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Following Mateo

by Tom Molanphy

216 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0551; ISBN 1-55369-738-3; US$21.00, C$25.00, EUR17.50, £12.50

A humorous, tender story of the complicated friendship between a 20-something American and a 50-something Mayan Indian in Belize.

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about the book      about the author      excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book     "Following Mateo" is a memoir, the true story of Tom Molanphy, a twenty-something American who spends two years living and teaching in Belize. Molanphy finds himself compelled to spend more and more time with Mateo, an older Mayan living in the deep but dwindling rain forest of Belize. Fascinated by Mayan spirituality, Molanphy spends two years trying to convince the evasive and complicated Mateo to lead him deep into the bush, a sacred place where 21st century Mayans still practice ancient rituals.     Neither an archaeologist nor anthropologist, Molanphy is honest about his own shortcomings and frustrations while dealing with a new culture, creating a wide-eyed narrative rich with detail of the natural wonders of Belize, as well as the inevitable humor that occurs when two cultures meet. In this post 9/11 world of growing xenophobia, "Following Mateo" reminds us that fear only dwells in the unknown, and that travel to another culture remains the best education around. Please visit www.following mateo.com

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About the Author     Tom Molanphy was raised in Texas, attended college in New Orleans, and received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana. He taught in Belize for two years and currently directs the writing program at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Following Mateo is his first book.

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Excerpt

    "In the bush, life shot up with soft green thrusts in cahunes and palms and in sturdy brown flexes with royal mahogany and copal trees, which the Mayans scraped for the incense they burned in every religious ceremony. Life shimmied down with thick ivy and hanging vines, some of which could be slashed open with a machete to release water like some hundred-foot long straw. And, underneath all this cover, life grew sideways with the slither of snakes, the prowl of jaguar, the swoop of parrots, and the crawl of the iguana, whose fat Mayans have used as medicine for centuries. Pink clouds like the earth's last hot breath steamed above the flora. The jungle seemed thick with life, life toppling over life."

- "Following Mateo"

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Catalogue Information

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