Early Reviewers

A tale of cultures, languages, spirits, and the natural world on the brink of transformation from a major new talent in Latin American literature.

“Of all the happy, hermitic lands, the Guayrá was the jewel.”

So begins this polyphonic wonder of a novel set in a 17th-century Jesuit mission founded within the wild South American subtropics by the mystical and intense Father Ruiz and his assistant Father Maceta. As the priests seek to convert the indigenous Guaraní and unravel the many religious mysteries that surround them, the harmony of their community is abruptly upended by the arrival of Overá, who announces himself as the Son of God and younger brother of Jesus. But an even larger threat presents itself when word arrives that European marauders and slave hunters will soon descend upon the peaceful mission, compelling Overá and the priests to launch a mass exodus into the heart of the jungle.

Full of humor, passion, and terror, The Depopulation brilliantly evokes the moment when modernity’s spark set fire to a still-magic world.

“Immersive. . . . Inspired.” —Publishers Weekly

“A beautiful, absurd, and fascinating exploration of the tragic fallout from a fierce cultural clash.” —Booklist

“Marina Closs’s writing trembles, sweats, explodes; she is, as of now, one of my favorite writers.” —Mónica Ojeda, author of Jawbone and Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun