Maybe the only thing more impressive than James Cañón's 2007 debut novel, Tales From the Town of Widows, is that he wrote it beautifully in his second language. Cañón, a native of Ibagué, Colombia, has crafted a story that is at once fanciful, historical, political, humorous, and dead serious.
The story takes place in the tiny fictitious village of Mariquita, which has had the misfortune of having been visited by a group of guerrilla fighters who take with them all of the males over the age of 12 to join them in their fight against the government. This leaves behind a town of women and children, the priest and a 13 year old child who's mother disguised him in a dress to prevent his abduction.
Throughout the story the town's people learn how to live and function effectively without their male counterparts with mixed results. The characters are a colorful bunch and Cañón never shies away from realism and shock-value; there is never a dull moment in Mariquita.
One of the most interesting and creative aspects of the book is how the author intersperses faux-narritives from a variety of men involved with the various conflicts plaguing the country. The ex-guerrila, the military general, the American reporter, and the paramilitary officer all get a chance to tell a part of their story for a few juxtaposed paragraphs within the "Tales" from Mariquita. Aside from being accurate and interesting, the vignettes offer a reminder to the reader that, while the widows are suffering and adapting in their village, the rest of the country is also in a state of transition and turmoil as well.
This book is an important lesson in contemporary story-telling as well as a reminder of the present world situation. I enjoy novels that make you think but don't preach at you or make you feel guilty or bad after reading it. Tales From the Town of Widows is one of those rare books.
Sergio del Limónar
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