Independent Reading Post #10

Something surprised me.

One of the fasinating part of the novel is when Ghinsburg overcomes his injury and hunger in such a bad conditon with desperate for life and strong spritualiy. As he overcomes the situation, he writes a letter to his brother,

"What I am doing here in South America is to find extraordinary."

What the hell does that mean? Why would he risk his life to find such abstract thing? He does not even know what's extraordinary; himself. He is very rare character who has two sides. One that wants to survive and stay away from danger, and the other that keeps pushing him into the danger looking for extraoridnary and spirital insperations.

IS HE A PHYCHO?

Independent Reading Post #8

Discuss your book's title

The Title "Back from Tuichi" may resemble a feelig that the author himself was actually experienced the same. In fact, the author names the main character as him and also uses first person narrative which multiplies the feeling of 'realism'.

The alternative title for Back from Tuichi may be a Forgetten Survivior. Because the ghinsburg and Karl finds themself lonely in the forest, no contacts with outside world for a long long period of time. Though they may not survive at the end of the novel, I would still call them survivors because they fixed themselves to suit the enviroment and found way to live in the wildest place in the earth.

Independent Reading Post #7

Author's writing style.

I would describe the author's writing style as the best fit for this book.

His writing style is very organized and comprehensive that there are no complex playing of words like the Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries, no romanticizing the situation. Also, he puts himself as 'I' that it helps the reader to fall into a '1st person narrative'.

Diary like writing style helped me to follow the plots easily even when the author jumped around different situation.

Independent Reading Post #6

Guess why the author included some parts and excluded some other parts ?

In the book, Back from Tuichi, it starts off of a four people trying to survive as a group and they encounter breaking point. I was wondering why the author did not equally touched every plots of every character. Instead, the author only focused on Ghinsburg, and the plot of other characters such as Marcus and Kevin slowly deteriorated.

I think its because in order to touch fully the mental state of one's character in a survival mode, It would be too hard to equally distribute all four characters. But I still think that if the author succeeded to catch all four characters mental state, by providing different 'colors' to each characters, it would be really exciting. For example, that Kevin may failed to keep strong mind and becomes mentally ill and eventually commits suicide, while Marcus and Karl meets one of the natives there, and Marcus finds peace and decided to stay there, and Karl leaves. However, Karl takes something important for the natives and the natives kill Marcus. Karl left out in deadly forest, have reunion with Ghinsburg, and fails to understand Ghingburg's strong sprituality, and die.

Independent Reading Post #5

My Predictions so far.

To tell me prediction first, I think Ghinsburg will fail to have reunion of the other three and left behind. Then he will try his best to fit himself into the enviroment, but once he does, he will be dead. My predictions may sound like very drastic, but I don't find much better ending; if he has reunion with others and survive, what's the fun?
Also, I think this kind of foreshadows his future;
"the sun shown over me," he writes of a sublime moment of respite during the lonely jungle jerk.
"Every now and then I put another ripe tamaraid in my mouth and greedily sucked the sweet flesh from its pits. Wild beuty surrounds me... along in the heart of wilderness and whoever is watching over me."
This shows that he finds comforts in the forest, and the one watching over him may mean god.
Thinking very spritually, there's no reason that he can not find comfort in the beutiful nature yet he must fight every day to survive. what an irony.

Independent Reading Post #4

Write about something that moved me.

Well, I was a bit surprised and moved by his desperateness to survive. I thought this book was a series of heroic plots where the four travelers, Karl, Ghinsbur, Kevin and Marcus builds a strong bonds and success in survival. However Ghinsburg's deteriorating health causes the break down of the relationship of each characters. I was touched especially when he says "You are a man of action" , and tells himself a phrase that becomes a mantra during his lonely ordeal in the rainforest. "Don't cry, Don't break now."

Independent Reading Post #3

Character's acton and how he changed.

Ghinsburg may sound like he is strong since the beginning, and was ready to survive the wilderness. However, he shows his weakness, not in physical but in mental ways. Being left in the wilderness and having to fight against beasts under dark, he finds himself discouraged; losing hope for his survival. However, he changes his mind as he gets to solve problems one by one, he finds a shelter to stay and learns himself how to get food. I think the key for survival is not his physical strength nor mentality, but his sprituality and consistent demand to live.

Independent Reading Post #2

Part of the Book that confused me.

The characters were introduced very 'expressively', for example the Yossi sounded like one of the main characters that help Ghinsburg out later on in his journey. Other characters like the hispanics took a large part of the novel, yet all the sudden has no function in the book. I was once confused whether they take parts in the later plots or not. I guess the author's main focus was the Ghinsburg's sole fortitude that could rescue him from the wilderness, and intended to exclude side characters away.

Independent Reading Post #1

The Book Title: Back from Tuichi

The Book from Tuichi is about a young man who survives from the wild nature of the Tuichi.

#1 Blog: What I liked and did not like.

Well, the book itselfs provides the message about what kind of book this is. Survival story fighting off many wilderness obstacles; straight-forward and nice. However, even though, I expected some gradual introduction of the main characters and the circumstances. The book starts off already when he started his journey. It did not confuse me to follow the storyline yet failed to catch my attention into the situation. For example, most of the characters are introduced as he encounters them one by one. "my name is Yossi" such dull style of indulging a character reduces the fun of it. Why aren't there any characters that he already knew? or introduced by the third person?

Che did not have much ambition to impact the world. He had expected to live just a free life as a medical student who expresses somewhat of humanism. However, I think the turning point was when he met Castro of Cuba, who provided him an opportunity to participate as a political leader.

Cuchinta

this is the book about an european traveller in the South Africa but interestingly, the focus keeps on changing from the residents' view to the traveler's or vice versa(although it was written by the traveller). it deals with cultural difference yet more about individual's morality and characteristics. Adventures and dangers arouse each scene.

.. To be continues

Chile 6 word poem

thin-long geographically, wine-wet soil, furtile ocean.

Che in chile

I think Che had gone through a process of solidifying what he believes in and what he wants to do.
Up to this point he was only a wanderer of the world, not knowing his reasons behind his travel yet full of humanism - or to be called public/socialism - his experience especially in the chile hospital



To Be Updated..