Green Room FB and Twitter Header

The Whales Know A Journey through Mexican California: by Pino Cacucci, translated by Katherine Gregor

For years, few days before my husband's birthday, I used to go to the Travel Section at our local bookstore to look for the perfect book that would capture his imagination. Those were not the kind of books which I would normally choose for myself, but somehow I was always able to find the right book for him.

 Earlier this week, as I was reading through The Whales Know A Journey through Mexican California, by the Italian writer Pino Cacucci (and beautifuly translated by Katherine Gregor), I realized that this was the perfect book for Tzvi my late  husband. Even the name of the publisher was highly appropriate, “Armchair Traveller:”  Tzvi was an avid reader who loved to sit at home and learn about other people’s  journeys and adventures from books.

 The Whales Know is a collection of 20 short charming and erudite essays that combine descriptions of Cacucci's travels through Mexican California with intellectual insights. The essays are rich with allusions and thought-provoking references.

 Sometimes translations tend to be somewhat heavy and cumbersome, as the translator is eager to be as true to the source as possible, and in the process forgets that ultimately the book would be judged by its accessibility and appeal.  However, thanks to the sensitivity and talent of Katherine Gregor, The Whales Know in the English translation has a poetic and natural flow.

  Books about travelling are great reading material all year around, but  this book is especially appropriate to take on vacation. Reading an essay or two a day gives plenty of food for the imagination for the rest of the time. Another unique quality of the collection is that the reader could open the book on almost any page and is sure to find an illuminating passage: for example: from essay number 19 “Frontera:”

 “The border has shaped me from my very childhood and continues to teach me even now I am past fifty. . .The border, no matter how much wire netting and how many trenches are built, always ends up uniting rather than separating those who live in its shadow. “(p. 126) 

  As an Israeli, the issue of borders is relevant and close to my heart. On the Mexican border Cacucci  meets the Mexican author Gabriel Trujillo Munoz  and quotes his writing on this subject (this time Cacucciis himself is in the role of the translator).

 I took The Whales Know with me on my Passover vacation to the Ramon Crater in the Desert Mountain and was very happy with this choice. Since it is a small book, I was able to carry it long while walking on the edge of the crater. Every so often I would sit down read  an essay and then resume the walk. I couldn’t think of a better, or more stimulating, companion. This time I found the right book for me.

 

Here is the link, and the details of the book: http://www.thearmchairtraveller.com/product/439

 The Whales Know

  A Journey Through Mexican California

  By Pino Cacucci

  At 2,000 km, Baja California in modern-day Mexico is one of the longest peninsulas in the world, and certainly one of the most geographically diverse. Following in the footsteps of John Steinbeck, Pino Cacucci travels through endless expanses of desert, salt mountains and rows of cacti with thorns so sharp they can impale thirsty birds. He meets local characters ranging from greedy privateers to Jesuit missionaries - and a cameo from The Doors' Jim Morrison. Yet the cast of characters includes animals as well as people - sixty years ago Mexic became the first country to create a safe haven for whales, and even today these mysteriously intelligent animals play alongside the fishing boats in harmony with humans. Written with humility, humour and heart, The Whales Know is an insight into an ecosystem under threat.

 Pino Cacucci was born in Chiavari, Italy. He is the author of over 20 works of fiction and non-ficto and has won over 16 awards for his writing since 1988.

 Translated by Katherine Gregor

 

Comments 11

 
Virginia M Macasaet on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 10:50

this is lovely Orna. The whales tell me a little something about your beloved husband, very touching!

this is lovely Orna. The whales tell me a little something about your beloved husband, very touching!
Orna Raz on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 11:25

Thank you dear Virginia, and also about our Katia:-)

Thank you dear Virginia, and also about our Katia:-)
Rosy Cole on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 12:56

Certainly one for the to-read list, Orna. It sounds magical...and transcendent, so engaging that you weren't happy just to be an armchair traveller! I love that you kept stopping to read on your walk around the crater. What a civilised approach to life :) Katia is so talented.

Certainly one for the to-read list, Orna. It sounds magical...and transcendent, so engaging that you weren't happy just to be an armchair traveller! I love that you kept stopping to read on your walk around the crater. What a civilised approach to life :) Katia is so talented.
Orna Raz on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 13:05

Thank you dear Rosy, it was an inspiring book and I am sure you would appreciate the poetic language which comes trough in Katia's translation.

