Photo credit: Nevin Martell
“Freak Show Without a Tent follows my family as we explored the far side of the far side of the world, so I thought 826DC’s Museum of Unnatural History would be the perfect venue for the book launch,” Nevin Martell told Hollywood on the Potomac. “Sure enough, the space’s twisted take on Indiana Jones style adventuring provided a perfect backdrop for the reading and signing.”
Freak Show Without a Tent: In their words; “Freak Show Without a Tent is the family vacation you never went on (but kinda wish you had). Traveling the globe is all fun and games until the kids discover they’re the grown-ups in the equation. Fondly remembered and colorfully-narrated, this book is one-part warmth and two-parts crazy – Martell’s genius lies in finding beauty in life’s awkwardest moments.” Andrew Evans, National Geographic Traveler
“A funny and poignant account of growing up in unlikely places. Part travel memoir, part The Mosquito Coast, Freak Show Without a Tent is a delight to read.” – J. Maarten Troost, author of Headhunters on My Doorstep and Getting Stoned with Savages
“In the guise of this strange and funny chronicle of a lifetime of adventure travel, Nevin Martell has slyly traced his evolution from boy to man and delivered a sharp-edged portrait of one modern American family, warts and … well, more warts. Part P.J. O’Rourke, part David Sedaris, it is both a rollicking fun trip and a surprisingly tender exploration of the ties that bind.” – Todd Kliman, author of The Wild Vine
Celebrated food and culture writer Nevin Martell published his sixth book, a memoir chronicling his globetrotting family’s misadventures to far-flung corners of the world, Freak Show Without a Tent: Swimming with Piranhas, Getting Stoned in Fiji and Other Family Vacations. From witnessing the ancient ritual of land diving on Pentecost Island and owl hunting in the Azores to participating in Fijian kava ceremonies and exploring the darkest depths of the Amazon, Martell’s childhood vacations were more akin to National Geographic stories rather than predictable trips to the family beach house.
Freak Show Without a Tent gives readers a glimpse into Martell’s eccentric family exploits, which took them from the South Pacific to South America and other esoteric locales not regularly traversed by tourists. Woven seamlessly into the stories of exploring the far corners of the earth, near death experiences and gastronomical catastrophes is the story of a young boy coming of age, a family’s struggle to keep up with its patriarch’s inexorable wanderlust and a blossoming father-son relationship. Martell reveals the symbiosis of interdependence and independence that exist deep within both rainforests and families.
Both travelogue and comedic misadventure, Freak Show Without a Tent, strikes a relatable chord for anyone who has spent a family vacation praying for it to end sooner rather than later. Equal parts National Lampoon’s Vacation, Romancing the Stone and Crocodile Dundee, Freak Show Without a Tent is a hilarious, yet intimate, portrayal of the ties that bound a family together — and the story of how they frayed apart. “On our regular adventures, my sister and I often found ourselves thinking, ‘Buy the ticket, take the ride and hope we survive — so we can tell our therapists all about it later,'” said Martell.
Take the ride:
