Octavio's Journey

Don Octavio is one decision away from determining his life's trajectory. Born in Trinidad, he is illiterate like his father before him. As a member of the native population, he has been denied an education. He stays in the shadows trying to blend in. He works in shady places as a messenger or laborer.

In 1908, he is living in a Venezuelan slum. Noise and commotion are pervasive. Don Octavio lives in a flimsy hillside abode where wealth is defined by the number of windows in your dwelling. He hides his illiteracy by cutting and bandaging his hand rendering him temporarily unable to write. Presenting this excuse during a doctor visit and having no paper to write on when the doctor has forgotten his prescription pad, Octavio asks the doctor to write the name of the medicine on his table. Octavio, a muscular giant, carries the table on his back to the chemist. The prescription has become illegible since Octavio has lent his table, when needed by village residents, during his descent to the village apothecary. A replacement prescription is later presented but is missing the last letters of the medicine. Enter Venezuela, acute insomniac, incessant talker and fan of men who listen silently to her bold opinions.Venezuela is able to decipher the name of the medicine. Venezuela, non judgmentally, convinces Octavio that writing only involves a few strokes of the pen. As his writing improves and he learns to read, the world becomes brand new. He no longer cuts his hand.

Octavio now has two jobs and two teachers. In addition to Venezuela's mentoring, Octavio is a member of the brotherhood. He belongs to a group of burglars who plunder while residents are away. Guerra, lead burglar, justifies the brotherhood's actions by using secret ballot voting to determine burgle sites, teaches respect for victim's property and believes in equal distribution of the booty. No weapons are allowed. Items pilfered are given creative back stories and sold for a handsome price. When Guerra sets his sights on Venezuela's house, Octavio's decision will determine his journey through life.

First time novelist Miguel Bonnefoy is a born storyteller. "Octavio's Journey" is magical. I enjoyed the ride.

Thank you Gallic Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Octavio's Journey".

Meet Octavio. He's a large lunk, a gentle giant, living alone in a lowly Venezuelan town – a town which once, fleetingly, had fame, fashion and success through a minor miracle, but has none any longer. Octavio, it seems, has some unusual habits – here he is, marching off to the chemist's with a table across his back, for it was all the doctor had at the time to write a prescription on. Now we never learn exactly what the cause of the prescription was, but we soon find out what the cause of the table is – Octavio cannot read, and has learned nothing beyond cutting into his palm to allow the wound to let him escape the need to write. Until, that is, a woman seems to suggest a way for him to learn to read and write, and to love – but that experience also proves to Octavio that there is a whole host of other things he can put his mind to, both for good, and for bad…

This is a very Latin American book – not what you'd immediately expect from a publisher of French titles. Not just in the Scrabble-master level vocabulary of all the fruits, trees and wildlife mentioned is in Latin, but in the feel of it all, the colours leaching off the page. It's also touching on their own literary form, that of magic realism, although speaking as one who doesn't like the genre I didn't find it prohibitively so. But chiefly it's a Latin American book through subject. We may see Octavio jump from one peculiar circumstance, one singular career and one lifestyle, to another, but throughout he remains Octavio – a well-meaning, broad-shouldered and tall character. Stately, you could say – even if he's not the character that actually is named after a country in these pages.

I found those different situations Octavio got himself into almost like a selection of linked short stories, at times – scenes threaded onto one cord called Octavio. This, it turns out, is quite an ironically-named book, where the roots you make and the person you find yourself becoming is more important than the journey and steps you fashion for your life. And I think, inasmuch as that moral is conveyed here for a Latin audience (and to repeat, there's no French spirit whatsoever), I did find it awkward to engage with at times. It's never as alien as, say, bagpipe music, but all the same, too often I found myself wondering if I was missing an allusion, being ignorant of a fragment of local legend, not seeing the native colour.

These definitely are colourful events, happenings and people, although I think one result of it being such a short read (ninety tight-packed pages, barring those few that burst into rapid dialogue) is that you don't get a strong sense of character. Even Octavio remained at one remove from me by the end – either that's down to the fable-like brevity of the scenes or that exotic barrier that stopped my full comprehension. What he certainly is, however, is quite likeable – principally for being our tour guide on this whistle-stop tour of a remote, seldom-touched-by-literature, and fully intriguing, but ultimately unfathomable, land.

Review copy courtesy of Gallic Books via NetGalley - many thanks for the opportunity to read this.

I understand this to be an allegorical tale of Venezuela’s history but I confess that was lost on me and I enjoyed it as a story of a man’s life. The most moving aspect of the book for me was Octavio’s experience of learning to read and write, having been illiterate throughout his childhood and early adulthood. Not only can he get by more easily in daily life, it is as though he has been cured of blindness and he sees everything differently. He is enthralled by the way he can now hang on to words and feelings that would have vanished as soon as they were uttered before. Very well written.

