The Depopulation

Written by Marina Closs
Review by John Kachuba

In the wilderness of 17^th-century Brazil, two Spanish Jesuit priests—the intense and mystical Father Ruiz and his assistant, Father Maceta—work to bring Catholicism to the indigenous Guaraní people. The sudden appearance of Overá, a strange man who claims to be the Son of God and brother of Jesus, brings chaos to the mission, as does the arrival of slave hunters and Portuguese soldiers who force a mass exodus of the Guaraní into the heart of the jungle.

Closs grew up in Argentina, and her knowledge of the history and rich folklore of South America is evident on every page. I was taken by the magical realism in the book, reminiscent of Márquez, and demonstrated in Ruiz and Overá. Both men, notably Overá, are also comic characters, offering an interesting contrast to the ultimate tragedy that befalls them. In lush, lyrical prose, the novel reveals the devastating effect of colonialism on indigenous populations, as well as the clash between the modern world and a world where magic still reigns. Occasionally, words and phrases in the Guaraní language get in the way of the narrative, but it is a small digression in an otherwise engaging novel.