Review of Gringo
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Fola Moni
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Review of Gringo
[Following is a volunteer review of "Gringo" by Dan "Tito" Davis.]
His life reads like a Hollywood script. His adventures would have you on the edge of your seat. His story has to be written. And what a story it is. With reviews from USA Today, San Francisco Book review and even a Grammy-winning producer, Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive by Dan “Tito” Davis is a must-read.
Life on the run isn’t how Dan Davis thought he would spend his life. He grew up in South Dakota, the oldest of five children. Very entrepreneurial, he started working at the age of 10 as a flag boy for crop dusters. He was also a bright student who enjoyed school and made the honor roll. In essence, he was a good boy who never smoked, did drugs and barely took alcohol. However, things took a turn when he got into college. Studying for a test one night, he came into contact with a pill that would change his life completely. How? Well, you have to read the book to find out.
Dan “Tito” Davis’s life is quite extraordinary. His story is so riveting that I finished the book in one go. Thankfully, it is only 266 pages on Kindle Unlimited. It is fast-paced and action-packed with a lot of interesting characters. The story didn’t lag, and it kept the same attention-grabbing pace till the end. It is co-written by Peter Conti, an accomplished writer who had reviews for his own book by Hollywood stars like Johnny Depp and Joe Pesci.
I like the fact that he didn’t mince words and play the victim. He laid it out bare for everyone to see. He’s self-deprecating, often referring to himself as “Gringo Stupido”. Gringo is a derogatory word for a foreigner in Spanish. Stupido speaks for itself. Despite making up rules to evade capture, he ends up breaking most of them. His decisions are impulsive and emotional. He has a weakness for beautiful women and allows his emotions to overrule his sense of judgement. In one instance, he travelled to the other end of the world on a stolen passport to win back the love of his woman. For me, this is the allure of the whole story. It appeals to the average reader to see beyond the flaws and connect with the emotional man within. You almost forget that this is an international fugitive and a drug smuggler/ex-convict who rubs shoulders with powerful and dangerous men.
I also enjoyed his travel tales across Central America and Asia. The descriptive writing style made it easy to explore several countries’ traditions and ways of life. Learning about the Grange River in India and Darien’s Gap in Panama is both informative and entertaining at the same time. There are witty dialogues with locals that show off Dan’s sense of humour. I think it’s impressive how he’s able to travel from one country to another and enjoy their way of life even though he’s always looking over his shoulder, subconsciously anticipating the authorities to pounce on him.
However, there was one particular tradition in Columbia that had me utterly disgusted. It is the tradition behind the Burro festival. For the event, burros are dressed up in feminine clothes and paraded around the town. Burro is a word for donkey in Spanish, and it’s appalling how animal abuse had been going on for decades. Apparently, in San Antero, a small town in northern Columbia, the tradition is for young boys aged 11 and older to have sexual relations with these animals. When I thought what I was reading couldn’t get worse, Dan proceeded to offer two young boys money to “perform” for him. This goes beyond respecting other countries' cultures and traditions. It is pure animal abuse, and it is despicable.
Conclusively, I would rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The burro festival event affected my reading experience, so I took out 1 star. However, it was still a good read. I could only spot two errors, so I can say it was professionally well-edited. It does contain a lot of profanity both in English and Spanish, graphic descriptions of animal abuse, drug dealing and prostitution. Hence, I wouldn’t recommend it to a younger/ sensitive audience. Mature lovers of the crime and thriller literary genre would love this book.
******
Gringo
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
His life reads like a Hollywood script. His adventures would have you on the edge of your seat. His story has to be written. And what a story it is. With reviews from USA Today, San Francisco Book review and even a Grammy-winning producer, Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive by Dan “Tito” Davis is a must-read.
Life on the run isn’t how Dan Davis thought he would spend his life. He grew up in South Dakota, the oldest of five children. Very entrepreneurial, he started working at the age of 10 as a flag boy for crop dusters. He was also a bright student who enjoyed school and made the honor roll. In essence, he was a good boy who never smoked, did drugs and barely took alcohol. However, things took a turn when he got into college. Studying for a test one night, he came into contact with a pill that would change his life completely. How? Well, you have to read the book to find out.
Dan “Tito” Davis’s life is quite extraordinary. His story is so riveting that I finished the book in one go. Thankfully, it is only 266 pages on Kindle Unlimited. It is fast-paced and action-packed with a lot of interesting characters. The story didn’t lag, and it kept the same attention-grabbing pace till the end. It is co-written by Peter Conti, an accomplished writer who had reviews for his own book by Hollywood stars like Johnny Depp and Joe Pesci.
I like the fact that he didn’t mince words and play the victim. He laid it out bare for everyone to see. He’s self-deprecating, often referring to himself as “Gringo Stupido”. Gringo is a derogatory word for a foreigner in Spanish. Stupido speaks for itself. Despite making up rules to evade capture, he ends up breaking most of them. His decisions are impulsive and emotional. He has a weakness for beautiful women and allows his emotions to overrule his sense of judgement. In one instance, he travelled to the other end of the world on a stolen passport to win back the love of his woman. For me, this is the allure of the whole story. It appeals to the average reader to see beyond the flaws and connect with the emotional man within. You almost forget that this is an international fugitive and a drug smuggler/ex-convict who rubs shoulders with powerful and dangerous men.
I also enjoyed his travel tales across Central America and Asia. The descriptive writing style made it easy to explore several countries’ traditions and ways of life. Learning about the Grange River in India and Darien’s Gap in Panama is both informative and entertaining at the same time. There are witty dialogues with locals that show off Dan’s sense of humour. I think it’s impressive how he’s able to travel from one country to another and enjoy their way of life even though he’s always looking over his shoulder, subconsciously anticipating the authorities to pounce on him.
However, there was one particular tradition in Columbia that had me utterly disgusted. It is the tradition behind the Burro festival. For the event, burros are dressed up in feminine clothes and paraded around the town. Burro is a word for donkey in Spanish, and it’s appalling how animal abuse had been going on for decades. Apparently, in San Antero, a small town in northern Columbia, the tradition is for young boys aged 11 and older to have sexual relations with these animals. When I thought what I was reading couldn’t get worse, Dan proceeded to offer two young boys money to “perform” for him. This goes beyond respecting other countries' cultures and traditions. It is pure animal abuse, and it is despicable.
Conclusively, I would rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The burro festival event affected my reading experience, so I took out 1 star. However, it was still a good read. I could only spot two errors, so I can say it was professionally well-edited. It does contain a lot of profanity both in English and Spanish, graphic descriptions of animal abuse, drug dealing and prostitution. Hence, I wouldn’t recommend it to a younger/ sensitive audience. Mature lovers of the crime and thriller literary genre would love this book.
******
Gringo
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Moonlight Serenade by Terry Mark
