On Mexican Time, Tony Cohan
On Mexican Time, Tony Cohan
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On Mexican Time
A New Life in San Miguel

Author: Tony Cohan

Narrator: Tony Cohan

Abridged: 5 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/05/2000


Synopsis

An American writer and his wife find a new home—and a new lease on life—in the charming sixteenth-century hill town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

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 a new life in San Miguel de Allende. On Mexican Time is Cohan's evocatively written memoir of how he and his wife absorb the town's sensual ambiance, eventually find and refurbish a crumbling 250-year-old house, and become entwined in the endless drama of Mexican life. 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 Literary Guild Selection. His essays, travel writings, and reviews have appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. His work as a lyricist with pianist and composer Chick Corea and others can be heard on a number of albums. He divides his time between Venice, California, and Mexico.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Diana on August 19, 2008

I was alternately impressed by and annoyed with this book. Here's why I was impressed: -Author is obviously a talented writer in terms of his florid descriptions of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of small-town Mexico. I liked how they described the perfect bougianville (sp?) color and all the......more

Goodreads review by Amy on December 10, 2017

This definitely ranks as one of the best travel writing/memoirs I've ever read. Cohan describes how he and his wife left LA for life in San Miguel de Allende and all they experienced there between 1985 and 1999. Published in 2001, and finally read by me in 2017, this is not only an account of anothe......more

Goodreads review by Paula on December 20, 2017

So what is it like to "chuck" it all and go live in a country with a language and culture foreign to you? This book gives you an idea. It is romantic, crazy, funny and beautifully written. A love song to Mexico.......more

Goodreads review by Annie on June 21, 2021

I have mixed feelings about this book. While it is an enjoyable read (easy to read, moves along in a nice fashion), I also felt annoyed at the curated experience of Mexico that he had. I first started reading this this on my daily commute from Ocoyoacac to Toluca on a packed, freezing cold bus at 6......more

Goodreads review by Tara on February 24, 2017

I'll read just about anything about uprooting one's life to live out a dream in a foreign land, and this was great from that aspect. San Miguel itself was a place I visited twenty years ago, and it was a life-altering trip, so I was glad to delve into the details of living there. Lots of great anecd......more


Quotes

?A seductive (but never sentimental) journey into a different way of life. Readers, pack your bags.?
--Entertainment Weekly

?Cohan describes life in Mexico as ?intimate, voluptuous, sense-driven,? a phrase that also describes On Mexican Time.?
--Boston Sunday Globe

?On Mexican Time is more than a travelogue, more than a vicarious journey for the reader. It is a gentle reminder to examine our lives and weed out the unnecessary, the chaotic, and the frivolous.?
--Tennessean