There are many stories from around the world. When I attacked Banana's, I didn't feel a fizz when I read the first pages. This family of 4 children (three boys and a girl from 9 to 18 years old at the beginning) will buy a new Saint-Francis 50 in South Africa. It is on this 50 foot catamaran that they will discover the world by making the tour in 7 years.
The adventure is very beautiful, but the story begins a little softly. However, as the pages go by, we feel that the authors (the father and the mother) are more let loose in writing and narration accelerates. If at the beginning, the reader has the right to a linear description (we get up, we sail, we anchor, we go to bed...), as the journey progresses, only the anecdotes, the encounters and the stops that are worth the effort stand out. And that's good for the reading!
This story takes us on a world tour through the tropics with the passage of the Panama Canal and a return to the starting point in South Africa. In the end, the sailboat will extend the trip a little since it will be sold in Florida (United States). Future travellers will find in this story some nice ideas for stopovers (and others to avoid). On the other hand, the financial arrangements for such a successful course are totally hidden, as are certain technical details (problems or maintenance of the catamaran) which are not necessarily detailed.
As the children grow along the journey, they are seen leaving or coming aboard. A beautiful proof that life on a sailboat is possible even with distant family, even when it comes to successfully studying for these teenagers.
And as the kitchen (and the aperitif) holds a capital importance for the morale of this crew, each chapter is punctuated with a homemade recipe. Starting with the first: the recipe for flambéed bananas, a mandatory passage on this catamaran named Banana!
- Publisher Sophie and Robert-Louis Kuhn
- 14.7 x 21 cm
- 397 pages
- 29,00 €
