Wild Coast

Reviews / Votes

Praise for Panther Soup:

'An important book, reminding us of the links between old and new world, ideals and ideologies, war and peace in our phoenix-like continent. It is at once raw and erudite, deeply moving and strangely leisurely. It is also rich in black humour and insight. * Guardian * A moving, often humorous, and thoroughly enjoyable account that works as both a wartime recollection and travelogue ... Gimlette strikes just the right notes in juxtaposing the past and the present. He has provided a fine chronicle with broad appeal to general readers. * Booklist * A completely fascinating book. It opens up a forgotten corner of the world with tremendous flair and shrewd observation. -- William Boyd Wild Coast is funny, intelligent, revelatory * Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland * Great for those interested in Guyanese history, or those looking to explore a South America far from the well-trodden Gringo trail. -- Ianthe Butt * Real Travel * Gimlette has an eye for a juicy story, a willingness to embark on harebrained journeys and a gleeful way with similes, all of which makes this an entertaining introduction to a forgotten corner of the globe. -- Siobhan Murphy * Metro * A fascinating journey... Gimlette's extensive research has given him access to an intoxicating level of detail. -- Tom Hawker * Wanderlust * Gimlette is an old-school traveller, very British, very cheery.
A barrister by trade, the author has an uncanny ability to nail down his characters with a few well-chosen words... Gimlette brings history to life. He artfully merges assiduous research with a storyteller's gift. -- Oliver Balch * Guardian * John Gimlette is sure to secure a name for himself as both a talented writer and a rare traveller who, as documented in the dark chronicles of his book, has visited South America's wild coast and returned apparently unscathed. Fortunately, his writing sculpts an interesting narrative too, and he conveys the region's horror stories with a healthy dose of humour, knowledge, sincerity and poetry...
As with all good travel books, the pace of Gimlette's investigations and the idiosyncratic nature of his discoveries, no matter how small, are infectious enough to ensure his account holds its own against these literary greats. * Traveller * Remarkable... Gimlette is, refreshingly, an unfailing enthusiast... Wild Coast is driven by extraordinary dedication, an insatiable curiosity in everything and an enormous empathy for other people. Gimlette's descriptions of landscapes are often hauntingly beautiful, his sense of humour is engagingly dead-pan... His book is characterised by a thoroughness of research that puts most travel writers to shame...
a lucid and lively account of a multi-cultural history...
A reminder... of the way in which travel literature can still fulfil its role of bringing to life some of the world's unjustly neglected corners. -- Michael Jacobs * Spectator * A fine expression of the spirit of the place... the best kind of travel writing: tough-minded and humorous, but above all thoughtful. -- Ian Thomson * TLS * A fascinating tale of rebels and remote jungle, snakes and slavery. Perfect armchair adventure. -- Tom Robbins * FT * Gimlette manages the neat trick of making the globe feel supremely vast and mysterious once again... a superb traveler's tale in which yesterday has far more heft than the fleeting happenings of today. -- Wayne Curtis * Wall Street Journal * A spirited historical, political and personal travelogue guaranteed to arouse the adventurous reader's wanderlust' -- Liesl Schillinger * New York Times * A madcap journey... Another wonderful travel book by a master of the art -- Giles Foden * CN Traveller *