Latin America Diaries: The Sequel to the Motorcycle Diaries

by Ernesto Che Guevara

This is Ernesto Guevara's journal of his second trip through Latin America, revealing the emergence of a revolutionary now called Che. It includes letters, poetry and journalism that document his journey following his graduation from medical school. After traveling through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Central America, Ernesto witnesses the 1954 US-inspired coup in Guatemala. He flees to Mexico where he encounters Fidel Castro, marking the beginning of a political partnership that profoundly changes the world and Che himself.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Politics, Biography, Autobiography, Philosophy

180 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was a Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, since his death Guevara's stylized visage has become an ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global icon within popular culture.

His belief in the necessity of world revolution to advance the interests of the poor prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's radical ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their movement, and travelled to Cuba with the intention of overthrowing the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the successful two year guerrilla campaign that topled the Cuban government.

After serving in a number of key roles in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.

Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled "Guerrillero Heroico," was declared "the most famous photograph in the world" by the Maryland Institute of Art.

Reviews

[Eve Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

he had sooo many asthma attacks bruhhhh

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well for those of us whose Spanish is not very good or have any at all it would have been nice if the two poems of his had been also translated into English. Be that as it may this is an extraordinary book by a remarkable man. However, it is rather curious that in his diary (really a journal) he doesn't always put much importance to certain people and his relationship with them, I'm primarily thinking Hilda Gadea. It's quite a mystery as to why he married her at all. Unless by an odd obligation to marry the woman he had a child with. A strict moral sense to the future Che of Cuba. But then if you happen to read about his time spent as a guerrilla you will see that his thinking about women and their roles within the revolution was far from revolutionary! Indeed this machismo is confounding for a man that seemed radical in every other sense. With this all in mind and whether you hate, love, are indifferent or have an admiration there is much to be got from this book. Here is part two of the foundation of Che Guevara's ideologies and what lead him to Cuba and to the myths, legends, etc. we have of him today. Even if you dislike him for whatever reason this book is well worth a read to fully understand his motivations.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't as engaging as Guevara's first journey across Latin America, but this second trip is a glimpse into his interest in politics. There were times in this where I felt that a lot was missing, that I was walking into the middle of a conversation.

Latin American Diaries takes place between 1953 and 1956. Guevara is present during a military take over in Guatemala, meets Fidel Castro in Mexico City in 1955, and spends a lot of time reading up on Marx and Engel.

By the end of the book, it is really difficult to tell exactly how he decided to join Castro, but it is clear that he has.

[mazovianismo psicodélico]

«(...)Abora no queda más que la parte final del discurso, referente al hombrín y que podría titularse: "¿Y ahora qué?"
Ahora viene lo bravo, vieja; lo que nunca he rehuido y siempre me ha gustado. El cielo no se ha puesto negro, las constelaciones no se han dislocado ni ha habido inundaciones o huracanes demasiado insolentes; los signos son buenos. Auguran victoria. Pero si se equivocaran, que al fin hasta los dioses se equivocan, creo que podré decir como un poeta que no conocés:
"Sólo llevaré bajo tierra la pesadumbre de un canto inconcluso."
Para evitar patetismos "pre morten", esta
carta saldrá cuando las papas quemen de verdad y entonces sabrás que tu hijo, en un soleado país americano, se puteará a sí mismo por no haber estudiado algo de cirugía para ayudar a un herido y puteará al gobierno mexicano que no lo dejó perfeccionar su ya respetable puntería para voltear muñecos con más soltura.
Y la lucha será de espaldas a la pared,como en los himnos, basta vencer o morir.
Te besa de nuevo, con todo el cariño de una despedida
que se resiste a ser total.
Tu hijo»

