On Mexican Time : A New Life in San Miguel

Rating:
Summary: An enchanting reading experience
Review: Finally! A book that depicts an accurate picture of a Mexican town... And not just any, but San Miguel de Allende, a true Mexican colonial jewel.Cohan's writing style and taste for anecdotes and cultural tidbits make this book my favorite. For once, I am happy to see Mexico and its people depicted with such gusto. We are very far from these daily acounts of violence perpetrated against American tourists visiting Mexico that can be found daily in the American papers, and that promote an inaccurate idea about our neighbor country. It's about time!

Rating:
Summary: Very Pretentious
Review: Halfway through I began to really dislike this couple for their ridiculous attempt to give their move to San Miguel the tone of a british colonialist in India. They and their new acquaintances take a housewarming dinner party and try to imbue every little detail with signifcance. The overall effect is nausea. I give him 2 stars because his genuine love of the place does come through and the writing isn't all bad. If you like reading the travel section of the LA times you might actually enjoy this.

Rating:
Summary: Tony Cohan pulls the reader into colorful Mexico
Review: Having just read "On Mexican Time" for the fourth time, I felt compelled to add my comments here. If the fact that I've read this book four times since 2001 doesn't fully express how I feel for it, allow me to continue. I was captivated by the very first pages and found that I couldn't put this book down. I usually read it during the long, cold Kentucky winters to bring a little warmth. Tony Cohan's style of writing speaks to me. He has a way of bringing San Miguel to life right there on the pages. This book evokes a deep need that I have to live an adventure. Each time, I read the last page with mixed emotions: happy to have finished the book, sad that I can't go on "living" at the house on Calle Flor. Tony and Masako seem the perfect couple with whom to enjoy a five hour dinner!

Rating:
Summary: The good and bad
Review: Having lived and worked in a town near San Miguel de Allende I enjoyed this book. It brought back lots of memories of the area and people. Being able to picture every city, street, and building that Cohan mentioned, since I have seen them all, helped to create wonderful imagery for me. I do think it is important to point out that San Miguel is really a tourist town. There are lost ex-pats living there and everyone speaks english and many times prefer english to espanol. Rich Texans take weekend vacations there and only the wealthy Mexicans can afford to visit a place so important in their history. (Many of my Mexican friends call it Saint Michael - because of all the Americans). In a way it is sad that Tony Cohan's book is good, because I think more people will visit San Miguel de Allende and the historic little mountain town will lose its magic. But at the same time the economy of San Miguel de Allende deeply depends on las turistas. I guess it's a Catch 22. Enjoy the book!

Rating:
Summary: Call Me Mr. Sensitive
Review: Horrid garbage of the most pretentious kind. Our Hero, a fragile soul whose nerves are all a jingly-jangly because of the evil ways of the US of A, jets down to San Miguel (first class? who can doubt it?) with his oh-so-artistic wife and together they become One With The People as few Gringos have before. Hmmm, smell that mole cooking. They don't have mole in LA, do they? Hey, nice shirt on that woman, let's buy it off her back! Wow, no home burglar alarm systems here in Quaint and Soulful San Miguel. Yeah, not more than about 10,000 of them -- after all, we have to protect the $$$$$$$$ of the mega-rich Gringos from California and Texas who populate this place. Hey, forget about a plastic toy for little Jonny, let's buy him this wooden donkey. Won't we look artistic and sensitive and soulful when it's unwrapped? I suppose this book could have been more patronizing, but it would have taken some work. As we say in San Antoinio, eeee-ho!

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes fiction is truer than reality
Review: I agree with those who have not been totally charmed by Mr. Cohan's book. For a much more rewarding reading experience concerning Mexico, check out David Lida's "Travel Advisory". It's short stories mainly about foreigners in Mexico that are much more insightful and fun than Mr. Cohan's slight book.

Rating:
Summary: Self centered and not fulfilling
Review: I am going to San Miguel next week and got excited about reading this book, as I live in LA and the author lived here too and moved to San Miguel. I got hooked into reading it and must admit I finished it, but soon realized that it was a silly little book. There was virtually nothing about San Miguel and the characters about whom the author wrote were distant and seemingly figments of one's imagination. The dialogue was ridiculous. I'm not sure what the point of the book is, but it isn't enough to be a diary and certainly not even close to giving one a feeling of life in San Miguel de Allende. It pretends to be erudite literature and the author never lets you forget that he knows this person, and that person, etc. It is a boring, drolling piece of work that drags on, but at least the type was fairly large and it didn't take long to finish it.

Rating:
Summary: Self centered and not fulfilling
Review: I am going to San Miguel next week and got excited about reading this book, as I live in LA and the author lived here too and moved to San Miguel. I got hooked into reading it and must admit I finished it, but soon realized that it was a silly little book. There was virtually nothing about San Miguel and the characters about whom the author wrote were distant and seemingly figments of one's imagination. The dialogue was ridiculous. I'm not sure what the point of the book is, but it isn't enough to be a diary and certainly not even close to giving one a feeling of life in San Miguel de Allende. It pretends to be erudite literature and the author never lets you forget that he knows this person, and that person, etc. It is a boring, drolling piece of work that drags on, but at least the type was fairly large and it didn't take long to finish it.

Rating:
Summary: Relax and Enjoy It
Review: I am not a critic, just a reader. Perhaps that is why I found this book captivating while so many others did not.

On Mexican Time takes the reader on an unplanned journey through a life adventure in another culture. It is something of a journal of the author and his wife's lives, their daily activities, their friends, their accomplishments, and their disappointments. I found the descriptive writing enchanting and the overall story worthwhile.

I enjoyed the book so much that I am here searching for another by this author. If you read to be transported to another place and time, you will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Makes you feel at home.
Review: I bought my copy of this book in San Miguel de Allende. I was on a two week trip, working with a mission group in a nearby village, but staying in a bed and breakfast in San Miguel and attending church services in a small neighborhood church. I loved the place, and the people and wondered what it would feel like to actually live in the region full time. With great humor, as well as love for the place and the those who inhabit it, Mr. Cohan let me know. This book is marvelously full of color, both in the descriptions of places, and in the feelings it gives. He captures much of what I felt as a urbanite suddenly finding himself in a much more peaceful much less hurried place. San Miguel de Allende is a magical place. Mr. Cohan's writings capture at least a portion of that and allowed me bring it home.