Cholas in Bowlers by Jane Mundy
Book Review by Tash Jayasinghe
What makes a journalist in her late fifties disregard her belongings, squeeze everything into a backpack and travel to an unfamiliar country with a man she'd met two months previously? Like a Quentin Tarantino film, this book starts midway through a conversation albeit without the guns and guts. This escapade is a lot easier to follow than Tarantino.
Jane Mundy is a charming lady who likes to have a good gossip and hates riding bikes in peak traffic. She walks you through her confusion, fears, joys—and her food poisoning upon landing. At first, her style can be misinterpreted as dumbing down important issues such as language barriers and Third World poverty, but instead she simplifies complex ideas. This is a feat that cannot be underestimated.
Once you get used to her tone, you can read this book anywhere. Mundy's personality shines through her words. She has a frank, open nature that is easily understood and therefore easily likeable.
There are no flourishes, no twists on words—just an accurate account of one woman's nine-month journey in a faraway country. This isn't a dreamy Lonely Planet summary of what to do in Bolivia for one day. Instead, Mundy is a starving vegetarian in a country of meat lovers—a hopeful optimist, a woman trekking 30 kilometres over a mountain when her partner Graham is all but crippled by a previous knee injury.
All of this unwound in Bolivia, a country shaped like an 'upside down Tasmania shoved firmly in the heartland of South America'. It has a population of 9+ million and, if Mundy is to be believed, is a land of adventure and animal refuges.
Spanish is the main language of Bolivia. During the opening chapters of the book, while Mundy was learning dialect, we catch a glimpse of her confusion. Often whole sentences are left unexplained and it's sometimes hard to understand what she's trying to convey.
Cholas in Bowlers (Exisle Publishing, 2008, $34.95 RRP) takes its name from the indigenous South American women who decorate and wear ornate bowler hats to display their heritage. During festivals and celebrations, huge bowler hats covered in glitter and stitches are piled high on the heads of these women and shown off for all to see.
This is a comprehensive account of the background of Bolivia as well as being a travel book. Mundy's extensive research is apparent. Religion, wars, guilt and indulgence normally read like 'dry toast', but these issues have a personal touch in this book.
For example, Javier is a shoeshine boy who goes to school part-time, earns 55 cents per customer and is happy with his lot. Mundy tries to tackle her guilt at not paying him more, a crucial issue for any Australian travelling in a Third World country. Most travel books will lay out the basics of worth, but she goes beyond this and tells the reader how she felt about this exploitation.
From her initial travel planning, Mundy wanted to help the local community. Instead of teaching English to the locals, she lends her skills to an animal shelter. This a glorious end to the book, filled with hilarious anecdotes. I would read the whole book again for the anticipation of arriving at her wayward destination.
The pace of the book is leisurely and can be a pleasure to read for inspiration. Pick up a copy if you're planning an unusual holiday or have a hankering for a travelling volunteer job.
This story could be left for long days and you can easily find your place again. It's simple narrative at its best.
More information
- Visit Inti Wara Yassi, wildlife refuge in Bolivia where Jane and her partner Graham volunteered
- Read about Bolivia on Wikipedia
The Centre
for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au