Octubre 1956

[lisa ೃ࿐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Emilyx · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be obsessed with Che Guevara. I had been hoping for a repeat of The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey but unfortunately this is not like the first set of diaries whatsoever. Firstly, Alberto Granado, Che's partner in crime from the first tour, is noticeably missing from this second tour of Latin America, and his absence is deeply felt. It's not a travel diary about two young men bumming around the continent looking for cheap lodging, women, drink, and lepers, incidentally encountering political injustice with stirring feelings of Pan Americanism. In Back on the Road, Che's voice changes; he's become a serious student of politics who writes solely about the political actors he comes into contact with. So you can see how he eventually becomes radicalized up to the point where at the end of this diary he meets Fidel Castro (Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship). While there are entries that are interesting, it's not meant for a casual reader or someone who would like to hear about Che's physical journey through the countries, of which there is very little detail. There is also less structure in the sense that there are no line breaks or delineation between different passages, so it is occasionally disorienting. In fact, Che only mentions his marriage to his first wife Hilda, and the arrival of his first child, in a passing sentence (not even in his diary, but in a letter to his mother). As it is, I would recommend this second diary only to fans of Che Guevara the Cuban Revolutionary, not necessarily fans of The Motorcycle Diaries. Actually, the only thing the two diaries have in common, is the frequency of Che's bad asthma attacks (poor kid).

[Amy Cowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can’t trust 26 year old revolutionaries… sure they’re sexy but their letters to their mother will be all about politics and only have one half sentence about you and your baby.

[David Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similarly to my feelings on The Motorcycle Diaries, the Latin American Diaries are a great read for those who are eager to see the firsthand writings of Che after learning about his ideology. This one is even better in that sense, given that this follows his second journey through Latin America and ends with his meeting with Fidel Castro and preparing to join the Granma expedition. Something that strikes me when reading his journal entries and letters to his family is just how eloquent he truly was and how great he was at descriptive language and conveying his feelings; the example of this that sticks out to me the most is one of the last letters he writes to his mother during this book’s events in which he scoffs at the mention of Christ and the idea of compassion and forgiving your enemies, it really shows off his mindset and the ferocity on display.

[Orla · Rating 3 out of 5]

La intención de estos escritos de E. Guevara no era publicarse y en ese sentido se entiende su contenido primordialmente anecdótico. Por eso mismo conviene no esperar grandes disquisiciones sobre política y sí los primeros acercamientos del Che a la política, desde un punto de vista humano.

Por otro lado, me pareció que los editores debieron haber seccionado el diario para facilitar su lectura. Además, hay omisiones en el texto justificadas en que "corresponden a detalles estrictamente personales". Justamente por ser un diario, el contenido es persé personal, y hubieran sido elementos que sumen a una imagen más acabada de la personalidad del protagonista.

[Miraculix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr interessantes Tagebuch zu seiner zweiten Südamerikareise. Während das Tagebuch der ersten noch fast gänzlich unpolitisch war, zeigt sich hier sein grösser werdendes Klassenbewusstsein, was dann (im nächsten Tagebuch) in der massgeblichen Beteiligung an der kubanischen Revolution mündet.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inhaltlich war das Buch größtenteils sehr alltäglich, sehr deskriptiv, las sich tatsächlich wie ein “normales” Reisetagebuch - und zog sich dadurch leider etwas. Die Einträge, bei denen es jedoch um eine politische Einschätzung und Prognose der aktuellen Geschehnisse ging und durch die tatsächlich auch eine ideologische Bewertung zu erkennen war, waren jedoch hoch interessant. Wenn mal also daran interessiert ist, sollte man sich vielleicht eher einem seiner anderen Büchern zuwenden.

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give everything Che wrote an automatic 5 stars because I'm biased, but admittedly, this journal is hard to follow if you don't already know about the context of his journeys. I don't know if it's correct to label the journal as a "sequel" of any sort. Keep in mind this is the personal writing of a 25 year old Ernesto Guevara that he never intended to share with the public.

