Chilco by Daniela Catrileo
The latest from Latin American-focused indie press, Chilco is a blistering exploration of difference and belonging
The Chilco of Chilean writer Daniela Catrileo’s debut novel Chilco is an island, and mainlander Marina, better known as Mari, has moved there with her partner Pascale who was born and raised on the island before being forced to leave. Mari declares that there is a smell, or more specifically a ‘scent,’ in her house but it is one which it appears only she can detect, much to the annoyance and suspicion of those locals who visit. Their reaction leads Mari to believe that this scent may be coming from inside her and no amount of cleaning can fix that. In this apparently simple premise lies the heart of Chilco and its themes of difference, belonging, identity, and the Other.
Chilco is a place of richness and ripeness that could only come from the natural world and Mari’s former life in Capital City had none of that, increasingly a place of decay and destruction. Mari and Pascale leave when life in the city becomes unbearable, with buildings literally falling down around their ears. The commentary on the failures of capitalism is clear, but there is something more essential being explored, questions of human nature. In a manner which will resonate with most, Chilco manages to capture how place helps define those from there, often in ways which are imperceptible.
