Peru's Enduring Appeal

And Two More Historical Fiction Book Reviews

One drawback of posting to Facebook while I travel is that I have less motivation to write full trip blog posts than I did in the days when I used Facebook less. So I’m afraid I haven’t posted much at temafrank.com about this past winter’s travels in South America. Fortunately, DH (aka John Shaw) has written a piece about this year’s trip to Peru (my 2nd visit and his 3rd or 4th), with a focus on a hiking tour of the Colca Canyon. You can read his guest post about visiting Arequipa and the Colca Canyon here.

We met this delightful old man in the “ghost village” of Pampa de Arrieros. It used to serve the train when there was one that came through regularly, but after the construction of a highway it was abandoned. There is apparently one person who still lives there and a few others who come and visit their ancestral homes every now and then. (He was in the latter category.)

Although Arequipa proved to be a bit too quiet for us for a 5-week stay, we are seriously tempted to have another long stay in Lima. It is a hidden gem!

Book Reviews

The Goddess of Warsaw, by Lisa Barr

The protagonist in Lisa Barr’s new novel, The Goddess of Warsaw, unveils the story of how a young woman, Bina Blonski, goes from struggling to survive in the Warsaw ghetto to becoming aging Hollywood screen legend, Lena Browning. Along the way, she has to make multiple harrowing decisions, live with incredible guilt, lie, fight, and reinvent herself repeatedly. I gave it 4 ****

Red Sky at Noon, by Simon Sebag Montefiore

This one’s not new, but I’m still eager to read books that cover some of the same territory as my upcoming novel, Red Rules. Although Red Sky at Noon is set during WWII, not the Russian Civil War, it features a political activist (as is my hero). Stalin, like Putin today, offered prisoners a chance to “redeem” themselves and get out of prison by shedding blood for the motherland as soldiers. The battlefield conditions faced by the hero in Red Sky at Noon are not that different from the Civil War conditions 25 years earlier. This one also got 4*** from me.

Personal News

I’m enjoying being back in Edmonton, Alberta, for the summer (apart from all the forest fire smoke!). In addition to the usual stuff, we are taking Indian dance lessons to prepare ourselves for our daughter’s upcoming wedding in India this fall. We won’t be good, but should be able to give everyone a good laugh as they watch us struggle!

We lack the grace and beauty of our daughter, but at least we’re trying!

That’s all the news from here. Please keep on sharing your book (and travel) suggestions!