Reading 1001 discussion

This is the second Peruvian novel I have read recently. Both were set in the 1920's. Arguedas was in the unusual position of being an intellectual who was fluent in Quechua, the language of the Indians of the Andes. He debated whether to write in Quechuan, but decided that he would have a bigger readership if he wrote in Spanish. He did, however, write in the style of Quechua, using their word order and much vocabulary. Although I admire such skill, it made difficulties for me reading a Kindle version. Although there was a glossary at the end it was clunky to use.
The protagonist is a young boy, whose father is Spanish. It is not clear to me who his mother was, because he was referred to as mestizo a couple of times in the story. His father is an itinerant lawyer, who travels from place to place seeking cases, living poorly. Ernesto, his son, shows reverence for the Inca civilisation, which he admires in Cuzco. It is clear from the start that he is an unusual child, sensitive and poetic. When they meet an unsympathetic relative Ernesto is painfully aware of the plight of a servant.
Ernesto is deposited in Catholic boarding school, where he vividly describes the other students. It is a cruel place where the boys have great freedom to roam the streets and rape a poor intellectually challenged woman in the school's courtyard. although there is discipline, of sorts, there is no pastoral care! Ernesto suffers from the way he sees others treated, but finds solace in remembering the places he has been, and particularly the rivers. He visits the local river as much as possible to calm himself. His descriptions of the local birds and vegetation show him to have strong links to nature. it is clear that he has learned this reverence from the local people who have befriended him. The priests do not understand his sympathy for the local women who have rebelled against the unfair distribution of salt. Nor his concern when the local people stream into town (like a river) to demand the Rector says a mass to protect them from the plague.
This is a beautifully written novel that emphasises the gulf between the two groups of people: the hacienda owners, the priests and the soldiers, and the indigenous people whose traditional way of life has been destroyed. Ernesto is an unhappy bridge between.

Read this one recently for a reading the world challenge. Pip describes the plot very well. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and gave it 4 stars given its rich poetic writing that put me in the environment, its value in centering indigenous narratives and perspectives, and the thematic quality of coupling the main character’s literal maturity with coming to understand the value to social justice over financial comfort. I also loved all of the bits of Quechua scattered throughout the book.

Reading this for August 2021 BOTM Reading 1001. This books significance is that it was written for Andean people of Peru and tho it is in Spanish, the author thought and expressed himself as Quechua. So far, it is the story of a young lad's experience expressed in terms of sensual and spiritual. The book is semi autobiographical. The main character is a boy with a double origin. "A child with roots in two hostile worlds." quote by Mario Vargas Llosa. He was brought up by Indians but yet he is white and therefore does not fit in that world or in the world of the Indian. Ernesto doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. He lives in his memories and in his communion with nature. He also has a love of music. In the last chapter there is this quote about Ernesto as he walks around the schoolyard where he has been a resident and soon will be leaving; "more attentive to memories than to external things." This is also a story of Ernesto's coming of age. He is going from a reality of innocence to one where he is aware of evil.

The title Deep Rivers refers to nature but also to life to the depth, the hidden, the treacherous.
Nature Quotes:
"feel the rest of their lives the brush of its comforting warmth on their hearts, protecting them from hatred and melancholy." (reference to the insect Zumbayllu.
"The Abancay lemon, large, thick-skinned, edible within and easy to peel, contains a juice which, when mixed with brown sugar, makes the most deliciou and potent food in the world. It is a burning and sweet. It instill happiness. It instills happiness. It is as if one were drinking sunlight."
"sunshine often appears between scattered showers" and "deeply moved by the sun and the dark clouds that cast down their rain.".

Ernesto has his own religion. He incorporates his Indian upbringing with his Christian. The Rector of the boarding school is the incarnation of human duplicity and the accomplice of injustice." (LLosa). Also in reference to social status, the reference of the hacienda owners as a form of God to his subjects. To quote one of the boys Antero. "I used to weep,. Who wouldn't but the Indians must be kept down. You can't understand because you're not a landowner." Two episodes in the book include the insurrection of the market women and the ravages of the plague.

The book is considered by the translator as one that is hard for us readers to connect because while it was written in Spanish but author wrote it for the people who speak Quechua. He wanted to write it in quechua and it contains Quechua. I found it beautiful writing of nature and did not find it hard to read. I do think the translator Frances Horning Barraclough did and excellent job of trying to translate this worki. The Afterword by Mario Vargas Llosa was also excellent insights into the fine points of the book.

Read in 2015

This book is about Ernesto, a fourteen year old Peruvian boy who grows up in the rural Andes. Ernesto has quite the colorful life filled with adventure. He and his father, a country lawyer, moved about often and by the time Ernesto was fourteen they havd moved 200 times. Moving came to stop for Ernesto as his father decided to enroll him boarding school. The rest of the story is Ernesto's life in boarding school and the political and social atmosphere outside the school gates.

I was glad to have read about life on a Hacienda before this one as it gave me some background knowledge. I learned in this book how big Haciendas can get with some 300 inhabitants. Also a big part of this book is the plight of the local Indians. I had no idea how Indians were treated in Peru in the past. In this book they were slaves, owned by the Patrons of the Haciendas. They had no rights and were referred to like animals. It was quite the history lesson for me.

Arguedas is a poetic writer and it comes across even in the English translation. He was an ethnologist and this strongly comes out in his writing of this book between life of the Indians and Peruvians. I was glad that I read this book, it is smart and intelligent writing. As far as writers go, I think I prefer Allende's writing to Arguedas.

I find it very difficult to rate this book. For me, the writing style seemed to mirror that of a river for which it is named after. At times it was in full flow, delighting me with amazing descriptions, poetic language and interesting dialogue and then it seemed to take a swift turn and lose me on a sharp bend. I'd catch up only to find it had slowed down and sat stagnating in a pool for a while before moving off again in a new direction. Pip has given a concise description of the plot above, but it's not all that simple to follow as you are reading along.

I'm glad to have read it, but I won't be seeking out any more of the authors work.