Thank you dear Rosy, it was an inspiring book and I am sure you would appreciate the poetic language which comes trough in Katia's translation.
Katherine Gregor on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 15:33

Rosy, you make me blush. Thank you for your kind words.

Rosy, you make me blush. Thank you for your kind words.
Rosy Cole on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 13:02

p.s The interaction and co-operation of animals with us on this planet is fascinating. My appreciation, and perhaps understanding, of it goes deeper and deeper. I'd like to say 'animals are people, too' but often I think we're not the superior species after all!

p.s The interaction and co-operation of animals with us on this planet is fascinating. My appreciation, and perhaps understanding, of it goes deeper and deeper. I'd like to say 'animals are people, too' but often I think we're not the superior species after all!
Orna Raz on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 13:08

Sadly I agree with the comment about the inferiority of human beings, especially as we mourn the cruel and unnecessary murder of the 4 boys in Israel.

Sadly I agree with the comment about the inferiority of human beings, especially as we mourn the cruel and unnecessary murder of the 4 boys in Israel.
Katherine Gregor on Wednesday, 09 July 2014 15:33

I am so touched! Thank you, Orna, for posting your review here.

I am so touched! Thank you, Orna, for posting your review here.
Ken Hartke on Thursday, 10 July 2014 02:00

Orna -- that souds like a book I would like to read. I have a friend who is a race car driver over the Baja outback and his stories are all I know about the place even though it isn't that far away. I will get there. Thanks for sharing this.

Orna -- that souds like a book I would like to read. I have a friend who is a race car driver over the Baja outback and his stories are all I know about the place even though it isn't that far away. I will get there. Thanks for sharing this.
Ken Hartke on Thursday, 10 July 2014 02:00

Orna -- that sounds like a book I would like to read. I have a friend who is a race car driver over the Baja outback and his stories are all I know about the place even though it isn't that far away. I will get there. Thanks for sharing this.

Orna -- that sounds like a book I would like to read. I have a friend who is a race car driver over the Baja outback and his stories are all I know about the place even though it isn't that far away. I will get there. Thanks for sharing this.
Orna Raz on Tuesday, 12 August 2014 18:45

Dear Ken, It seems to me that you would love this book

Dear Ken, It seems to me that you would love this book
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Friday, 08 December 2023

Captcha Image

Writing For Life

We are a small, friendly community who value writing as a tool for developing a brighter understanding of the world and humanity. We share our passions and experiences with one another and with a public readership. ‘Guest’ comments are welcome. No login is required. In Social Media we are happy to include interesting articles by other writers on any of the themes below. Enjoy!


Latest Blogs

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe – An exhausting biography that thinks it’s a lyrical novel. But somehow affecting in the end. To the Lighthouse b...
The leaves were dropping yesterday off one particular maple outside my porch like a blizzard of yellow-red. They fell for about twenty minutes then st...
  I am reading Virginia Woolf's diary (I don't think she'll mind) and found this, which was pretty much how I was feeling yesterday, except abou...
I recently saw an article online about the diminishing number of American college students choosing arts-related degrees. Liberal arts degrees have de...
There used to be a bookstore maybe twenty miles from me called Daedalus Books that sold publishers remainders or overstock at good prices. They always...

Latest Comments

Stephen Evans "I don’t like what I write now"
16 November 2023
Have not read Heyer - will put her on the must read list. Have read Thackeray (though only Vanity Fa...
Rosy Cole "I don’t like what I write now"
16 November 2023
Would agree, but you have to admire those unflagging rhythms which carry the reader. That kind of dr...
Stephen Evans Lyrical Book Reports: Recent Reading
13 November 2023
I''m not implying any such But I hope it is at least entertaining.
Stephen Evans "I don’t like what I write now"
13 November 2023
I don't think Emerson cared much for fiction in general, except perhaps his neighbor Hawthorne's. H...
gr8word Lyrical Book Reports: Recent Reading
13 November 2023
We're sure My Winter World will make up for the deficits of all the others mentioned! :-))))