To sum up all the events detailed, Ernesto (not yet Che) decides to go on another journey across Latin America. He starts off with a companion, Calica (who he doesn't seem to like all that much), but they quickly part way, and he wanders eventually to Guatemala. Ernesto gets involved with the Arbenz coup against the CIA backed forces and is forced to flee to Mexico. This is also when he first gets the attention of the CIA, although at that time, he's just a vagabond doctor, a nobody. In Mexico, he meets Fidel Castro, and the rest is history.

Between his travels, Ernesto:

- gets an inordinate amount of asthma attacks
- is constantly unemployed or doing gig work
- writes medical papers
- hitchhikes
- has questionable hygiene
- sleeps in a number of dubious locations
- meets a lot of women
- somehow avoids getting venereal diseases from the amount of women he's shagging
- drinks mate
- judges people
- writes to his mami

After Guatemala, he becomes a communist, and you see it reflected clearly in his writings.

I recommend reading all of Che's journals; if anything, the parts where he's being nasty are fairly entertaining.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Significantly more political than 'TMD', but there is still quite a lot of mundane, day-to-day minutiae that gets tiring after a while. Reading this it is rather obvious that Che is relatively new to any sort of struggle, be it on a personal level or on a larger scale. His gripes about money and food and other random observations are at times funny, but more often come across as petty, revealing his sheltered life to this point. He is an educated man too, and his attitudes as a result tend toward his superiority in most aspects of life. The inclusion of the letters to his family were of historical interest, but they bogged down the book's pacing, mostly repeating in letter form what he wrote in the previous sections. When he speaks on politics, be it his own or the current situations in various countries, it is obvious he is moving in the direction of some form of socialism. He holds no love for the interventions and state-sponsored violence of the USofA, an opinion I share unequivocally. The included photos are of a very high quality, and along with his expressive writing style, show that Che has a talent for creativity and artistry. An interesting follow up that gives a few hints at the man Che was to become, if only obliquely so. Strangely, his signing on with Castro gets barely any commentary, though he does say he likes Fidel and sees them being friends in the future. Ha!

[Saj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this more than Motorcycle Diaries. In this book we see young Ernesto making the decision that he really wants to dedicate his life to the revolution, even if it means death.

He isn't just looking for adventure anymore, he's looking for meaning and purpose: the chance to make a difference in his beloved South America. I think there's a lot here that anyone can identify with, regardless of how you feel about communism.

I wish the book had included a short history of Latin America or at least definitions of the people and political organisations mentioned. I have a very vague understanding of Latin American history and had to do an embarrassing amount of googling while reading (starting with United Fruit Company...).

[Comrade Kvlt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only 3 stars since a good chunk of this book is basically Che having asthma attacks and waiting for other people so he can proceed with traveling/medicine/work, etc.

The beginning is good, but around the time he gets in Guatemala, or perhaps a bit before it, he gets stuck in a serious monotonous rut. There's such a dearth of anything for him to write about at that point, paired with monotony that that chunk was hard to get through. However, when the coup happens in Guatemala onward, and during his time in Mexico, I love. His letters to his mom are so incredible. When he said her talking about her depression revealed a great wisdom in a way he never knew her, that smacked me right in the heart. It would seem the perpetual fight between frustration and love with mothers is an all too universal phenomenon.

It's a shame that his diary style often is only a statement of a few facts, and it's edited in a way where there's not really distinctions between gaps of time. When he does decide to be poetic, to be sensitive and passionate, it always moves you. Of course one can't always be like that, but damn.

I think Motorcycle Diaries is more digestible simply because from what I understand, he had more of a sense of purpose with that and wrote/edited it on his own instead of it being compiled by others. He also was in a bit larger of a crisis in this book and had to focus on surviving and I think that might be part of the reduction in readability.

I'm very excited to continue reading Che's writings, it's my goal to read everything by him this year. It's really hard to not be a fan of him, and I'm not just speaking ideologically as a Marxist-Leninist. The man really is the essence of doing whatever he wants to do and doing it well; more often than not. Just in the first two books, the amount of jobs he did and people he helped, the insight he gives throughout all of the Americas, is incredible. Things he's shown to do well or at least do at some point: Star soccer player and captain, firefighter, journalist, photographer, doctor (one who will literally canoe fucking leprosy patients through the amazon) diplomat, womanizer (impressive but distasteful, it's kind of insane he marries and has a baby with Hilda, and immediately still seeks out women to fuck), writer, historian, bandit, etc.

