Malambo

"In Malambo . . . the Rimac proudly rubs elbows with the freedmen, the cimarrons, and smuggled slaves. . . It runs united to the other subterranean springs underneath Blanket Street, Weavers Lane, and under Jewish Street . . . and Swordmaker's Lanes."

The Rimac shapes the narrative of this compelling historical novel that probes the brutal clash of ethnicity, religion, and class in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Peru. Set against the backdrop of Spanish colonialism and the Spanish Inquisition in the "New World," Malambo peels back the layers of Peru's society to focus on the subtle connections among indigenous peoples-- Africans, Jews, Christians and others--whose cultural fusion pervades Latin American history and culture.

At the heart of the novel is Tomason, an African artist living along the Rimac who paints religious murals for the church and his colonial masters. The intermingling of his Yoruba heritage with his life in a Spanish colony transforms him into a griot figure who unearths the deeper truths of his painful and complex experience by sharing it. Other memorable characters' stories intertwine with Tomason's tale, developing a narrative that powerfully reflects on the themes of dislocation and enslavement.

Malambo is an unforgettable work that explores the origins of the Afro-Hispanic experience and offers a profound meditation on the forces of history.

Author: Lucia Charun-Illescas
Publisher: Swan Isle Press
Published: 11/15/2004
Pages: 250
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.26w x 0.93d
ISBN: 9780974888101


Award: IndieFab awards - Winner

About the Author
Lucia Charun-Illescas is a writer and journalist. She is also the author of Latinoamerica en Hamburgo and the winner of the Lyra Prize for Short Stories. Malambo is her first novel. She currently lives in Hamburg, Germany.



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