Heritage - Miguel Bonnefoy

Miguel Bonnefoy is a Franco born writer with a Chilean father and a Venezuelan mother and his novella Heritage draws heavily on his multicultural pedigree. Heritage is a prize-winning novel, rightly so.

The book could be seen as a work of historical fiction since both world wars are featured in palpable detail as are  South American dictatorships!  But it is so much more than a political dissertation. It is a richly observed saga chronicling four generations of one winegrowing family. The ‘action’ takes place primarily in Santiago but we do follow some of the characters to other far-flung destinations.

There’s a certain idiosyncrasy about the characters. Lonsonnier is the Frenchman whose wine business is ruined in the 19th century. His intentions to relocate to California takes a different turn when he is required to come ashore at Valparaiso because of illness. He remains in Chile. His son, Lazare, marries Therese who keeps birds, almost obsessively, she even gives birth in an aviary, can you believe?! They have a daughter, Margot, who becomes a female aviator and again she borders on obsessional. In turn she has a son Ilario Da, conceived in a sequence of almost magical realism.

It’s an interesting story showing the time when migration/emigration was not necessarily the norm. It seems to run alongside key moments in the history of the world with the family members observers of a world that changes throughout the generations. The characters are diverse and quirky and sometimes it seemed to me the story trod a slender line between reality and fantasy. I found myself curious about what happened to the characters but I didn’t find myself engaged with them although I think perhaps Margot’s story touched me the most and I found Therese a fascinating woman. What I also found fascinating was how the writer seemed to have identified how people evolve throughout generations. Ilario Da is a product of his age, his generation and it’s very clear in his more extravagant character than say his grandfather.

Given that it’s a story that spans several generations it’s quite a slender volume but don’t let that deceive you for somehow the author has managed to convey such a lot in those pages. It’s beautifully translated by Emily Boyce. At the conclusion of the novel when one of the characters returns to France and one of the mysteries in the book is clarified you find yourself wanting to know what happens next, WHO happens next!

My thanks to Gallic books for a gifted copy.