter transcends the humblest home."
So begins the text of Neil Peart's extraordinary journal about riding a bicycle on the roads and off the beaten track in West Africa. The Masked Rider is about the bike trek and the people who travel along with the author, including literary sidekicks Aristotle and Vincent Van Gogh. Sometimes it's a story of a tour of hell--Dante on a bicycle--as he suffered the pains of dysentery and stares down the muzzle of a drunk soldier's machine gun. Other times it's a journey of exalted discovery and African adventure of the highest calibre.
Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist of the rock band Rush. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating travelogue with interesting insights,
By
This review is from: The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa (Paperback)
As a longtime Rush fan, musician, writer, traveler and fledgling cyclist, I was interested in reading Neal Peart's first published novel. The transition from lyricist to prose writer can be difficult, but Peart does an excellent job. Before reading the book, I already had respect for the man, a rock and roll drummer, for going on a cycling tour in eastern Africa. I would respect anyone for undertaking such a trip, and after reading the book, I respect him even more.Peart's language is conversational throughout most of the book, as if he's relating the events over a drink at a pub. Many of his insights probed much deeper when he explored the culture of the people of Africa in general and Cameroon in particular, offering comparisons to a previous journey he had made to west Africa. We see the landscape through the writer's eyes as he cycles up hills and navigates dirt roads, rocks, gun-toting guards at checkpoints and the sometimes rewarding vantage points. Each village or stopping point is described and I felt as if I was part of the journey. In addition to the daily travels, we get Mr. Peart's reactions and thoughts to people that he encountered on his travels. He does not try to gloss over personalities with stereotypes, but tries to present things as they are. Yes, the country and continent has been exploited, but there is a strong victim mentality and Peart points out that Africans themselves participated in the slave trade. All the problems of Africa did not originate from outside the country. Yet there are also great moments of kindness experienced. The woman who says "you are welcome," the smiles from young children, or the family sharing its simple food with their guests. I found the visits to the various missions particularly interesting, and the affect upon the writer of the nuns singing vespers is moving. Mr. Peart also writes about his relationships with the other four members of his group. David is their guide from Seattle, struggling to keep a good face while helping the slowest member of the group. Elsa, a sixty-year old woman with facile new age sensibilities and a sour disposition, is the cancer of the group, constantly falling behind and complaining about everything. Leonard is the stalwart Viet Nam veteran who remains an anchor throughout the book. Annie is a twenty-something needy type who has a "good heart" but is not very thoughtful or considerate. There were several clashes amongst these personalities, and I appreciated Mr. Peart's knowledge of his own shortcomings and self-analysis. I would have liked to have seen a little more reaction of the other's toward him, but that is sometimes hard to capture or catalog unless one has a confidante within a group. The author did not have this, and the book ends with some loose ends among the different riders, or maybe they were just ready to get away from each other. Perhaps the most powerful thing about the book is the strong emotional arc experienced by the author, probably unexpected when he set out on his journey. He begins with idealism intact, but after bouts of dysentary, an encounter with a drunken soldier armed with a gun, and an offical that tries to make off with his (and David's) passport, he truly undergoes some changes. There is a shift in attitude, but also a new appreciation of things taken for granted in developed countries. By the penultimate chapter, I felt just as tired and sweaty, bruised and bloody, bitten and beaten and just plain exhausted as the writer. The final chapter, his arrival in Paris to see his wife and get back to civilization, strikes quite a contract with his previous experience. If I had to make a criticism, it would be that some parts were kind of soap box preachy, although I tended to agree with many of his views. I'm looking forward to reading his next book, "Ghost Rider."
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's the Peart that makes it good!,
By Arthem "arthem" (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa (Paperback)
I've never read a travelogue before, and doubt I will again. Nevertheless, I had to buy Neil Peart's book, since it was Neil Peart, after all.What makes this a good read is not the "story" itself; the events are mundane despite being transplanted to Africa. The characters involved are interesting, but not fascinating. Rather, it is Peart's style and his unique perspective that bring the same value to this work that his lyrics bring to Rush's music. I attest that you could take Neil Peart and sit him down in a Barber shop for six hours, tell him to write it up, and you would have a fascinating new book to sell. There are a couple of standout moments, however. I agree with other reviewers that his description of meeting his wife in Paris is moving, and he conveys the emotional weight of the moment (even a priori if you don't know much about his recent tragedies). The whole scene reminds me of John Barth's TKTTTITT (which I won't spoil for you - go read The Tidewater Tales!). The genius in Peart is that he conveys, with a fairly minor story of taking a bike ride in Africa, the deep-seated impact of experience-as-reward, the point-of-the-journey-is-the-journey, and simultaneously validates Victor Hugo's statement "the answer of he who knows everything is the same as the answer of he who knows nothing: because." The second moment of impact that I will cite is his near-transcendance at the African convent. It saddens me to no end to reflect on this moment and on Peart's ultimate rejection. Overall, a satisfying book from an eloquent and prolific mind. A book with much more depth than you might at first realize.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and thought-provoking,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa (Paperback)
I am almost done with this book, but I'm very anxious to offer my opinion on it. The "Masked Rider" flows much like a long bike ride. Peart's finely crafted narrative has the quality of a personal diary. His honest depiction of the people of Africa and the members of his own small "team" of cyclists is admirable and, at times, humorous. Peart shares his thoughts on religion, philosophy, art, and humanity while pushing his bike up the nastiest of hot, dusty roads across Cameroon and other parts of western Africa. I can't say the book instills a strong desire to attempt such an arduous tour, but it does succeed in offering many memorable descriptions of African landscapes and people. Peart questions himself on a variety of moral issues, and these "inner conversations" make for some very absorbing reading. I'm sure I will revisit this book from time to time when I feel the need to travel down the road less traveled.
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