IN BRAZIL

A beautifully observed and lyrically written account of seven years' worth of travels through the world's fifth largest country, Bryson fills her narrative with characters, culture and history and creates vivid scenes. Here is all the football, samba, voodoo, carnival and ayahuasca from Brazil, where you can commune with spirits and dance with gods and learn a lot about life's possibilities. Seven years in Brazil saw Fran Bryson's fascination with the country develop into something of an obsession with its culture, religions and history. During many journeys from her island home in Australia she explored the glittering modern city of Brasília to small, deeply religious towns, from the inner reaches of the Amazon jungle to the vibrant back lands - home to outcasts and the possessed - and finally to the sweat-drenched streets of Rio during Carnaval. The travel writer and former literary agent took psychedelic drugs in the middle of the Amazon and sought out ancient and modern-day religious cults during her travels. 301pp with guide to sites and events, large paperback.