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Letters from Latin America, May 1 2023
LEO BOIX reviews a novella by Peruvian writer August Higa Oshiro, a powerful book by young Colombian author Lorena Salazar Masso, and three poetry pamphlets, by Puerto Rican Sabrina Ramos Ruben, Venezuelan Eleonora Requena and Brazilian Tatiana Nascimento

AN ELDERLY university professor from Lima wanders through the streets of the Peruvian capital after being forced out of his lifelong job. His name is Katzuo Nakamatsu, and like the book's author, he is the son of Japanese immigrants in Peru.

The despondent literature professor quickly descends into an abyss of human consciousness and abandonment as he begins to explore, like a dejected flaneur, not only his deteriorating state of mind but the poor neighbourhoods of Lima and the desperate people that inhabit them at night.

Katzuo’s journey is one of self-discovery to make sense of his Japanese roots and search for the meaning of life, death, and desire. 

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