Review by joycechitwa -- Gringo

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joycechitwa
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Review by joycechitwa -- Gringo

Post by joycechitwa »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Gringo" by Dan "Tito" Davis.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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'What does the word “Gringo” even mean?' This was among the many skeptic thoughts churning in my mind as I approached the book. Not being much of a fan of criminal stories, I was slightly apprehensive as to what this read would offer me. Suffice it to say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised! "Gringo" by Dan "Tito" Davis is a humorous, witty-styled self-authored memoir about life as an incognito American fugitive in Latin America. It was graciously ghostwritten by Peter Conti.

The tale started off with Davis’ childhood days, growing up in South Dakota, in a middle class family. One particular day in college, he was struggling hard to study for a biology exam that he was to sit the following day. To 'help' him out, a classmate handed him a White Cross, a stimulant drug, to keep him awake and focused. Just like that, he got totally swept off and immersed into the whole new, money-filled world of drug dealing.

Things took a downturn years later when he got arrested and served a jail term of 102 months for tax evasion. His wife divorced him and disappeared with all his wealth just as he was clearing his sentence, leaving him with absolutely nothing to fall back to upon release. It was in the process of building himself back up again that his friend Marvin framed him to the authorities, claiming that he (Davis) supplied him (Marvin) with cocaine. This got Davis arrested, but the lawyer managed to convince the court to release him on bail.

And that is how his life on the run began. He immediately took off to Mexico City under a false identity. According to him, "...he would rather die in Latin America than live in an American prison, especially for a crime he had not committed." The tale continues to recount his experiences learning the new language and culture in Mexico, the risk of smuggling himself to Venezuela with fake identification papers, and generally maintaining a low profile so as not to get in the radar of the FBI or federalés. How does he maintain his new masquerading life? Does he outsmart the cops forever or do they eventually catch up with him? I will leave these details for readers to discover.

Unlike typical drug cartel stories, this one steers clear of the usual graphic scenes of prison atrocities, dimly-lit, smoke-filled casinos rooms, grizzly assassinations of rival drug barons, drawn-out fights or street violence. Actually, Davis is such a gifted storyteller, that before I knew it, I was deep in the throes of his narration, laughing at his attempts to fit in a third grade class, for instance, or musing at the possibility of a mother delivering twins by the road-side then proceeding with her journey on a public bus!

I got to understand that in fact, not everyone on the FBI’s most wanted list actually committed the crime they are accused of, though as for the accurate percentage of these innocent ones, who knows? It’s a pity that since no-one is going to believe their innocence, they have to do whatever they see fit to protect themselves. I came to realize that not all drug barons are heartless, emotionless and granite-faced. I could connect with the emotional roller coaster of Davis as he longed for his second wife and step-daughter. I could feel his sense of frustration at being driven to this difficult destitute life due to betrayal by his purported friend. I actually admired his diligence in studies and the fact that he resolved never to touch another drug again! What’s more, he stuck to his resolve! However, I still do not approve of the vice of drug trafficking.

A note I have to raise though is that the kindle version I downloaded seemed not to be the final version of the book. It still had quite a number of outstanding editorial marks and notes. This can be seen at kindle location 124, 150, 174 among many others. The formatting, too, had not yet been finalized. For instance at the first section, “Praise for Gringo”, there is uneven spacing between the tributes, such that it becomes slightly confusing to identify which person or organization gave which tribute. I have not had the chance to see whether other versions of the book have similar challenges, but I trust they are in the final version. For this glaring setback, I rate the book a 3 out of 4 stars.

