Forest of the Pygmies (27 page)

About the book

A Conversation with Isabel Allende

“The idea for this novel started on a bush plane on a very bumpy ride flying over the Serengeti in Kenya.”

With the characters of Alexander Cold and Nadia Santos, we have already traveled to the Amazon (
City of the Beasts
) and the Himalayas (
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
), both places you've visited. This final book in the trilogy takes place in Africa. Had you traveled there before you wrote it?

Yes, I have been in Africa, but most of my descriptions in this book come from my research and my imagination.

Do any of the experiences you had on that trip stand out in your memory? Did any of them directly influence the plot of
Forest of the
Pygmies?

The idea for this novel started on a bush plane on a very bumpy ride flying over the Serengeti in Kenya. The pilot had incredible stories to tell. Also, it was very inspiring to see the wild animals at close range, especially the elephants. Unfortunately I did not see gorillas (like the ones that appear in the novel) on this trip, only a few chimps that were kept as pets.

The dedication to
Forest of the Pygmies
reads “For Brother Fernando de la Fuente, missionary in Africa, whose spirit animates this story.” Can you tell us more about that animating spirit and how his life inspired your novel?

I met Brother Fernando de la Fuente in a small town in Chile. He was a Spanish missionary, a well-read man who liked to write poetry. He was stern, but also compassionate and often very kind. He felt that he was not fulfilling his mission in Chile—the task was too easy, too safe. He read that missionaries were needed in Rwanda in times of the genocide, and he decided to go. Before leaving he gave away everything he owned: he knew that he was not going to come back and that probably he was going to die. A few months later he was brutally tortured and killed by the same people he had been helping in Rwanda. His story touched my deeply. He had so much courage!

Forest of the Pygmies,
like the rest of the
trilogy, is richly detailed. How did you learn about the landscapes and inhabitants of the African forest, for example, or the process by which elephant tusks are smuggled?

As I said, some of the ideas came from my trips to Africa, but I also needed to do a lot of research. I read a lot. I watched movies and documentaries, researched on the Internet. The research forced me more than once to turn to another direction. This always happens in my research and it is very exciting. The place, the time, the people—all that is so inspiring that really I don't need to stretch my imagination.

Your adventure trilogy
—City of the Beasts,
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon,
and
Forest
of the Pygmies—
has been published for both young adults and adults. How do you explain its crossover appeal?

Most books for young adults are also read by adults. I am very careful with style, language, and research. I do not underestimate my young readers; I treat them as if they were experienced readers. Maybe that's why adults are also reading this trilogy.

Did you uncover elements of your writing style that adult fans might be seeing for the first time? What is the greatest challenge of
writing stories that appeal to a multigenerational audience?

“There are a few points that are important to me: respect for other people's feelings and way of life, respect for nature, respect for elders, and most of all: self-respect.”

I have been labeled as a writer of “magic realism.” However, I think that my adult readers will be surprised by how much magic realism can stretch in the trilogy. Also, they may find more suspense than usual.

Has writing these high-velocity adventure stories had any lasting impact on the way you plot and craft your novels?

Not that I am aware of, though in every book I learn something. Each book has its own tone, rhythm, style. I can't use a formula or a recipe. I have the feeling that every time I have to invent everything from scratch.

When you consider the trilogy as a whole, is there a single “moral of the story” that you most hope will stay with your readers, young and old?

There are a few points that are important to me: respect for other people's feelings and way of life, respect for nature, respect for elders, and most of all: self-respect. Alex and Nadia are smart and brave, and they are both in a journey of self-discovery. They have great dignity and decency.

It's been several years since you last wrote about Alexander and Nadia. What do you imagine they're up to now?

They are living in California and studying at the university. In a year Alexander will be doing his residency, and after that he will apply for a job with Doctors Without Borders. Nadia is studying languages and writing the first manual ever for communicating with animals. She believes that if humans could speak with animals, they would learn to respect them and take better care of nature. She is horrified at the cruelty animals experience from humans. Of course, she is vegetarian. She has asked Kate for Alexander's hand, which the grandmother has granted because Nadia already had her grandson's heart, so the hand had to follow. Alexander doesn't know this yet. Kate is still traveling; she is older, tougher, and meaner, but Nadia and Alexander adore her and they still travel with her whenever possible.

Read on

Have You Read? More by Isabel Allende

CITY OF THE BEASTS

Riveting reading for Allende fans young and old, ecothriller
City of the Beasts
takes fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold on the trip of a lifetime. Parting from his family and ill mother, Alexander joins his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for
International Geographic
, on an expedition to the remote and dangerous world of the Amazon. Their mission, along with the others on their team—including a celebrated anthropologist, a local guide and his young daughter Nadia, and a doctor—is to document the legendary Beast of the Amazon.

Alexander is amazed to discover under the dense jungle canopy much more than he could have imagined about the hidden worlds of the rain forest. Drawing on the strength of the jaguar, the totemic animal Alexander finds within himself, and the eagle, Nadia's spirit guide, both young people are led by the invisible People of the Mist on a thrilling and unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery.

“Part thrilling survival adventure, part coming-of-age journey. . . . Blends magical realism with grim history and contemporary politics in a way that shakes up all the usual definitions of savagery and civilization.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

KINGDOM OF THE GOLDEN DRAGON

Not many months have passed since Alexander Cold followed his bold grandmother into the heart of the Amazon to uncover its legendary Beast. This time reporter Kate Cold escorts her grandson and his closest friend, Nadia, along with the photographers from
International Geographic
, on a journey to another remote niche of the world—this time in the Himalayas. The team's task is to locate its fabled Golden Dragon, a sacred statue and priceless oracle that can foretell the future of the kingdom.

In their scramble to reach the statue before it is destroyed by the greed of an outsider, Alexander and Nadia must use the transcendent power of their totemic animal spirits: Jaguar and Eagle. With the aid of a sage Buddhist monk, his young royal disciple, and a fierce tribe of Yeti warriors, Alexander and Nadia fight to protect the holy rule of the Golden Dragon.

“Imagining this utopian land and animating Buddhist beliefs is clearly fun for Allende, and her joy translates onto the page.”

—
San Francisco Chronicle

DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE

An orphan raised in Valparaíso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Entering a rough-and-tumble world of new arrivals driven mad by gold fever, Eliza moves in a society of single men and prostitutes with the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en. California opens the door to a new life of freedom and independence for the young Chilean, and her search for her elusive lover gradually turns into another kind of journey. By the time she finally hears news of him, Eliza must decide who her true love really is.

“An extravagant tale by a gifted storyteller whose spell brings to life the nineteenth-century world. . . . Entertaining and well paced . . . compelling.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“A rich cast of characters . . . a pleasurable story. . . . In
Daughter of Fortune
, Allende has continued her obsession with passion and violence.”

—
New York Times Book Review