Ashes of the Amazon

Milton Hatoum

By Hannah Townsend

Ashes of the Amazon is a powerful novel with an addictive plot. Lavo, an orphan, narrates his relationship with his rebellious friend Mundo, who struggles with realising his vocation as an artist whilst living with his rich but bullish father’s constricting expectations. We slowly become aware that the characters are all irrevocably connected and constantly affect each others’ lives in unexpected dimensions and Mundo is at the centre of both old and new tensions.

Mundo’s desire to create art leads him to forge a relationship with Arana, a local artist with questionable integrity. This defies his father’s wishes, and family tensions put pressure on his mother, who has her own escape routes. Lavo is drawn into the struggle between father and son, and becomes more and more involved in the family’s complicated life.

Hatoum weaves the past of the older generation into what becomes a complex exploration of the interaction between old and young, and both sanctioned and clandestine relationships. The inclusion of both Lavo’s observations and flashback from a seemingly anonymous contributor challenge the reader to hold onto multiple plotlines.

  The environments of the Amazon, Brazil, Berlin and London all have an effect upon Mundo’s life, and the contemporary political context is an obvious presence, though not a forceful one. Through Mundo’s experiences, Hatoum explores questions about family and loyalty, but also raises issues of the definitions and perimeters of what we call art.

The book is not a lazy read as the pace is quick and Hatoum does not let the reader catch many breaths along the way. However, the plot is tight and no piece of the jigsaw is left out in the crafting of Mundo’s existence, which is both compelling and fascinating.