By the way, I googled the term “Gringo” – It means, (in Spanish-speaking countries and contexts) a person, especially American, who is not Hispanic or Latino! :D

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Dusamae
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Post by Dusamae »

Great review. I also googled "Gringo", like you I didn't know what that meant. I did not like the book and I felt as if Davis wanted the reader's sympathy. To me, he was just arrested for the wrong drug and he could have proved it if he hadn't left the country.
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Post by jcoad »

Your review does a great job of summarizing the story and the "feel" of the book. There is definitely quite a bit of storytelling going on in this book. For me, the book bounced from topic to topic too quickly without much story in the middle. It was funny in places but hard to believe in most places. I do appreciate what Dan had to go through, but it was all of his own makings. I had a hard time feeling sorry for him at any point in the book. I appreciate your review!
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joycechitwa
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Post by joycechitwa »

Dusamae wrote: 20 Aug 2018, 07:35 Great review. I also googled "Gringo", like you I didn't know what that meant. I did not like the book and I felt as if Davis wanted the reader's sympathy. To me, he was just arrested for the wrong drug and he could have proved it if he hadn't left the country.
:lol2: :lol2: come to think of it, yeah, he probably wanted the world to sympathize with him. But what do you expect when you decide that you will make a living from pedaling drugs? :eusa-think:
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Post by joycechitwa »

jcoad wrote: 21 Aug 2018, 06:34 Your review does a great job of summarizing the story and the "feel" of the book. There is definitely quite a bit of storytelling going on in this book. For me, the book bounced from topic to topic too quickly without much story in the middle. It was funny in places but hard to believe in most places. I do appreciate what Dan had to go through, but it was all of his own makings. I had a hard time feeling sorry for him at any point in the book. I appreciate your review!
There was no strong overarching theme or point. It was just a narrative of what happened to him while on the run. What redeemed me was that, as I said, I had no previous expectations, I just approached the book freestyle and just flowed with the story! :techie-studyinggray:
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Post by kfwilson6 »

Your review gives a very clear picture of what happens in this book. I don't think reading about Dan's life on the run would be of interest to me though. I've seen a few movies and read a few books about accused persons who were innocent. I cannot even imagine the nightmare of that.
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Post by Julie Green »

This book has certainly stirred debate... almost every review I have read has a different view of the main character and his story! For me, I wasn't a fan of his personality but I did enjoy his travel stories. And I like your colourful review :D
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Post by Bianka Walter »

I agree that he does a good job of staying away from the norm as far as being involved in drug deals in concerned. You expect to see the whole shady underground deals going down, and it's not like that at all.
This is a great review, I really enjoyed it :)
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

I loved the way you summarized the book's contents without giving a single spoiler. Great review! And you have drawn up many good points as well.
I agree with you that the moment Tito picked the white tablet back from the sink was the turning point of the whole story. There was no turning back from that point, I believe.
As you said, this book indeed showed us the better side of many characters who are otherwise considered cruel and heartless.
His descriptions of the third world countries are fairly accurate, this much I can tell!
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Post by Nma26 »

I don't like memoirs but your review of this book makes me want to read it. Nice choice of words.Good job.
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Post by Okafor Prosper »

I feel drug cartel stories shouldn't steer clear of all the things you mentioned in the review. That way it will be more realistic. Hopefully, this doesn't make me dislike this book when I read it. Nice review.
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Post by Rosemary Khathibe »

I feel bad for Davis. Having a runaway wife, and to experience a betrayal of someone he called a friend, must have been very hard to handle. I would like to read the book. Thanks for your interesting review.
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Post by crediblereading2 »

I feel sorry for Davis. A friend gave him something to help him out and he got hooked on it. I wish that he had the strength to fight this off. Thank you for your lovely review of this book.
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Post by joycechitwa »

kfwilson6 wrote: 21 Aug 2018, 13:05 Your review gives a very clear picture of what happens in this book. I don't think reading about Dan's life on the run would be of interest to me though. I've seen a few movies and read a few books about accused persons who were innocent. I cannot even imagine the nightmare of that.
You're on point with that. I selected it purely out of curiosity. :oops: Any other fugitive's life would probably run along the same lines. Thanks for your comment.
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Post by joycechitwa »

Julie Green wrote: 21 Aug 2018, 14:23 This book has certainly stirred debate... almost every review I have read has a different view of the main character and his story! For me, I wasn't a fan of his personality but I did enjoy his travel stories. And I like your colourful review :D
:bow-yellow: Thanks for your kind complement! I guess everyone digested the story differently. :-P The various ways in which he portrays himself as the story unfolds affect each of us to varying degrees. Appreciate your comment! :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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