3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Los Vuelos del Deseo – “flights of desire” – by Manelick de la Parra Vargas is a historical novel in Spanish. It includes elements of magic realism. Set in a Mexican village in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it tells the story of the widow Julieta Argüelles, her twin daughters Ana and Alicia, their stepfather Hugo, and various other characters linked to them. Notable among these are the servant Jobita, who has the same father as Julieta and an indigenous mother, the discontented priest Hipolito who raves about the devil, and the honey seller Gilberto.
The story opens with the birth of a “pardo” (dark-skinned) baby whom Julieta names Carlos. His mother is Ana, who has just died, as has her stepfather Hugo. Neither may be buried in consecrated ground. We are then flown back to the time when Hugo, a miner, was condemned to death by firing squad, accused of being a “gringo” spy. Julieta intercedes for him with the mayor Miguel who has long been in love with her; she points out that Hugo is in fact French, and they marry. When the post office is shut down, Hugo buys a flock of carrier pigeons. Will these birds support the people in their desire to connect with a life beyond the village? Will Hipolito act on a message in Latin from the Archbishop, and what is in the message that alarms Hugo, written in a language foreign to Julieta?
Moving on from the early theme of the pigeon post, this vivid narrative has two main focal points: the dramatic events surrounding Carlos’ birth, and what plays out 17 years later when an alluring stranger comes to town. While those two strands of the story move in a linear way, the structure mimics the flight of pigeons, circling the same occurrences several times. At each pass, new details are revealed. Underlain by a dark note of fatalism, tension builds between religious rigidity and base human desires, between the old and the new, and between the European and the Latin American. The cooing of pigeons gives way to the buzzing of bees as the drama becomes more frenetic, and one reads on to see how far the characters will go for love.
There is also a soundtrack made up of multiple voices, varying between omniscient, first-person, and sometimes even second-person narration. The writer handles the changing tones with aplomb – in each passage it rapidly becomes clear who is speaking, and where the action is situated in the chronology. Making for a lively and compelling tale, this structure was one of my favourite aspects. On the strength of this enchanting way of telling an exciting story, my rating is 3 out of 4 stars. I did not award 4 stars because the characters lack certain dimensions. Mostly little more than caricatures, they are helpless, unreflecting victims of greed and lust. Ana in particular is purely sexual – could the gift of a vivid imagination find no other outlets? There are hints at morality and conscience, but overall these are weak compared with the baser drives.
I’d recommend this to anyone seeking an engaging and dramatic read, and of course to anyone wishing to practise their Spanish. It might not be appreciated by those who are unable to tolerate magic realism, and it is strictly for adults only. Readers are warned that it includes graphic descriptions of violence, including sexual violence.
The book appears to have been professionally edited; I did not find any spelling or grammatical errors.
This book stands out for its innovative narrative structure and many-voiced intensity.
******
Los Vuelos del Deseo
View: on Bookshelves
Like ButterscotchCherrie's review? Post a comment saying so!
