Ghost Train Through the Andes

by Michael Jacobs

It was not until long after his grandmother, Sophie, had died that Michael Jacobs was eventually permitted to read the lengthy and passionate letters that his grandfather Bethel had written her from nine thousand miles away. In these letters, Jacobs discovered a remarkable story of hardship, deprivation and enduring love. His grandfather's work on the railway through the Andes was exhausting and desperately lonely. He had little in common with his fellow workers and became consumed by a mounting despondency, from which only his love for Sophie could save him. But, as the months and years of separation passed, the world in which Sophie was blossoming appeared more and more remote from his own. Michael Jacobs' journey back through time takes him from a rain-swept Hull churchyard to desolate Antofagasta in Chile and to the former silver capital of Potosi. Climbing through ghostly, lunar-like scenery towards the snow-capped summits of the Andes, he follows the route of his grandfather's railway -- across giant rocky plateaux, through terrifyingly steep gorges and valleys of tropical lushness, and past grim mining townships buffeted by winds, rain and snow -- to reveal an extraordinary love story.

Genres: Travel

309 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2006

Reviews

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed story of one man's journey to trace the path of his grandfather's footsteps across the ocean and into South America. The book meanders like a slow train, and the author does a good job of creating a moving panorama by the geographical backdrop. Much history on a personal and geographical level is within the book. If you like realistic "life stories" then this may be for you. But, if you want a lot of action, you may find the pace slow and lacking.

Either way, its not a read for everyone. I actually had to re-read the first few chapters just to 'find' characters that I just couldn't figure out who in the world he was talking about. That was mostly because in reccounting a story of many tangled relatives, an onlooker can become confused by names and relationships in a casual reading.

I read the story from a used paperback copy I picked up online as part of my train journeys reading list. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the South American landscape and desert towns. It is the kind of book you'll want to track the route on a map and/or Google Earth. And, the people themselves are compelling everyday characters.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacobs follows in the footsteps of his engineer grandfather, Bethel. This is an excellent book, blending personal history with the letters written home to his wife in England, with the story of opening up the interior. I heard MJ speak at a book festival. He is an instantly likeable, slightly eccentric man and his character shines through in this book. If you're a fan of travel literature, you can't fail to enjoy this intelligently written, moving story.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the most boring book I have had displeasure of struggling through for a long time. The basic concept: midage male in crisis of to discover himself and his past by following in tracks of his grandfather in an exotic locale is solid, but how deplorable an execution! The self-pity and -absorption of the author, the lack of any conclusion to the quest ( it turns out that the grandfather was probably pretty boring too )and the sheer length of what at most could have been an extended article; all adds up to a massive disappointment. Too bad, so sad, bye-bye.

[Ron Hardwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an aficionado of travel literature, I wondered whether I would like this book, which is about a family tree as well as travel. Mr Jacobs's grandfather was an engineer who helped build railways in Chile and Bolivia in the early 20th century and his nephew followed his journey, referencing the route by means of love letters tis grandfather sent to his inamorata and which were handed down to Mr Jacobs on the death of his grandmother. I needn't have worried - the narrative is engaging from the first page. Mr Jacobs is less fond of Chile than Bolivia, but the picture he paints of the landscape, the scenery and the characters he encounters, as well as the considerable dangers he faces, make for a thumping good read. A sad footnote: when Mr Jacobs returns to Bolivia 18 months later, the country is consumed by revolution and conflict and that shatters the illusions he has built up about the place.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulling us along, Michael Jacobs searches for the grandfather he discovered through letters, on the railways of Chile and Bolivia in what seems like a slow starting journey, yet becomes engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable.

The alternating between his grandfather Bethel’s story and his own seemed at first disorientating, I could not get into either at the start and even after the unglamorous start in Hull I struggled to convince myself that this was a journey I wanted to carry on. But I have been to Chile, although not the railways and so I continued, and I’m glad I did.
I like Jacobs, I began to compare him with Paul Theroux, but Theroux travels for the experience of the journey, to meet and understand the countries he journeys through. Here Jacob’s was on a voyage to discover the past, he was different. His writing is unembellished yet descriptive, a few lines giving his thoughts to a city where his main purpose is not to visit but to find out how to jump on a train.

By the north of Chile I was more engaged, he had the kind of fears that grow bigger as you get older yet he continues on regardless. I have been to Calama myself, all I remember are the packs of dogs crossing at the pedestrian crossing and riding out to San Pedro de Atacama on a bus driven by a man inexplicably dressed as Zorro. It was Bolivia where I felt I had travelled with Jacobs long enough to like him, overcoming his fears while travelling with the irrepressible Ricardo, the best part of the journey (hence both the quotes involve him), where Ricardo’s un-crushable optimism guides them through some terrifying situation, and Jacobs, slowly but surely falls in love with Bolivia.

When he is finally celebrating carnival at Oruro you realise Jacobs is almost ageless, transformed from a foreboding solitary traveller to a boundless carnival reveller, like he is squeezing every last drop of life from his body, in a country that slowly wore his grandfather down.

In Puntas Arenas, in a place that reminds him of Hull and his childhood, Jacobs realises that the journey has been as much about this grandmother as his grandfather, and it is a touching end to an unforgettable journey that I felt I had travelled along with someone who travelled through the present, to get to know the past.

(blog review here)

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first picked up this one, the back cover delivered an interesting bit on how the author mapped out his grandfather's professional and home life in the Andes mountains by anchoring on their railway history. However, it was perhaps the tone which sealed its monotonous take on personal history, urban and transportation history, intertwined with a travel narrative.

While it seemed to be starting off quite strong, the novel makes a rather dismal move when one reads how the author switches between engaging with the local in a sloppy manner and returning to his purpose of uncovering his grandfather's life through these places, on railroads. In addition, the slow pace was sustained which stood in a negative contrast to the spirit of adventure that it could have. I wanted to like this work, but I gave a conclusive view of it being drab as I closed the book.

[Stephen Cunningsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book whilst I was travelling in South America and enjoyed a lot of the insight Michael Jacobs gained access to with the leverage his project and command of Castellano afforded him with the people he encountered along the way. However, this account is rather self-absorbed and the actual story he reveals of his grand-father's time in Chile and Bolivia is not actually all that interesting. Also, his attitude towards the younger travellers/backpackers who cross his path is rather prejudiced and single-minded, much like a grumpy old man. I enjoyed this overall but it does have a slight sense of smug superiority on the author's part running through the narrative.

[Cecilia Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Michael Jacobs from England touches a deep cord.. my grandfather, Luis Guzman, traversed the mountains of the South American continent as he worked for the TransAndean railway in Chile for most of his life. Reading this book was like deja-vu from the stories he shared with his family. Pity he never published the two books he wrote of his life, travels and experiences over a fifty year period..

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was traveling through Chile and Bolivia at the same time as I was reading the book. I loved encountering the real places after reading about them in the book. So vivid, so read.
A long book but I read through it pretty quickly.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacobs traces his grandfather's life as an engineer in Chile and Bolivia just before World War I. It's part "Who do you think you are?", part travelogue. It doesn't quite work as a whole, but Jacobs is a likeable enough companion in South America.