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Freak Show Without a Tent: Swimming with Piranhas, Getting Stoned in Fiji and Other Family Vacations
Fishing for piranhas in the Amazon, getting stoned at Fijian kava ceremonies, and witnessing the ancient ritual of land diving on Pentecost Island is the stuff of National Geographic cover stories – and Nevin Martell’s childhood vacations. His family’s globetrotting took them from the South Pacific to South America and many points nowhere in-between.
Though their lifestyle choices were eccentric, the locations they visited exotic, and the people they met extraordinary, these escapades are firmly grounded in the trials, tribulations, and tribal rivalries that plague all families. Freak Show Without a Tent is a grandly hilarious memoir-misadventure that is equal parts National Lampoon’s Vacation, Romancing the Stone and Crocodile Dundee.
Woven seamlessly into the stories of exploring the far side of the far side, near death experiences and gastronomical catastrophes is the story of a young boy coming of age, the evolving relationship between a father and son, and a family discovering its own boundaries. With the honesty and innocence that can only come through the eyes of youth, Martell reveals the symbiosis of interdependence and independence that exist deep within both rainforests and families.
To paraphrase a family motto: buy the ticket, take the ride, and hope you survive, so that you can tell your therapist all about it.
Though their lifestyle choices were eccentric, the locations they visited exotic, and the people they met extraordinary, these escapades are firmly grounded in the trials, tribulations, and tribal rivalries that plague all families. Freak Show Without a Tent is a grandly hilarious memoir-misadventure that is equal parts National Lampoon’s Vacation, Romancing the Stone and Crocodile Dundee.
Woven seamlessly into the stories of exploring the far side of the far side, near death experiences and gastronomical catastrophes is the story of a young boy coming of age, the evolving relationship between a father and son, and a family discovering its own boundaries. With the honesty and innocence that can only come through the eyes of youth, Martell reveals the symbiosis of interdependence and independence that exist deep within both rainforests and families.
To paraphrase a family motto: buy the ticket, take the ride, and hope you survive, so that you can tell your therapist all about it.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
381 people want to read
About the author
Nevin Martell
20 books20 followersNevin Martell is a D.C.-based food, travel, and lifestyle writer whose work regularly appears in the Washington Post, Plate, Wine Enthusiast, and NPR’s blog “The Salt.”
He is the author of six books, including the memoir-misadventure "Freak Show Without a Tent: Swimming with Piranhas, Getting Stoned in Fiji and Other Family Vacations" (2014), "The Founding Farmers Cookbook: 100 Recipes for True Food & Drink" (2013) and the small-press smash "Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip" (2009).
When he can budget the time and money, he loves nothing more than traveling with his wife and son.
He is the author of six books, including the memoir-misadventure "Freak Show Without a Tent: Swimming with Piranhas, Getting Stoned in Fiji and Other Family Vacations" (2014), "The Founding Farmers Cookbook: 100 Recipes for True Food & Drink" (2013) and the small-press smash "Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip" (2009).
When he can budget the time and money, he loves nothing more than traveling with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 11, 2015
I'll admit the cover is a little odd, but with a title like this one, you know you are in for a great ride. I have to give this 5 stars because I can't think of one negative thing to say about this. It was so funny. (Even funnier than Bill Bryson and Dave Barry. Okay, maybe as funny as Barry.)
The author had several memorable vacations to poke fun at. I loved his parents. They were hilarious.
The author had several memorable vacations to poke fun at. I loved his parents. They were hilarious.
February 22, 2021
I found Nevin Martell's humorous memoir/travelogue Freak Show Without A Tent: Swimming With Pirahnas, ... to be a very entertaining read, but I subtracted one star for the total lack of vacation photos! I would have really enjoyed this book more if he had simply included a picture or two.
January 24, 2022
This was a fun read of wild and chaotic family adventures.
January 8, 2015
Long overdue review!
I generally don't read nonfiction books, mainly because I prefer the story arcs and characters that are more apparent in fictional works. However, there's plenty of both in this book. I had no problems getting sucked right into the trials and tribulations of the Martells as they globe trotted their way from one amazing adventure to the next.
The writing is expressive and clever -- though I have to say I couldn't catch all the cultural references (this book is rich with them). ;)
I especially enjoyed the last family vacation chapter. I can still hear the agonized echo of "NOOOOOOOOO!" as the bottle of scotch slips from Nevin's fingers into the piranha infested waters below.
I generally don't read nonfiction books, mainly because I prefer the story arcs and characters that are more apparent in fictional works. However, there's plenty of both in this book. I had no problems getting sucked right into the trials and tribulations of the Martells as they globe trotted their way from one amazing adventure to the next.
The writing is expressive and clever -- though I have to say I couldn't catch all the cultural references (this book is rich with them). ;)
I especially enjoyed the last family vacation chapter. I can still hear the agonized echo of "NOOOOOOOOO!" as the bottle of scotch slips from Nevin's fingers into the piranha infested waters below.
July 23, 2014
The charm of this book is that it took me all over the world with Martell's family, but each time I closed the book, I was on one of my own family vacations. The sibling rivalry, big plans, unexpected turns and small delights all felt very familiar even though my own family never ventured so far (so so far!) off the beaten path. I enjoyed being put in that mind because they are memories worth exploring and sharing. Now I want to go call my brother and say, "Remember that trip...?"
July 2, 2014
I loved reading this fun tale. Martell has a terrific sense of humor and his prose reflects that. I have to admit that I am a touch envious that he has led such an exciting life!
A great read for the beach this summer.
A great read for the beach this summer.
July 10, 2015
A great memoir of a family and their incredible vacations. All planned by a father with a love for travel that often put his family in quite the precarious vacation spot. The narrative is funny and at times contemplative, with the anecdotes creating a pathos to which any American will relate.
