I got an advanced copy to do a review for The Literary Review, and while travel essays aren’t normally in my wheelhouse, this collection was a winner. Benz travels widely from the Florida Everglades to the Moldovan post-Communist landscape, the deserts of the American West and to the streets of Central America. Historically minded, and introspective of both the culture of the landscapes and the people who inhabit them, Benz’ accounts are a vivid and engaging story of overlooked places and history.
The collection is divided into two parts, Reading the American Landscape, chronicling Benz’ American treks including the Everglades, portions of the Oregon trail, and several stops in what Benz refers to as “unapproachable” towns. And Ground Truthing, in which he reviews the cultural aspects of living abroad in Moldova, Cuba, and Guatemala, covering aspects of the culture from the deterioration of post-communism to the motorway habits and lifestyles of the inhabitants.
In the eight essays on the U.S, Benz takes a landscape, usually somewhere that has become touristy or campy, and unearths the alluring and often grim history of what’s happened under the feet of the unsuspecting vacationer. Of these essays, my favorite was “A Lost Grave in the Everglades,” in which Benz is looking for the burial plot of a murdered game warden. Part environmental, part history, Benz explains the 19th century fashion obsession with feathers, a trend that nearly wiped out Florida’s egret population in the 1880s/90s, and the subsequent game wardens positioned to help protect the nesting birds. It’s no spoiler to say that the game warden Benz is looking for was murdered for protecting the birds, and was hastily buried out in marshes of the Everglades. The essay seeks to bring a name and a story to this martyr whose body was never recovered due to the shifting nature of marshes over time, and Benz tells it with a warmth and intimacy that both intrigues and horrifies.
In Ground Truthing, each essay unearths the aftermath of governmental upheavals or negligence, but with the heartfelt understanding that people still live there. Benz is never preachy in these pieces, nor does he seek to impose his American lens on the cultures or values of the people he speaks with. He’s a student of the environment, taking in everything he can, talking to the locals, learning their language, and participating in the day-to-day experiences that create their lives. But he also remains introspective, utilizing his own feelings and understandings about the history of these places to open a door to a landscape that may be difficult for the reader to fully comprehend. In Land of the Lost, for instance, Benz takes a long look at the price Moldovans pay to be a ‘capitalist’ country, since the Russian communist pull-out left the new country destitute and at war with itself. Even ten years later, when Benz goes to guest teach at the Moldova university, the abject poverty and desperation are palpable through the text. Offsetting the stark and unequivocal reality of these spaces, though, is always Benz’ warm prose and often funny asides as he navigates his way.
In sum, this was a great read for anyone who enjoys reading about travel or experiences abroad. I highly recommend it, and after completing it, I have a new-found need to go visit the American West thanks to Benz’ historical essays.
4 stars.
Bingo Square: Travel