Abstract

The Island of Chile

The article focuses on the book "Chile: A Geographic Extravaganza," by the author Benjamin Subercaseaux and translated by Angel Flores. In this crazy geography, as a literal translation of the original Spanish title of this book would have it, one of the best known of Chile's young writers gives us a penetrating description of his country and his countrymen. The translation is ably done, although it might perhaps be mentioned that kilometers do not make so much sense to a northern eye as miles. It is a pity that somebody did not take a hint from the title of one of the chapters, "Wherein a Good Map Is Needed to Find Out Where You Are," for after going through a maze of names of places not mentioned on the highly decorative but quite inadequate map on the first end paper, or indeed in most atlases, the reader is liable to find himself in doubt as to his whereabouts.