The Apprentice Tourist

<p>'My life's done a somersault' wrote acclaimed modernist writer M&#225;rio de Andrade. After years of dreaming about Amazonia he finally embarked on a three-month odyssey up the great river and into the wild heart of his native Brazil with a group of avant-garde luminaries. All abandoned ship but a socialite her two nieces and of course the author himself. And so begins the humorous account of Andrade's steamboat adventure into one of the most dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful corners of the world.<br><br>Rife with shrewd observations and sparkling wit his sarcastic down-to-earth diary entries not only offer comedic and awe-inspiring details of life and the landscape but also trace his internal metamorphosis: his travels challenge what he thought he knew about the Amazon and drastically alter his understanding of his motherland.</p>