Stranger in the Desert was a rich tale of one man's family history, leading him through South America. Although it was non-fiction, it was very fascinating.

After being mesmerized by Jordan Salama "Every Day The River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena", I vowed I'd read everything he ever wrote. And "Stranger in the Desert" doesn't disappoint. Writing both from and about South America has long held the persistence and permanence of memory as a central tenet, and Jordan Salama is a supremely talented new voice in that lineage. Absolutely recommended for anyone interested in travelogues, uncovering lost heritage, and exploring the past.

In his latest work, Jordan Salama recounts his journey to Argentina to try and learn more about his great-grandfather, and also his own roots - a mix of Jewish, Arab, and Argentine heritage that is as wonderfully mixed as this book itself. “Stranger in the Desert,” ends up being a combination of travelog, personal memoir, a family history stretching back several generations, general histories of the lands he travels,, with plenty of other odds and ends, resulting in a journey that was fit bursting with all kinds of places, peoples, and subjects that were brand new to me To name only a few examples, Salama was able to introduce me to the “turcos” salesman and peddlers that once traveled the more remote regions of the Argentine countryside, the unique culture developed by Middle Eastern immigrants to South America, the fast-fading gauchos of the grasslands, and provide delightfully thorough min-education on maté.

It’s arguable that maybe my enthusiasm is a bit biased from the fact that my reading habits don’t often take me to South America in general, much less the particular corners that I traveled to through these pages, leading in turn to the wide range of exposure that I experienced. However, even if I already had any sizable familiarity with the abovementioned, I think I still would have enjoyed the book just as much thanks to the unique Salamas family history shared here which ties everything together. Salamas shares a deeply, and at times beautifully open and intimate look into his clan, which in turn allows for some wonderful musing on identity and belonging to bloom.

This is one of the more memorable nonfiction reads I’ve enjoyed recently - although relatively short, “Stranger in the Desert” proved to be incredibly rich in a way that was frankly anticipated in the most wonderful manner.