“Emigrando” by Silvia Alasino

On this occasion I would like to share with you some news that makes me very happy. Finally Silvia Alasino’s latest novel titled “Emigrando” has been published.

 

This is Silvia’s second published novel. This writer, who I have the pleasure of knowing well, previously released  “El Círculo”, a very sweet story you can buy here: https://www.amazon.es/El-C%C3%ADrculo-Silvia-Alasino/dp/8415377401 or in other bookstores.

Since I had the pleasure of writing the introduction of the work, I will include it so that you can see for yourself what this little jewel is about.

• Link to get the book: https://www.amazon.es/Emigrando-Silvia-Alasino-ebook/dp/B01KHN0WHA

And here is my review:

I have received with pride and joy the task of writing the introduction for this wonderful little novel by Silvia Alasino, whose writing I have been very pleased to follow over the last few years. As always Silvia conveys her optimism and spirit, full of joy, for her rising number of followers.

However, this book shows her coming from a slightly different perspective. In fact, this novel is itself very different of what you can generally find in other literary works, whose genres are well defined and tend to be limited by political correctness and established canons. We could say we have in our hands an adventure novel, but “Emigrando” is much more than this, since it goes beyond traditional boundaries and breaks the established norms.

The protagonist of this story is Oira, a man as unconventional as he is endearing. The eccentricity of his way of being has not merely come about by chance, but is the logical result of a tough and isolating education which kept him apart from social relationships and other influences. That is the reason why his view of the world is so pure and original, since he lacks referents and outside interferences.

We could think that a person living in isolation, but with the security of what he knows and without having to fight excessively to earn a living, could end adapted to society  and  lead an existence a little monotonous, but bearable, as many other people in this world. However, those circumstances that keep Oira captive and oppressed are reinforced by destiny up to a point that this person, who was never allowed to reach maturity, decides to change his life dramatically and breaks with all that had previously formed his little universe. This is how this existential and self-discovering trip begins and the protagonist must face life, humanity, danger, fear and the unpredictable, and all of these with a sole and unchangeable aim, which is nothing more than to find what always had been denied him: the love of his peers.

This is how we find Oira who, despite having lived all his life under the control or the protection of those who surrounded him, now must face a harsh and savage environment without either money or passport, and no other guide than his own motivation. Moreover his mind, which developed in a closed environment, remained in the same state as a child, which offered him the special ability to see the world from a different and revealing point of view – and the greatness of this book is based on that.

Along this initiatory journey Oira, who is not a teenager, but a grown man, will find a number of individuals who, considered through the prism of a good part of normal society, might seem dangerous, offensive or inexplicable. But his view is free of prejudices and constraints, so he can find the good in whoever he finds along his way and allows himself to have no more guide than his intuition; and, in the way he treats others, the author finds a way of bringing up unparalleled and silenced topics such as abuse towards men, among many others. I only want to reveal that, with such exceptional events and an unpredictable character, the story occasionally turns into black humor, which intensifies our enjoyment and provokes intense feelings.

The attitude of the author when she faces these polemical questions is of a simple narrator, without involving herself in judgements, assessments or moral lessons of any kind. The only thing necessary for the reader is to enjoy the protagonist’s misadventures; thus, they are likely asking to themselves this question: how would we see society or the rest of humanity if we hadn’t been programmed with so many filters?

In the end, having such innovative ideas, we can consider this book a very atypical and modern novel whose reading won’t leave anyone indifferent. Have a good trip!

It sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Don’t think twice about it and buy the book on Amazon. It is also very affordable.