A Book Review - 3 Seconds in Bogotá | Mark Playne
Mark Playne (Not On The Beeb) | 3 Seconds in Bogotá REVIEW
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be tested? No, not tested like a driving test, but rather a life test of capability, of what YOU are capable of…
Mark Playne’s novel 3 Seconds in Bogotá places the reader at the heart of the 1990’s, during the peak of the South American drug cartels and North America’s War on Drugs. Kurt Cobain was dead, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had just released Under The Bridge and US President Bill Clinton was definitely not having sexual relations with a particular intern at the White House.
We are thrown into life, and love, on the roads of Argentina, winding through Playne’s first person true story. The situations and experiences that the reader is drawn into are peppered with Playne’s enthusiasm and natural ability to weave a narrative, infusing his characters with archetypal qualities and intricate idiosyncrasies with ease. There’s an allegorical and parable-like quality to each chapter, which seems designed to prepare the reader for the next like a moral breadcrumb to store up for later.
Seeing this time in history through Playne’s eyes, he provides helpful reminders of the events of the day scattered among the adventure through South America.
This is a tale of life on the road. The life of the vagabond, the wayfarer travelling on the steam of one’s ingenuity and wit. It is also a tale of reflection, of the sum of our parts and what conspires to make us human (in some cases inhuman) and who is to judge.
Characters are developed from within the narrative, emerging slowly from the deep, rather than being hastily thrown in, as with so many of the genre. Marks steadfast companion and, let's face it, muse on what feels more like a quest than a collection of travel stories, Luciana is developed almost on her own. She appears in the readers consciousness over the first few chapters, subtly drawing us in like a siren on the rocks. It’s when Mark and Luciana’s paths cross that we set sail on our adventure through South America.
If you’ve ever had the good fortune to travel, really travel, like, months at a time travel, full-immersion travel you’ll be familiar with Playne’s easy dialogue, never straying into predictable or rehearsed territory. Life is breathed into the pages by Playne’s real-life experiences. One can imagine being part of the scenes, a participant in the tale.
Confronting and ultimately shocking, Playne captures the imagination of those who have never travelled to this part of the world, the memories of those who have and weaves an intoxicating cocktail of humour, deprivation, relief and in many ways introspection. I’m left wondering if there’s some catharsis for the author in the writing.
The book builds to fever-pitch as we progress through the latter chapters, gathering pace. This is when it’s hardest to put down. Mark has utilised a very clever approach towards keeping the reader aware of the passage of time, or as Mark might say real-time.
3 seconds of real-time to be precise.
3 Seconds in Bogotá by Mark Playne is available now! -
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