Publisher: PublishAmerica

ISBN: 1-4137-5545-3

The following review was contributed by:  Jennifer Brown & Click Here To View Jennifer Brown's Reviews

“…I could see a serene expanse of cobalt waters fringed with white sand and palm trees. To the left, a faint purple outline of tiny distant hills beckoned to be explored, while dozens of sail boats leisurely crawled across the blue waters. …I often go back to those happy years, and picture in my mind the exhilarating view from the windows of our dream house when La Paz was still a sleepy little town” (p. 43).

Who could resist such a colorful, peaceful place? Who could defy the urge to spend their mornings on a balcony, sipping tea and watching the boats drift lazily by on the aquamarine waters below? Who could hold back from going after their dream of building a beautiful penthouse in such a haven? Certainly not Vicka Markov Surovtstov.

AMIGOS & FRIENDS is Surovtstov’s memoir of her time spent building and living in her dream home in peaceful La Paz, Mexico in the late seventies/early eighties. Surovtstov and her husband spent fifteen years in this paradise – plenty of time to make ample amigos and friends.

So colorful were many of these people, Surovtstov could literally fill a book with stories about them. There are faithful wives betrayed, young fathers jilted, married women on the make, and squabbling condo-owners bent on getting their way, among a great many other interesting characters Surovtstov encountered during her incredible journey south of the border.

AMIGOS & FRIENDS wastes no time in introducing the reader to Surovtstov’s Mexican friends and treats them all equally, telling each of their stories (some of them sweet, some sordid) chapter by chapter. Surovtstov’s delicate, almost lyrical, attention to description brings these characters to full life in the reader’s mind. You can almost smell the tamales and the sea in the air!

There are two weaknesses in this book, however. First, that which makes the image so clear also has a feeling of woodenness to it – meaning, Surovtstov’s carefully chosen language feels too formal for casual encounters with friends and acquaintances. The dialogue is so carefully measured, the characters feel stilted and unreal when they speak. Indeed, Surovtstov’s formality, coupled with her immense (and impressive!) vocabulary, can turn out an occasional confusing sentence such as, “Being naturally generous, the girls indulged the many friends, but practically won over when one of them had a brain-wave scheme, of charging a minimal amount for the ablutions” (p. 91). In short order, the reader longs to read a bit of slang.

The second weakness in this book is its lack of motion. Because it is a collection of stories about individuals or couples that Surovtstov met along the way, there is a sense of stagnation to the story. At the end of the book, the reader is almost startled to learn that fifteen years has gone by as there is little movement forward in the story. The result of this can be a bit of a “plodding” feeling that can slow down the reader.

The strength of AMIGOS & FRIENDS lies in the way Surovtstov brings her friends to life. And there is great benefit to reading the book in that readers can learn loads about life in small Mexican towns and about the people who live there.