Kirkus Reviews QR Code
CHILE by Erna Fergusson

CHILE

By

Pub Date: Feb. 15th, 1943
Publisher: Knopf

There is no interpreter of those parts of the world she knows like Erna Ferguson, and her books provide an excellent introduction -- not by way of travel guide, but as an intimate unfolding. Here she presents a varied, composite profile of Chile, that friendliest of South American neighbors with the ""crazy geography"". There is some, but not too much, description of sights and scenes, and no Baedekkering. But there is a full and appreciative account of the personality of the country and its peoples, Negroes and Methodist Iowans and Yanquis (as we seem to them). There is an aware analysis of the Germans and their influence, that strongly integrated, nationalistic minority. Santiago and Valparaiso, farm and copper mine, high society and rodeo and dance, school and church, living conditions and livelihoods, all give a sub-structural, informative picture of the divers aspects of Chile. The text is enlivened with conversations with individuals of all types, including sketches of famous personalities, particularly the poet, Gabriela Mistral, who typifies her country, -- strong, profound and somewhat tragic.