Octavio flees his home after becoming caught up in a burglary gone wrong and spends decades wandering the forests and villages of Venezuela, his unusual height and strength finding him odd jobs to keep him going. An uncomplicated soul, while he is living a simple life close to nature, his country is being transformed by global modernisation. A touching story, building up to an unexpected and poignant ending.

This is a real treat. It has a gentle story full of depth and human understanding. It must be well written in the original as it has been exceedingly well translated. The leading character is superbly drawn bringing out varied emotions in the reader. In particular,how he coped with illiteracy is illuminating as is the way he overcame that disadvantage. This is a splendid read.

A novella about a giant called Octavio, who after a bungled burglary, starts a journey which becomes an allegorical story of the history of Venezuela. Although the allegory was lost on me, the story nonetheless I found worthwhile.

I was given an advance copy of this book by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wish that I had read this novella in a college level literature class. I am a bit frustrated because I feel that I only was able to appreciate about 2/3 of this fine book. Octavio’s journey is an allegorical story of the history of Venezuela. The author clearly had much to say and while I was able to follow the concepts of Octavio (the main character, a giant who symbolizes the country as it develops) as Venezuela, betraying his own culture and history, wandering lost until ultimately finding himself, I feel that in a University class some historical background would have really made the difference.

If I may make a suggestion, it might be interesting to introduce a subsequent printing with a brief historical essay (no spoilers for the novella, please) that outlines historical events and could give someone without knowledge of the history of Venezuela a frame of reference for the events and what they symbolize.

A beautiful story with a heart as big as it gigantic protagonist. Full of artistic skill as well as emotion. One of those few allegories that actually work as an interesting narrative story as well.

4 stars.

Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking - Octavio begins his journey with a wooden table, and recalls the plague that nearly wiped out the town from the early days - his journey takes him from itinerant helper and carrier due to his size, but to a beautiful woman and a vagabond with a silver tongue. The foibles of the nearly unreal people he meets and his super-human feats of strength and endurance stretch the tale to near fable. Yet none of the tedious homegrown baggage of that - we somehow always understand his decisions - when he leaves a place, at a crossroads each time, we know why and we feel with him. Truly delightful tale, simply told, with naivete that is not contrived.

A so-so read that I found somewhat interesting. I enjoyed the writing, but not the story so much.

The first thing that caught my attention was the wonderful cover. In a bookshop I would have stopped and picked up the book.

I enjoyed reading the tale of Octavio. To be honest I'm not sure if I understood the allegory of Octavio's journey and the story of Venezuela but that is probably because I'm not familiar with the history of Venezuela.

The story reads like a fable or adult fairy tale. It is charming. The wonderful descriptions make the locations jump off the page. Octavio seems a likeable enough character, a giant of a man who is illiterate. He says little and tries to avoid quarrels and any any kind of violence. He works hard at any job he can find, earning little.

Then he chances to meet a woman called Venezuela who helps him learn to read and write. Then his journey begins

The book tells the story of his wanderings and the people he meets and the places he stays for a while and how he fits in with those around him.

It's a fairly short book, beautifully written, funny in parts, but also quite poignant in places. Enchanting.

This short but affecting fable set in Venezuela tells the story of Octavio, an illiterate man whose chance meeting with a dynamic woman – called Venezuela – changes his life in ways he could never have imagined. There’s no happy ending for his relationship with the women Venezuela but I assume we are to understand that somehow his relationship with the country is more rewarding. The story line is compelling enough even if, like me, you don’t really understand what it’s all about. I’ve read a quote from the author that “It’s the story of a man travelling through a country, and of that country travelling through a man.” I’m not familiar enough with Venezuela to know how effective the novel is as fable or allegory, and would have appreciated an introductory essay, but the narrative and Octavio himself are interesting enough to outweigh any incomprehension about the deeper meanings, and the magical realism elements light enough not to intrude. A puzzling – for me – little book but one which I nevertheless quite enjoyed.

This is a great example of magical realism in the vein of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. We follow the life of Octavio as he stumbles through life dealing with his own inadequacies and the foibles of others. The prose is beautiful and concise and though the book is very short, we are provided with a full and rich snapshot of this man and the manner in which he effects the world around him. Easy to read in one sitting and well worth the time, I thought the book was delightful and poignant and found myself wanting to spend just a little more time with Octavio.

Genuinely and sensitively written, you can read this book either as the story of a man's life or the story of the history of Venezuela. Either way, it is entertaining and magical. The cover also caught my eye.