Strange Tunnels Disappearing (Paperback)

Strange Tunnels has an intriguing story line and the quality of the writing is maintained throughout. It is a book worth reading again and again.

Hugo Young is a fairly selfish and arrogant aircraft salesman who travels around Peru while a deal he is working on is deadlocked. He has the dubious distinction of having another person as his internal monologue: his hero Henry Meiggs, an American industrialist who built Peru's railways in the 19th century. Meiggs, even more selfish and arrogant, is an ever-present reality for Hugo, and his mantra of corruption: "fight, pay, charm", informs Hugo's actions.

José Perez is a politics lecturer involved with Sendero Luminoso, the Maoist revolutionary group active in Peru in the 1980s and early 90s. An altogether more likeable person, he has qualms about the organisation's violent methods and his sister's deeper involvement in them. He is forced to flee from the ruthless Peruvian authorities after fearing he has blown his cover as a Sendero sympathiser.

The intrigue builds as Hugo and José meet and (after a period of mutual suspicion) speak for the first time and become more at ease with each other, until Hugo becomes drawn into José's plans to make contact with his sister Julia, in hiding in La Paz. To tell any more would spoil the story!

The novel adheres to historical fact, which is interwoven with the plot, for example the flashback to the burning of ballot papers in 1980 in Chuschi, which in the story is José's home town. Even the rising star of Alberto Fujimori gets a mention later on! While I'm in no position to judge whether the author accurately captures the mood in Peru while it was in a condition of civil war, he certainly conveys a climate of fear. The sights and sounds and general atmosphere of the country also come across well. Those who have been there will find the little details familiar: the scam-merchants who prey on gullible 'gringos', and taxi drivers offering to take their passengers to the nearest brothel.

If you want an insight into recent Peruvian history, the culture of South America, the politics of the Third World, or simply a good story set in an unfamiliar land, you could do a lot worse than to read this excellent book.