To The End of the World

I reviewed the English version of this novel which is scheduled to be released on August 28th. To The End Of The World is the first novel in The Legend of Malamar Trilogy, by Jose Ignacio Valenzuela.

The story begins with Angela Galvez and her best friend, Patricia Rendon. They are both 19, and in college. Angela is studying social science, and when she is asked to write a paper for school, she finds a tale about the Legend of Malamar. The Legend goes that there is a small village called Almahue in the Patagonian mountains, and this village is under a curse that no one who lives in the village or is born there shall ever be able to love another person. The curse was allegedly placed by a witch many decades before after she was betrayed by her lover.

Angela decides the Legend would make a wonderful topic for her research paper, and so delves deep into finding any information she can on the remote village of Almahue. When the topics are due for discussion, Angela is blindsided by Patricia when Patricia steals her idea and presents it to the teacher. Angela is devastated by the betrayal of her friend.

Soon after Patricia’s betrayal, she takes off to Almahue to do some hands on research. Angela is all to happy to see her go, since she is still really upset with her. Soon after Patricia leaves, Angela receives a cryptic video message from Patricia. The message isn’t long or detailed, but it is evident that Patricia has run afoul of something on her journey, and that she is danger. Despite her anger, Angela can’t help but feel an overwhelming need to help her friend.

Angela con-cots a clever plan to sneak away to Almahue to rescue her friend. It is a journey that will change the course of her life. The story is beautifully detailed, and jumps to life off the page. I wanted to keep reading to find out the fate of the characters. The only disappointment was that the story ends and there are still open ends to tie up. I look forward to reading the remainder of the trilogy.

It is exciting to see a book of magical realism/fantasy in translation that will appeal to the Harry Potter generation. The characters are engaging, and the plot is a great combination of fantasy elements and suspenseful mystery. Looking forward to Book 2.

This was a nice YA story, refreshingly set largely outside the usual Anglo-American context. The story clipped along at a nice pace, and the characters were appealing if a little predictable. I will be looking out for this author's next book!