Following in the tradition of Harriet Doerr, Tim Parks, and Peter Mayle, Under the Tabachin Tree is part memoir, part travelog; a treasury of keen observation, wit and reverence for the Mexican people and culture of twenty years past. Approaching their retirement years in the early 1970's, Celia Wakefield, with her husband and dog Sam, loaded up their VW van and headed for Colima, a semi-tropical city of medium size in Mexico. "Guidebooks gave it little attention, although we knew it was a handsome, white town at the foot of a steaming volcano. We decided to go there if only to find out why it was ignored." With a humorist's eye and a linguist's sensibility, Celia Wakefield captures the antics of the town residents, fleshing out her characters with a genuine gift for storytelling.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Celia Wakefield's loving account of her and and her husband's retirement to Mexico is an equally fun read for those considering such a move and those who simply want a glimpse into a long-term visitor's experience in small-town Mexico. The author's stories of her Mexican adventures with her husband Bill and their dog, Sam, mostly revolve around the eye-opening experiences of life in a new culture, but some of them also carry a hint of mystery: "We settled into the small town of Villa de Alvarez, and so did Sam. We thought of taking him up onto the slopes of the volcano to explore and follow his profession of pointing pheasants, but there were no pheasant near Colima, and besides, we were afraid of losing him in wild country. We might have taken him hunting for the elusive onza, but did the animal really exist? We were never sure. Some of our neighbors claimed to have seen the big beasts, a cross between a jaguar and puma, native, they assured us, only to the volcano."
From Library Journal
Wakefield (Searching for Isabel Godin, Chicago Review, 1994) is an 87-year-old widow who lives in Berkeley, California, facts that make this slender memoir all the more charming. The author takes readers back to 1975, when she; her husband, Bill; and their dog, Sam, headed into retirement south of the border. Their destination was the tropical city of Colima, Mexico, located between the Pacific and Guadalajara. What ensues is an account of their two-year period of adjustment?to retirement, to another country, to a different culture. Wakefield treats the most boorish of guests gently, and what could have been major frustrations of adjustment she describes with grace and good humor. Her strength lies in her storytelling ability and strong sense of place. Some of the most amusing moments center around the antics of Sam. Illustrated with simple drawings by Naomi Boulton, this work is delightful to read, though it might make a better gift than a library purchase.?Janet N. Ross, Sparks Branch Lib., Nev.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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