MAS ALLA DEL HORIZONTE
An histori-cal novel by Joaquin Aguirre Lavayen '44,Editorial Don Bosco, La Paz, Bolivia, 390pp. 1951.
A little more than four centuries ago a group of men set out from Spain in search of gold and glory under the command of that knight-errant of discovery, Francisco de Pizarro.
It was, indeed, a telluric fascination for the New World that attracted these men whose adventurous spirit was constantly activated by an unquenchable thirst for what lay beyond the horizon. It was that search for impossible dreams, for the unattainable that later was to make Herando de Soto go up the swampy banks of the Mississippi River and Ponce de Leon seek the Fountain of Eternal Youth.
The conquest of Peru by Pizarro offers a subject which combines all the elements that give life, interest and grandeur to an historical composition. All these elements are brought together with rare felicity under the skillful hand of Mr. Aguirre. He has admirably combined the facts of history with the phantasy and imagery of a plot in which the characters move in a background of love, myth and legend. The myth of El Dorado, the search for the cinnamon plant and the country of the Amazons come back to life through the author's subtle artistry, as he describes the hopes and illusions of a strange confederacy of men ever moving forward through insurmountable odds to reach in their epic struggle what lay far beyond.
The first part of the novel deals with the conquest of Peru by Pizarro and the second part depicts the loves and intrigues, perils and vicissitudes of one of Pizarro's soldiers in Peru, Francisco de Orellana, in his hazardous trip down the Amazon River.
One is quickly aware throughout this first novel of our young Bolivian author of a fast tempo and a clearness of exposition which betrays the decisive influence of his North American education. The book has evidently been intended for a large audience as, in his conscious effort to be clear, he refrains many a time from a better choice of vocabulary. In suggesting atmosphere through dialogue, he is able to create a certain suspense which makes the book lively and very readable. The style is simple and straightforward. There are none of those picturesque epithets which so frequently overload many of the narratives of Mr. Aguirre's fellow writers in Spanish America. With judicious spirit he has sifted the facts of history as passed down to us by the Spanish chroniclers of the XVI century, avoiding the irrelevant and encumbering parts. We may remark, however, that, at times, he tends to allow the courageous and self-reliant spirit of the Spaniards to shade his vision as to certain deplorable deeds committed by them in the name of the Cross and the Crown. The theme is one which easily lends itself to a melodramatic account of the facts of history. Mr. Aguirre never degenerates into such a device as he never lets his imaginative power go beyond its rightful privilege. Scattered throughout the book one finds paragraphs with a great deal of poetical substance in which the author gives us his own vision of life. Maria Luisa de Pacheco's allusive illustrations greatly enhance the epic and idealistic qualities of the vol- ume.
Mr. Aguirre has had quite an adventurous life himself. He came to Dartmouth as an exchange student for one year but remained to graduate majoring in Comparative Literature and Philosophy. Later at Stanford University, he gained valuable knowledge in courses on the drama. After acting as adviser to his government in the San Francisco Conference, he went back to his native country where he worked for an oil company in the Chaco region. During hi,s two years in the jungle he had quite a number of critical experiences which he aptly describes in his novel. Mr. Aguirre is here at the present time arranging for a translation of his book into English.
The book, in short, is a happy blending of imagination and history with an epic theme which will always appeal to the heroic and adventurous side of the nature of Man.