September 6, 2017
Hilarious travelogue of family misadventures across the globe. The only thing that drove me nuts is the passive mom who does and says nothing to stop her idiot husband from plunging headlong into dangerous situations. Great autobiography.
May 26, 2017
What an incredible story! Told by Nevin Martell when he was growing up with an incredibly adventurous, thrill-seeking father. I simply cannot imagine traveling to the far ends of the earth at such a young age and witnessing the things Nevin did. He tells his story with wit, humor and a little sarcasm thrown in. While I love traveling and seeing the sites, I would never have the backbone to travel to the remote places Nevin's dad took his family. What a ride!
August 6, 2014
Freak Show Without a Tent opens with a six-year-old boy praying to Santa Claus while sitting in a flight attendant's lap on a rapidly-descending, depressurized airplane. And that may be the most normal thing about Nevin Martell's family vacations. If you pick up this book, be prepared to be sucked in. You will not be able to put it down. Vividly detailed, Nevin's accounts of his family's various adventures sound like the premise for a great novel--and then you realize they actually happened. It's a wonder any of them survived to tell the story! (Even though you know they did, because Nevin wrote the book, there are moments you will find yourself doubting whether they will get out of the situation alive.)
You'll follow Nevin from a small boy, wide-eyed and ready for adventure, to a teenager struggling to fit in with his peers while being whisked away at a moment's notice by his parents--and reacting in every way you'd expect a teenager to react, to an adult who suddenly finds the tables turned. I don't want to give away any more of the book's tales than I already have, because I believe a reader will only gain a true appreciation for them by experiencing them him or herself.
Perhaps it's because my own family's most exciting vacation adventure involved a trip to the beaches of New Hampshire during which my older brother caught starfish and left them in a bucket on the porch, where they died overnight and smelled up the whole house, but I found myself wishing I had grown up in Nevin's family. About halfway through the book, I realized it was so much more than just a travel journal. All families struggle to get along at times, but while for most people these struggles are played out over Thanksgiving dinner or a family wedding, the Martell family struggles played out in exotic, remote locations thousands of miles from home. These are people you'll wish you knew--as real as it gets.
Don't pick this book up if you have to be somewhere in an hour, because you will be late. I finished this book late (for me) tonight, and intended to go to sleep and write this review tomorrow morning. But after an hour of lying in bed, still thinking about the book and its touching and poignant ending (yes, I shed a tear or two), I realized I would not be able to wait until morning. So here I sit, a mere 5 hours before my alarm will go off, telling you to read this book. You will not regret it!
You'll follow Nevin from a small boy, wide-eyed and ready for adventure, to a teenager struggling to fit in with his peers while being whisked away at a moment's notice by his parents--and reacting in every way you'd expect a teenager to react, to an adult who suddenly finds the tables turned. I don't want to give away any more of the book's tales than I already have, because I believe a reader will only gain a true appreciation for them by experiencing them him or herself.
Perhaps it's because my own family's most exciting vacation adventure involved a trip to the beaches of New Hampshire during which my older brother caught starfish and left them in a bucket on the porch, where they died overnight and smelled up the whole house, but I found myself wishing I had grown up in Nevin's family. About halfway through the book, I realized it was so much more than just a travel journal. All families struggle to get along at times, but while for most people these struggles are played out over Thanksgiving dinner or a family wedding, the Martell family struggles played out in exotic, remote locations thousands of miles from home. These are people you'll wish you knew--as real as it gets.
Don't pick this book up if you have to be somewhere in an hour, because you will be late. I finished this book late (for me) tonight, and intended to go to sleep and write this review tomorrow morning. But after an hour of lying in bed, still thinking about the book and its touching and poignant ending (yes, I shed a tear or two), I realized I would not be able to wait until morning. So here I sit, a mere 5 hours before my alarm will go off, telling you to read this book. You will not regret it!
December 27, 2015
I really liked this book! It's an autobiography, and to be honest, the father in the book was pretty awful, verging on abusive. It was pretty heart-wrenching to watch this family fall apart, but even with that, there are some very memorable scenes, and seriously hilarious situations. I'm not entirely sure the author recognized what an awesome gift his father gave him through all of their ridiculous travels.
July 11, 2014
It's a love letter to dysfunctional families everywhere!
Every kid wants to go on a wild adventure, and Nevin takes you along into the depths of the forests, upon the waves and down the obstacle course of family relationships. I couldn't wait to turn the chapter to the next harrowing plane ride.
Every kid wants to go on a wild adventure, and Nevin takes you along into the depths of the forests, upon the waves and down the obstacle course of family relationships. I couldn't wait to turn the chapter to the next harrowing plane ride.
August 15, 2014
I really enjoyed the author's storytelling style, and his raw account of the fun and trials he had with his family. I found myself laughing out loud at several points in the book. Great book for a beach vacation, or when you may need a vacation from your mundane day-to-day. Highly recommend!
April 18, 2016
Delivers humor, adventure. Lives up to its title!
Hilarious, touching, interesting for the armchair traveler. Only maddening note were a few unintentional Spanish errors. I really enjoyed it and want to read more!
Hilarious, touching, interesting for the armchair traveler. Only maddening note were a few unintentional Spanish errors. I really enjoyed it and want to read more!
July 20, 2014
I stayed up far too late reading and loving this. Will make sure to put it on my shelf for a February afternoon when I really need a tropical adventure
July 28, 2014
Laugh out loud funny and strikingly honest. Great book.
June 30, 2015
One of my new favorites!
August 20, 2016
Entertaining and well written memoir about family travel misadventures with a healthy heaping of tasty food writing stirred in.
Want to read
August 21, 2014Requested library to purchase audio book 8/21/2014.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews