Contemporary
Renée Martin, a 22-year-old Canadian, is stuck in a monotonous job and grieving her grandfather's death. When Sergio, her friend from Ecuador, invites her to the Andes, she seizes the chance for adventure. Imagining jaguars, jungles, and volcanic peaks, Renée leaves for Ecuador with just a small backpack and her grandfather’s red corduroy shirt.
On arrival, Renée is welcomed by Sergio’s struggling family and becomes immersed in their culture. Her bond with Sergio deepens as they explore Incan legends and Chilean folk music, navigating the dangers of Quito’s Old Town together - but someone is on their way to disrupt their growing connection...
Letters from the Andes is a profound tale of love, loss, and the search for identity against the vibrant backdrop of 1970s South America. Renée and Sergio’s intertwined destinies echo the timeless quest for meaning and the hope of finding one's true path.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Strong and engaging writing style that suits the travel journal format of the novel. I appreciated the strong sense of setting and the well-developed relationships between the different characters.
Delightful, very good indeed. Works like a hot damn. I think in terms of layout the longer sections could have been broken into shorter chunks in keeping with the postcard theme. But it’s a good read, this book. Inspires me to write about the place where I live, the people and predicaments.
Renée is so open and there! I really enjoyed her trip through Quito and the motorcycle rides to the coast. It paints such a picture, this story. I love the sense of humor that comes through. Some of the situations are quite chilling! I love the cemetery chapter. I wanted more about Renée’s confusion of feelings for Sergio and the family. Overall, it is enjoyable, and it does conjure the people and the place. It felt to me like this book is a dream. The experience is surreal and it’s like being in a dream landscape.
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