Go and Come Back

by Joan Abelove

An Isabo teenaged girl named Alicia takes readers into a hidden world deep in the heart of the Amazonian jungle of Peru. There is no Isabo word for “goodbye.” Instead, when two people part, they say “catanhue,” which translates as go and come back—and which gives this novel its title. Alicia is not so sure about the “two old white ladies” from “the New York” who have come to study her tightly knit village. They come with so many possessions and ask for an empty house. “Whoever heard of a house no one was using?” Alicia thinks. “It takes a long time and a lot of people to build a house.” Through Alicia’s narrative, teens gain another perspective on how to live and to reevaluate the things they take for granted. Alicia gradually warms to the two women, teaching them about her village’s customs, and imparting to them the heightened appreciation that comes with life’s brevity. In an endnote, the author, who based the novel on her own experience studying such a village, writes that no one is certain if the village or its people still exist. Her novel transports readers to another land and way of life, but also points out the universal aspects of the human experience.