This is a very well done historical novel of an American abroad, somewhere between The Quiet American and The Ugly American.

Well-meaning idealist falls in to revolutionary circles in El Salvador while trying to write about the world outside downstate Illinois.

The novel engages in some 'meta' moves involving footnotes from the idealist regarding his story - that worked well for this reader.

Interesting, engaging tale that heads toward an inevitable end - what more could we ask? ( )

Thanks to NetGalley, FSGxMCD, and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook galley.

The Last Great Road Bum by Héctor Tobar is a triumph. First and foremost the story alone as a single line pitch is just irrepressibly interesting. Second the writing from historical research to the journalistic-novelesqe story telling is just outstanding. And this is a novel it totally 100% reads like one but it also has this journalistic edge to it that is just beautiful. The last time I read a book like this was Skeletons on the Zahara. However this book The Last Great Road Bum much more to the moment and that made it a thrill to be able to read.

I was fortunate enough to be able to read The Last Great Road Bum in audiobook format and the narration by Timothy Andrés Pabon is superb. Pabon embodies the strange naivete of Joe Sanderson in his performance. The entire read was enhanced by Pabon's skill to play the part but not overplay the part and the straight portions of the story were not too dull or overwrought. I am looking forward to reading more audiobooks narrated by Timothy Andres Pabon. As ever Macmillian audio has a wonderfully unique approach to the format and the intro/outro music - all thirty seconds of it! Is just perfect! it sets the tone for the novel and in the outtro leaves you, of course, immediately desperate for a re-listen.

Highly Recommended. Also I have the print version and it is a BEAUTY. MCDxFSG is just amazing at putting out beautiful things in digital and physical formats. ( )

Tobar has recreated the real life of Joe Sanderson, who spend his short adult life bumming around the world. Using a trove of Sanderson’s journals, unpublished novels, and letters, Tobar has recreated the journeys and thoughts of a young guy from Urbana, Illinois who lusted for more. Joe’s thoughts flit from here to there, but always giving us a view of the new places he is exploring. He has a wide range of experiences from his early stay with Rastafarians in Jamaica to a wild road trip with Chileans in South America to experiencing the famine in Biafra. As he travels, the reader is privy to the reason he became a radical and eventually end up with guerrilla fighters in El Salvador. It was with this group that he died in combat at the age of 39. I was torn between wanting Joe to grow up and stop asking his mom for travel money and being jealous of his breezy way of traveling and meeting new people and spending more time listening than talking as he discovered new ways of looking at life. ( )