when Los Angeles Novelist Tony Cohan And His Artist Wife, Masako, Visited Central Mexico One Winter, They Fell Under The Spell Of A Place Where The Pace Of Life Is Leisurely, The Cobblestone Streets And Sun-splashed Plazas Are Enchanting, And The Sights And Sounds Of Daily Fiestas Fill The Air. Awakened To Needs They Didn't Know They Had, They Returned To California, Sold Their House, And Cast Off For San Miguel De Allende. on Mexican Time Is Cohan's Evocatively Written Memoir Of How He And His Wife Absorb The Town's Sensual Ambience, Eventually Find And Refurbish A Crumbling 250-year-old House, And Become Entwined In The Endless Drama Of Mexican Life. From Peso Devaluations And Water Shortages To The Romantic Entanglements Of Their Handyman And The Local Legend Of A Man Who Was Killed Twice, on Mexican Time Captures The Indelible Characters, Little Tragedies, And Curious Incidents Of Life In A Distinctive Mexican Town. At The Same Time, It Enfolds Readers In The Delight Of One Of The World's Most Desirable Travel Destinations.

brimming With Mystery, Joy, And Hilarity, on Mexican Time Is A Stirring, Seductive Celebration Of Another Way Of Life—a Tale Of Americans Who, Finding A Home In Mexico, Find Themselves Anew.

about The Author:
Tony Cohan Is The Author Of The Novels canary, A New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, And opium. A Widely Published Travel Writer, He Is Also A Jazz Lyricist Whose Collaborators Include Chick Corea. He Divides His Time Among Venice, California, And Mexico.

in 1985, Novelist And Travel Writer Cohan (canary; Secular And Sacred) And His Wife, Masako, Traveled On A Whim To The Colorful Mexican Town Of San Miguel De Allende, Where Fireworks Sputter From Wooden Towers On Feast Days, Mariachi Singers' Plangent Howls Season The Air, Cats Roam The Rooftops Unimpeded And History, Religion And Ceremony Soften The Effects Of Change. Lured Back For Repeated Visits, The Cohans Finally Made Their Home There. Casual Yet Studied In Tone, This Ode To Cohan's Adopted Town And Nation Devotes Much Space To San Miguel's Legends, Ancient And Modern. The Local Nunnery's Founder, Who Turned Worms Into Butterflies, May Be More Fiction Than Fact. Cohan's Acquaintance Ren , Though, Is Real Enough: The Story Of The Murder That The Locals Believe He Committed Dominates A Disturbing Chapter Called The Man Who Was Killed Twice. Hospitality Vies With Inefficiency To Make Cohan's Mexico A Place Of Surprising Ease And Random Hazards: Mexican Buses Are Reliable, Cheap, And Safe, But Mexican Highway Patrolmen Demand Bribes Or Worse; A Friend Of Cohan's Dies When A Hospital Can't Get Her Blood Type. The Mexican Day Seems To Last Longer, And Nothing Happens Between Two And Four. Cohan Also Presents Less Serious Downsides To His Calmer Mexican Lifestyle, Explaining Why It Took Him So Long To Get A Verandah Built On His 250-year-old House. The Last Few Years Have Seen San Miguel Become A Destination For Hip Tourists: Cohan's Pleasant Account Of Its Former Obscurity May Send His Fans To Further Crowd Its Streets. (jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Categories:

• Biographies & Memoirs
  • Travelers & Explorers