The author, his wife, Juanita and family lived and
worked for a number of years in the Departamento de
San Martín, Perú in the late sixties and seventies of
the last century. They continued to live, serve and work
among Quechua/Quichua (Kechwa) speaking peoples
until the turn of that century. This, his novel, is based
on notes and life experiences at that time and can be
read on two levels:
The first level can be described in “art-deco” terms as a
“rattling good yarn”; while the second is a serious
attempt to describe the tensions and tragedies of First
Nation Peoples throughout the world, whose world-
views, land and language come under threat from
socio-economic change.
As a close friend and fellow academic, I have never
doubted the author‟s sincerity and Christian holistic
commitment to the Amerindian world and though I
believe his use of this Quechua dialect may be a little
“creaky”, it gives a flavour of a dialect that may well
disappear, as so many others have done in the world. I
am happy to commend it to you, „gentil lector‟ (dear
reader).
Dr. Julio Vargas, Emeritus Professor of Amerindian Studies,
UNONEX, Cochabamba, Bolivia
