Far Country Book

I was disappointed in this novel from an obviously very accomplished writer. It read more like a year in the life of the protagonist, Isabel, with a series of incidents, rather than a story that builds towards a climax.

Isabel, a 14-year old girl, has a spiritual and symbiotic bond with her older brother Isaias, who has left their drought-ridden village to make it in the big city "down south" in this unnamed South American country that could be anything from Brazil to Peru to Argentina. Isabel follows in the path of her brother, undertaking a perilous journey on a flatbed that nearly kills her, partly to be reunited with him, and partly to escape being dependant on her parents who are eking out a living on the farm. She finds employment in the city slum caring for a cousin's baby during the week and waving flags for a political candidate on weekends. Her quest for Isaias takes her into some dangerous situations but the imagined presence of her brother, who seems to be always around her, steers her out of trouble. The revelation in the end is anti-climactic, but the message, that out perceived greatness is not inherent and only comes from those who confer it upon us, is clear. The other inevitability: the drift from village to city, where the villagers end up in dead-end jobs, and that this cycle is perpetuated with every batch of new entrants, is more than clear too.

The writing is beautiful and this redeems the book somewhat, but the conflicts come in a series of little bumps which quickly resolve themselves and do not build upon each other. More could have been done with Isabel's disastrous outing to the discotheque in the city, or when she lost baby Hugo on the bus. The author conjures the impression that everyone is waiting for something to happen, like Isabel waiting for Isaias to show up; alas, as a reader, I too was waiting but nothing happened for me to say "ah, ha!" in the end.

I liked the descriptions of village and city and they come across as if the writer spent considerable time in these locales and immersed himself in the life there.

I think more could have been done with this book given the writer's gift for language, description and insight into character.