Deep Valley, Hidden City

Author: Hector Avalos Fasilense
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The Deep Valley City is a selected work of Spanish and Latin American literature for the 2004 edition of the "Best Foreign Novel of the 21st Century" award. Angostura is a metropolis with a population of eight million, hidden in a tropical valley surrounded by mountains at the northern end of the Andes. Its unique natural environment divides the city into three distinct regions—upper, middle, and lower—with varying climates of cold, temperate, and hot. Each region is inhabited by socially, economically, and culturally diverse groups, separated by tangible and intangible barriers that are impossible to cross. The novel takes a small-scale approach to depict a large-scale reality, functioning as a fable that condenses the entire world into a single city. Most of the characters have clear symbolic meanings, not only addressing political and social issues such as tyranny, foreign interference, isolation policies, and robbery but also offering a unique and insightful portrayal of contemporary moral ethics, family relationships, interpersonal bonds, and romantic relationships through a multitude of highly symbolic character archetypes.