4 out of 4 stars
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Fugitives are predictable. They always need the same things: Travel, Lodging, Cash, Salvation, and Dan “Tito” Davis is no different. In his riveting memoirs of a topsy-turvy life as a criminal fleeing justice, titled “Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive”, he utilizes notable writer Peter Conti’s skills to create a non-fiction book so amazing one would almost swear it didn’t really happen.
An American from humble beginnings in South Dakota, Dan was blessed with brains and brawn and he used it to his advantage from a young age. As a college student, he managed to edge his way into a wealthy life of extravagance with the help of an equally brainy roommate following his introduction to a popular mental capacity booster drug to aid him in passing an exam, and a stroke of evil genius that culminated in the running of a large “legal” drug-trafficking network right under the nose of the authorities. His salvation came in the form of little “white crosses” that were the common drug of choice but ten kilos of illegal “white snow”, linked to him, became his peril. Having been caught and jailed once, albeit with a small sentence due to the influence of his rich in-laws, Dan had no intention of falling once again into the strong arms of the American justice system, much less for a crime he technically didn’t commit, so he did what any shrewd person would do – he ran away. Traipsing around the criminal underworlds of South America with a few pauses now and then to make some more money, learn a language in a class filled with third graders, get kidnapped and even find love, Tito’s (his nickname from his Latino wife) ten years in hiding only served to prove just how long the arm of the law can be.
The book itself is well written, with a hint of humor and straight-forwardness that endears you to the adventurous character that is Dan Davis. It leaves little room to make subjective moral judgments about his character as it enraptures the reader into one unbelievable experience after another of Tito’s. This is one book that creates a sense of a paradox in the reader’s mind as he empathizes with the central character yet cannot bring himself to sympathize with the same, for he is no hero. I advise readers to read the prologue after, rather than before reading the book, to give a more profound closure to the story.
I liked the narrative of the ghetto life, the use of native words and phrases that helped me to immerse myself in the scenes, and the humorous description of the goal of Dan’s attempt at meditation as “Trying to see the wind”, as well as that fantastic pig pee experience of his which I coined the “bus ride of horror”. I didn’t enjoy as much the unnecessary detailing of his sexual exploits but that didn’t affect my overall impression of the book. I was surprised to discover loyalty among criminals and moved by the steadfastness of a mother who never gives up on her child.
I rate this book “4 out of 4 stars”, because it is a story masterfully written, engaging, educative, unpretentious and entertaining all at once. There were a few typographical errors, but not enough to lose a star over. I recommend this book to all adult book lovers who would like to read about some of the “…people our parents warned us about” and experience life as they lived it.
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Gringo
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