The dude really was on insane levels of audacity, intelligence, and constitution. He 100 percent deserves the mythological legacy around him and he constantly amuses and inspires. He has such an odd personality. His writing leaves an impression sometimes that he only cares about pragmatism, almost like he already had some militaristic discipline internalized within him before ever picking up a weapon in the name of revolution. This accompanied with skepticism, sometimes tends to paint the more reactionary image of him.

Yet, more often than not, he often speaks only the best of most people; and almost always sees the good qualities in everyone, save those who deserve to be scorned. (This would become apparent in the July 26th revolutions prisoner policy, where during the revolution often prisoners would be let go with a lecture, and only their weapons and ammo confiscated) Despite his straightforward and blunt style of reporting much of the time, it's obvious within him is a very intense passion for the appreciation of arts, culture, history, and all sorts of things. When he thinks on these things, often the poet and romantic side of him comes out. It's clear there was a struggle within him like many revolutionaries; caught between the desire to live the life of a bohemian and submit to all sorts of hedonism, even the more virtuous epicurean kind; or to steel oneself and sacrifice yourself entirely to fighting injustice. I'm glad he chose what he chose.

Also, lmao, calling Karl Marx "Saint Karl" and Engels and Marx, "Charlie and Freddy".

[VICTOR TELLES · Rating 5 out of 5]

De Ernesto a Che: Uma Viagem Rumo à História.


O “irmão menos conhecido” dos Diários de Motocicleta é uma obra de valor equiparável e igualmente digna de um filme quanto seu irmão mais famoso.

A viagem, que começa com um Ernesto recém-formado saindo da Argentina e termina com o revolucionário “Che” a bordo do Granma rumo a Cuba, beira o inacreditável. É permeada por acasos do destino que levaram um jovem argentino a conhecer figuras históricas (Juan Bosch, Rómulo Betancourt, Fidel Castro) e a testemunhar acontecimentos de grande peso (como a queda de Jacobo Árbenz) em uma região que poderia facilmente ser descrita como um caldeirão geopolítico dos anos 1950. Se fosse um filme, provavelmente seria desacreditado por parecer “bom demais para ser verdade”.

Nessa viagem, Guevara já demonstra uma visão mais política do mundo, mas sua transformação e amadurecimento aparecem de forma contínua ao longo da obra, o que torna fascinante acompanhar o processo. Além da faceta analítica e política — que era de se esperar —, somos apresentados ao lado humano da lenda: seu humor e postura irreverentes, suas paixões, seus interesses por arqueologia e história, seu gosto pelo mate e sua capacidade de adaptação diante de adversidades que teriam sido intransponíveis para indivíduos de menor obstinação.

Um momento de destaque é a queda do governo democraticamente eleito de Árbenz, na Guatemala, derrubado por um golpe apoiado e financiado pela CIA e pelos interesses da United Fruit Company. Pelos olhos do autor — que ironicamente vinha reclamando de tédio nos dias anteriores —, temos acesso a uma leitura crítica dos acontecimentos e das principais figuras envolvidas, além de uma energia contagiante, já que, pela primeira vez na vida, ele estava testemunhando (e até participando) de um evento histórico. A narrativa transmite inclusive sua decepção após a instalação da ditadura e a cessação das animosidades.

Outro aspecto memorável são as coletâneas de fotografias tiradas durante a trajetória — incluindo aquelas feitas quando Ernesto trabalhou como fotógrafo nos Jogos Pan-Americanos do México. Elas ampliam a imersão e revelam a qualidade do olhar do autor também nesse universo da fotografia.

