This poignant and absorbing novel by Canadian-based visual artist Rina Pita imagines the life and love affair of her deceased, beloved aunt.

The book’s events span the years 1918 to 1920 in the town of Antofagasta, Chile, examining the way the lives of protagonist Rita and her family are touched by political and social unrest, as well as the joys and heartbreaks of daily life.

Rita, who is in her 30s and living with her mother, meets Xavier, a man who intrigues her but is among the Peruvians being harassed by a racist group calling themselves the Patriotic League. Rita witnesses the difficulties of love between her cousin Julián, who is active in the Workers Movement, and Valerie, daughter of an English mine owner, as well as the struggles in her friend Magdalena’s marriage. Her friends and family lean on Rita for support, and after violent attacks force Xavier back to Peru, Rita wonders if her own love affair is doomed.

Rita is a well-drawn character, opinionated and loyal, the quiet pillar of her family. Pita brings the many social and political currents of the time to life by showing their direct impact on people, from the exploitation of miners working for foreigners to the lingering impacts of colonial rule over the indigenous peoples.

The setting and climate of the Atacama Desert add a rich sense of place, as well as atmosphere, as when Pita describes the camanchaca, a dense fog particular to that region that serves as a metaphor for Rita’s fears. The prose is precise and unadorned, and if secondary characters seem lightly sketched, their emotions and desires are believable.

The story moves with a sure pace toward its poignant conclusion, and the universal emotions of love and grief emerge as lived experience in this richly imagined portrayal of a time and place not often explored in historical fiction.