The Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie - first published 1987
The best thing about this book is that it is really short – even in large print, which was the only version I could get hold of, it is only 146 pages long. The author visited Nicaragua in 1986 and talked to people at all levels of society in several different areas of the country. However I felt it was neither travel writing nor a history but a collection of individuals’ views and personal experiences put together in no logical order. There is no timeline of events or summary of modern history of Nicaragua, which would have helped it make more sense. 2/10
29th April 2012