A escrita, muitas vezes, assume um tom poético para descrever pessoas, cidades, ruínas indígenas e paisagens, permitindo ao leitor uma compreensão mais profunda da jornada do argentino e de sua percepção do mundo ao redor.

Não posso definir de outra forma senão admirável essa “fome por conhecer e mudar o mundo” que um jovem asmático dos anos 1950 demonstrou desde o primeiro momento em que teve autonomia sobre si mesmo. Nunca permitiu que expectativas ou barreiras, tanto externas quanto internas, servissem de justificativa para minar suas convicções e desejos — fossem eles viajar e conhecer o planeta e a humanidade que o habita ou, eventualmente, lutar para transformá-los.

[chadi kammoun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latin America Diaries: The Sequel to The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara

I wasn’t sure how to feel about reviewing this book. The first one (The Motorcycle Diaries) was better—more vivid, more grounded. But then again, how do you judge someone’s private travel journal? These entries were never meant to be published, so how can we put a metric on them? The writing? The events? The structure?

All I can say is this: it’s a decent glimpse into Che Guevara’s mind during a formative period. But beyond that, the book doesn’t offer much. It’s a vague recounting of his journey through Latin America. The narrative is often disjointed—days and months blur together, and sometimes it’s hard to tell whether the events between two paragraphs happened hours apart or weeks later.

If you’re looking to understand Che on a deeper, ideological level, this isn’t the book for that. It’s more of a scattered travel log than a revolutionary roadmap. But if you're already familiar with his story and simply want more context from his personal perspective, you might still find value in it.

[Nicolas L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished on the train ride back from Allison’s Lotion Party. Tbh the actual journal entries were a slog to get through, really disjointed and skipping so quickly through time! Beholden to when he actually decided to write in it. The best writing was in his letters to mom, and the articles at the end.

Both of these were in letters to mom:

“As to your appeal for moderate egoism, that is, for common lily-livered individualism, I must tell you that I have done a lot to wipe him out — I mean, not exactly that unfamiliar spineless type, but the other bohemian type, unconcerned about his neighbour and imbued with a sense of self-sufficiency deriving from an awareness (mistaken or not) of my own strength.”

“Next comes the tough part, the part I have never shunned and always enjoyed. The sky has not darkened, the constellations have not fallen apart, nor have there been floods or hurricanes of extreme severity; the signs are good. They augur victory. But if they are wrong — and in the end even the gods can be wrong — I think that I’ll be able to say like a poet you don’t know: ‘I shall carry beneath the earth only the sorrow of an unfinished song”

[Patrick Barron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as his first journey. I understand the historians were going off of a limited amount of recovered journal entries/letters from this time in Che’s life which prevents this book from being better but I still just didn’t enjoy it as much.

The timeline jumps around a lot and his writings are much more superficial talking about the happenings of the countries he travels to but it’s always brief and doesn’t tackle one subject for too long. I will say, he is much more politically focused in this rather than in the previous book where he pondered and reflected more which makes sense considering the political climate he inserted himself into. (Especially in Guatemala) I found it interesting to see his progression of what he thought was important to write down during this time vs when he was a younger man.

Also he gets so many fucking asthma attacks 😭

I think this book is valuable as a primary source. However, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as his earlier journal entries in The Motorcycle Diaries.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Für alle an Che Guevara interessierten ein interessanter Einblick. Es lässt sich klar erkennen, wie Ches Reise durch Amerika Auswirkungen auf seine politische Einstellung hat und diese weiter verhärtet, außerdem sind es interessante Einblicke in sein Leben vor der kubanischen Revolution. Da es ein Tagebuch ist, ist es oft wenig zusammenhängend geschrieben, man merkt, dass mal kürzere, schnelle Einträge verfasst wurden, ee sich an anderen Tagen allerdings mehr Zeit ließ und das Erlebte detailliert und gut zu lesen beschreibt. Gibt einen interessanten Einblick in das Leben eines Menschens, der aufgrund seines familiären Hintergrund ein gewisses Grad an Privilegien und Kontakte hat, allerdings auch mit vielen Problemen eines klassischen Arbeiters konfrontiert ist. Mit guten Anmerkungen, die Ereignisse und Personen angemessen kontextualisieren. Zur Qualität der Übersetzung kann ich nichts sagen.

