Chasing Bohemia by Carmen Michael

In this book, subtitled A year of living recklessly in Rio de Janeiro, Carmen recounts her adventures seeking a bohemian existence during her first year in Brazil. I was first attracted to it for two reasons: my own somewhat less adventurous attempts to embrace a bohemian lifestyle of my own, and the fact that it was about Brazil; which I found interesting given that I play in a samba band in my home town of Sydney.

Carmen’s accounts of her intrepid adventures in the favelas (slums) of Rio make for interesting reading, and her immersion in the samba culture of the lower classes seemed pretty much complete. At one point she when she ran out of money, she resorted to running tours of the favelas for overly-game tourists, who probably had no idea what they were in for. I’m not sure whether the book has made me more or less inclined to want to visit the place; most probably less! I have been toying for a while with the idea of heading off to Brazil for Carnival some time, and her depiction of the madness it entails makes me think both that I should check it out; and that I’d be better off in the safe confines of my own country. It is quite a personal book, including accounts of Carmen’s experience at the hands of a local malandro (man who exploits rich women) named, of all things, Winston Churchill; and of her relationship with a Brazilian Fabio-like man-god named, funnily enough, Fabio.

I enjoyed the book, especially the accounts of what it was really like living in Rio. Carmen leaves no stone unturned, and goes into all the details of drug dealers, prostitutes, slums, poverty, corruption, and the darker side of Rio to which she was clearly attracted. It’s little wonder the Brazilian government has now refused her entry back into the country; although I suspect the fact that she overstayed her visa may have more to do with it than what she has exposed in the book. Her sense of humour didn’t quite work with me; I found some points very funny, but by the end I got the sense that perhaps she was trying a bit too hard. I saw the writer speak at the recent 2008 Sydney Writers’ Festival, by which time I’d already borrowed the book from my library, and the way she spoke was/is very reminiscent of the way the book is written. She not only had a sense of adventure and a desire to experience new things, she went out and did it; for which I give her full credit. All-in-all, it’s a good read.