Review: Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos

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I picked up this translation at my local library. Written in 1929 by Romulo Gallegos, who 18 years later would become Venezula's first honestly elected president, this book covers the hardships of prairie life in South America. 

What is interesting about reading a book that is as old as this one, and from a different culture, is seeing the intersection of influences at that moment in time. It is plain spoken, in a way that newer books cannot be. Some things just are in the book. I suspect, given the occasional use of pejorative language in the book, that this would be difficult to get into print. And yet, the story would be incomplete if such language was not used. It illustrates beautifully, the corrupting influence of men who live so close to the edge of life and death. 

No matter which continent you live on, being a cowboy is dangerous work. And in this book you can see the parallels with the American Old West. Louis L'Amour perhaps captured America's version most vividly. The risks are the same, the lawlessness is the same, the same games, the same difficulties arise when the land is vast, the people are few and the cattle wander freely to market.

This book is South American melodrama at it's best. Gallegos has a deep love of the prairie, a deep love for his people and a brutal truth he believes should be told. How shall we interpret the woman who uses both her wiles and her brutality to win in a man's world? How shall we interpret the young man who comes to the wild and desolate home he left after his father's murder to find his birthright run into the ground? What shall we say about this man who wants only to bring "civilization" to his home, only to find corruption, dirty dealing, theft, and murder rule the land? And finally what shall we make of Mister Danger, the American, who is the embodiment of foreign meddling and disdain in the novel? 

This particular translation was an easy read, with a compelling story. As a foray into expanding my own personal horizons, this novel may very well serve as a gateway. Pick up a copy at your library today!