Official Review: Los Vuelos del Deseo

[Alice Heritage]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Los Vuelos del Deseo" by Manelick de la Parra.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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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.

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Los Vuelos del Deseo
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[Yoli García]

I find it interesting that you indicated that the structure of the story reflects the flight of pigeons. Seems like the characters, like you said, circle toward the same actions. I enjoy magical realism pretty much, and Gabriel García Márquez used this same technique of going in circles in life in his famous magical realism novel Cien Años de Soledad, which is a masterpiece. Magical realism novels also usually question the relationship between Latin America and the conquerors, and how this relationship has negatively impacted Latin Americans. Seems like Los Vuelos del Deseo does some of that questioning too.

Thanks for the excellent review!

[Alice Heritage]

Magical realism novels also usually question the relationship between Latin America and the conquerors, and how this relationship has negatively impacted Latin Americans.

Yes, there is a lot of symbolism pointing that way. For example, like in Cien Años de Soledad, the main setting in this book is a village, but there is also a mine from the colonial times with the skeletons of Indians left to starve in there at its entrance.

Thanks for commenting

[kandscreeley]

Well, I do wish that I was fluent in Spanish, but unfortunately I'm not. Guess I won't be reading this unless it's translated into English. Thanks.

[Alice Heritage]

Sure! Keep this book in mind if you ever do learn (more?) Spanish though. Since a lot of the book is speech and there are no lengthy descriptions or dense prose, it's a manageable read as long as you know the grammar.

Thanks for responding!

[Manang Muyang]

No habla Espanol. No comprendo. I'm not even sure I said those correctly!

This seems to be a compelling novel. Too bad I won't be able to enjoy it unless it gets translated into English. While you mention that there are no grammatical errors, I will never know haha. Spanish conjugation is harder than Calculus!

[Alice Heritage]

Spanish conjugation is harder than Calculus!

Yes, there are many mistakes to make.

I'm not sure whether there are any plans to have this translated, unfortunately.

[readandsmile]

Well, I do wish that I was fluent in Spanish, but unfortunately I'm not. Guess I won't be reading this unless it's translated into English. Thanks.

Me, too. How I Wish I can read and understand Spanish. Thanks for your review.

[Alice Heritage]

How I Wish I can read and understand Spanish.

I must try to find out if there are any plans to get this translated!

[geoffrey ngoima]

I've been hunting for novels with "elements of magical realism," and now that I've found one it just has to be in Spanish. I even started a thread about magical realism but it seems people aren't so conversant with it.
I saw a movie called Gringo, in the movie it meant sth like outsider/foreigner, but I can see the similarity in meaning...
I like the way you give your review the poetic imagery, waw, it's like a novel in itself!
Nice nice, I am glad I dropped by here. This book is definitely going on my bookshelf, though I'd have to find a translation

[Alice Heritage]

Glad you liked the review. From all the responses on here, I think we somehow have to let the publisher know there might be interest in a translation!

[geoffrey ngoima]

Glad you liked the review. From all the responses on here, I think we somehow have to let the publisher know there might be interest in a translation!

Yes! There might even be a translation already if we look hard enough

[Sabina G]

Wow! Magic realism and Spanish in one book. Definitely sounds like my cup of tea. ¡Me encantaría leer este libro! (Spanish is my mother tongue). Gracias por tu reseña/Thanks for your review

[Alice Heritage]

Awesome! Great to know there are some Spanish speakers around.

[Joy2thenations]

I'd like to give this novel a try. I'm a North American living mostly in Honduras for the last seven years. Though I don't consider myself fluent I think I can make it through a book but just haven't tried. It will definitely take me longer to read a book in Spanish than English though. Thank you for your review.