[Mayank Chaturvedi]

Back on the Road is a personal text of Ernesto Che Guevara’s long journey through the American continent in his simmering surge to ‘explore America’. The descriptions rich with the spirit of youth gives the reader a clear image of a young Argentine doctor’s gradual development in to a full revolutionary icon.
The text contains numerous letters to his mother soaked with love and affection describing to her even the tiny details of their journey. from the way Che Guevara writes it the reader is able to evaluate the perception of his surroundings. His personal views, beliefs and policies become very candid through the lines that we are able to add full color to the image of the great Argentine revolutionary icon which we each have nurtured within. The book also comprises of many rare and candid photographs of Che with many acquaintances.

[rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

el diari m'ha avorrit tant com l'autor es va avorrir escrivint-lo, falta molta informació i no és tan entretingut com el primer, no crec que valgui gaire la pena. les cartes, sobretot les que envia a la mare, m'han semblat més interessants i divertides, veure una persona tan mitificada en facetes tan humanes i variades.

Querida Beatriz:
Aquí todo estuvo muy divertido con tiros, bombardeos, discursos y otros matices que cortaron la monotonía en que vivía.
Estaré atento para ir a la próxima que se arme, ya que armarse se arma seguro, porque los yanquis no se pueden pasar sin defender la democracia en algún lado.
Fuertes abrazos del sobrino aventurero

[Pooja Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book is like taking the Journey with Che..His transformation from a young, carefree wanderer to the revolutionary is so evident through his writings. How his surroundings influenced him, the person that he was when he left home ( at times you don't like him) but his honesty is so evident. His thirst for knowledge is inspiring, I may not completely agree with his ideology, but just can't deny the life that he lived. He lived for what he believed in and justified it by his actions.

[Manuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This diary of his wasn’t fine-tuned like the motorcycle diaries, so I think it was definitely taken straight from his actual diary. Because of that it wasn’t as engaging and was a lot of day-to-day type of info and thoughts, but still got a good amount out of it. Plus he went to the remaining countries in South, Central, and North America that he didn’t visit in his first journey, so that was cool to see

[Daniel Headifen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite hard to follow the structure in parts with it not having an ordinary diary format. And it seems to skip some of the big life moments (marriage, daughters birth) or give them only small mention. But then it seems that's not what he wrote it for...so tha challenged you to think of it in a different way. There are parts that are really attention grabbing though - the appendix on the Incas.

[Rick Browne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't flow as nicely as The Motorcycle Diaries, more of a collection of letters and journal entries simply put in chronologically without attempt to pull it together. However, lots of gems if you stick with it. Requires more knowledge of the time and important people to really get the messages. I did lots of looking things up.

[Jason P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool little book which documents Che's travels through Latin America. This book is especially interesting as you see him maturing into the Marxist he would later be known through experience the coup against Arbenz in Guatemala and eventually meeting Fidel Castro and deciding to join him for the Cuban Revolution.

[Simeon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing second installment after the motorcycle diaries which I enjoyed. My issues were 1) it was very hard to keep track of what is happening as there's no explanation from day to day 2) Che comes across emotionless 3) it's a bit dull. Think this section of his life would be better told as a story rather than his diaries. Avoid unless you're a big fan/already know the story quite well

[Karolis Boop · Rating 4 out of 5]

The transformation of Che from traveller to revolutionary. This book shows his process and thoughts that shape him to become the man of the revolution. You get insight into the events that shape his world view such as the people he meets and talks to as well as the Guatemalan coup that he experiences firsthand.

[Gina Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in English and I believe quite a bit of the sentiment is lost in translation. Also, there are no indicators separating the journal entries (dates, spaces...) so they all run together which was kind of annoying.