David Stephens, a long-time contributor for Traveling & Living in Peru and expat in Peru, has written his new book, Under Andean Skies, highlighting his wealth of knowledge of Peru’s culture and history. David Parker gives us his review of Stephens’ insightful new travel book.
For me, traveling without romance is like a regiment without its honor. So, if you are looking for blissful, idyllic, and little-known places throughout Peru to court a love, this is the book to buy. What is more, David Stephens has exquisite taste in food and drink, and his selection of restaurants and bars is unrivaled.
Under Andean Skies: Living & Writing in Peru is a book for those who have breakfast at dinner and wear mismatching socks because life is too short and feel that aesthetics and thinking outside the frame are a must.
What’s inside
The first half of the book is composed of a selection of articles – many appearing originally in Living & Travelling in Peru – and devoted to some of the country’s extraordinary history and culture with chapters exploring the great earthquake of 1745, the contribution of Gustav Eiffel to lighthouse construction, and the importance of the vicuna. This camelid produces the world’s most expensive wool. There are also articles on pre-Inca civilizations, Bohemian Barranco – where the author has lived for many years – and of course – an important chapter focused on Peru’s greatest citizen, Paddington Bear.
The book’s second half takes us into an imaginary Peru: a land of mystery and darkness, resolution and fear. In one, we journey north to the land of the Chachapoyas and meet a man seduced by a stranger along the banks of the Urubamba. In another, we go down into the dungeons of the Museum of the Inquisition just before closing time – and in a final chapter, we are tempted by the opening chapters of the author’s forthcoming novel, The Disappeared – in which we join a father searching for his disappeared son – missing in the cocaine fields of central Peru – once home to the Shining Path.
Above all, this book contributes to a sub-genre of travel books geared to those of us for whom love and courtship go hand-in-hand passionately.
Where to buy it
Please help us support our longtime friend and contributor and purchase his book. Also, consider sharing it with a friend or anyone planning to come to Peru.
Under Andean Skies: Living & Writing in Peru by David Stephens is published by New Generation Publishing (2022) and is available through Barnes & Noble in the USA, Waterstones in the UK, and Amazon.
Cover photo from Pintrest.com