La Patria Peregrina: Apuntes de Un Viaje Al Continente del Hombre Blanco

This travelog by the multitalented Argentine architect Bernstein is a dizzying whirlwind tour across several continents. In 17 notebooks that can be read separately, he describes his travels to the most familiar sights in Manhattan, Paris, London, and Sweden, among other places. Bernstein's training in journalism and cinematographyhe has written for newspapers La Nacion and El Gr fico and directed the film Sudacasis evident in his stereotypical observations and apt one-liners. He sums up the difference between the French and British capitals, for instance, by claiming that ""Paris is all which is relative while London is the absolute."" Like many portenos (Buenos Aires natives), Bernstein sees Buenos Aires as the center of the world. Yet his accounts can be poignant (especially the view of Manhattan after September 2001), and in an elegant description of an Istanbul bazaar he takes on the common experience of shopping for souvenirs and gifts and turns it around, forcing readers to rethink the exchange between the Western client and the Eastern vendor. On the other hand, the text is peppered with accounts of romantic encounters that lose all their charm and intimacy in the retelling. Bernstein has a rich vocabulary, with the occasional lapse into the argot of Buenos Aires, but the book remains accessible and entertaining. Recommended for public libraries and bookstores.Catherine Rendon, Savannah, GA