Season of the Swamp
A beautifully haunting read, Season of the Swamp still has me in its enthralling grip. It follows the immigrant exile Benito Juárez during his stay in New Orleans as he works on a plan to overthrow the tyrant who has Mexico in his clutches. Benito would become one of the first Indigenous leaders of the post-colonial Americas to hold office, but in the story, he is an unknown outcast, invisible and anonymous as the cigar wrapper sticking to a merchant’s boot.
The year is 1853, and Benito is lost among a city wrestling with the ever-present swamp to keep afloat. He is nameless and faceless to most everyone he passes. Luckily, despite the fever, drugs, mosquitoes, fire, and crimes sweeping the city, Benito always has one ear to the wind. No matter what he must contend with, the exile is determined to return home with a plan to free his country. If he survives the streets crawling with plague, the mysterious women, and the cop tailing him, then maybe he will succeed.
Sporting stunning prose and melodious details, readers are transported to 19th-century Louisiana in a harrowing and heartfelt tale of a mob-less leader searching for direction in the searing heat. Benito’s spirit is one the reader will root for. With such a protagonist to learn alongside, readers will delight in finding this novel. Benito may be far from home, but Herrera’s words for him have found a home in my mind and soul.
