Praise for Memories:
"Reading this book is like watching a film, in which the scenery, music and characters catapault one into the very soul of a magical country. It is sometimes like reading a Rick Steve's travel book written in poetry while a symphony is playing in the background
It is a passionate love letter to Mexico in language rich in sudden poetic surprises and musical overtones." Anonymous writer, Corvallis Oregon
"Wow. Mike Curtis captures this country so wonderfully, so accurately." Correspondent with the Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Memories of a Musician in Mexico" is a fun, well-written read that will enchant readers--especially armchair travelers--who want to experience south-of-the-border culture." Anonymous writer
It is an ideal balance of inviting descriptions of fascinating geographic settings, of diverse intriguing personalities, of varied and unique experiences, while it chronicles heart rending personal and professional growth over the years. Anonymous music professor
Read this book to explore a Mexico that few Americans get to experience. Read this book to accompany an extraordinary musician through a bumpy life of drugs and risks to a life of "health, sobriety, and happiness" Read this book to see the unabashed love Mike has for the land, the culture and the people of Mexico. You understand the almost spiritual nature of his writing as he relives the places and events that make Mike Curtis that man that he is. Read this book to smell the ocean, to taste the mango-on-a-stick, to feel the bustle of La Peñita at night, and the exuberance of the mariachi bands. Mike writes with authority and evocatively about the Mexico that lies deep in his soul.." Anonymous teacher, Cottage Grove, Oregon
He is adept at tapping into a vast literary tradition, that of the spiritual sojourner searching for personal growth across a border that is both a reality and a metaphor.
The fact is, this short, rollicking, rapturous compendium of memories fails, in the end, to positively declare itself; literally, it is neither here nor there, which is not entirely a shortcoming. Containing elements of travelogue, travel guide, ethnography, history, memoir and personal journal, Curtis' book is a sort of literary sampler, dipping its toe into forking streams of thought but never lingering long enough to develop into a full-fledge movement.
The sheer exuberance of Curtis' enthusiasm for his subject matter is enough to carry the reader along. His writing can be graceful and economical. Whether waxing poetic about the colorful, quixotic tumult that is the city of Guanajuato or describing the joyous clash of bands in a public procession, Curtis is able to convey the palpable thrill of a traveler's first encounters.
Memories is always great fun to read - it has that desultory yet seductive quality of an overexcited friend talking you through a slideshow of his awesome vacation.
In Memories of a Musician in Mexico, Curtis succeeds in capturing that country's multivalent, many splendored culture, and every now and then he lays down a line of prose that sings harmoniously from the page." Rick Levin, Eugene Weekly