To Shake the Sleeping Self Book Review

I found myself really enjoying To Shake the Sleeping Self, Jedidiah Jenkin's account of his bike journey from Oregon to Patagonia, despite it's flaws. 

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The title and the cover picture --and maybe the author's name--- led me to believe that this book would be more profound. Perhaps a meditation on nature and adventure.  It is true that Jenkin's wrestles with some big questions of a personal nature while on the trip, but what we get instead is more like Two Guys Go On a Crazy Bike Trip.

But once I adjusted my expectations I found myself really getting into the book. Some of his misadventures and mistakes actually made me laugh out loud or had me on the edge of my seat.  I also think he is very good at describing the landscape and the cities and cultures he is passing through. The tale really picks up once they reach Mexico.

There is no doubt that the book has it's flaws and I can imagine that some readers may not be able to get past them. 

First the author is very inexperienced and callow. Though he was 30 years old at the time of the trip,  I couldn't help thinking of him as a much younger person. However,  he is scrupulously honest (as far as we know) and I really respect his honesty. He seemed to resist the impulse to make himself look good.

Also he is so privileged that he doesn't even know how privileged he is.  He has visits from friends and his parents and flies home for a visit in the middle of the trip. He has all sorts of gadgets and talks a lot about where to charge his phone. 

A lot of it is just because its a different time but when I lived in South America I could not afford a trip home and I certainly wasn't FaceTiming with my mom or watching the Walking Dead on a laptop in a tent at night. I didn't have a phone and to send emails I wrote then ahead of time, saved them and then went to a place where I had to pay to use the internet. It was so slow that I would paste in my pre-written email and then read a book while I waited for it to go through, which usually took about 15 minutes for each one. 

At first, I was put off by all of the talk about religion. But as I got to know the author and as his views evolved I realized that he could not tell this story without talking about his faith.

So as I was reading the book, I did sometimes feel critical. However, despite his inexperience, he is a really good writer. I found myself really looking forward to sitting down with the book again and I enjoyed reading the voice of a younger author. Also, you have to give him credit. He did cycle from Oregon to Patagonia. It's great to know that part of the world is still challenging and awing a younger generation of travelers who are encountering it for the first time.

You can find To Shake the Sleeping Self on The Book Depository which offers free shipping worldwide.