Lead Review (Red Smoking Mirror)
- Book: Red Smoking Mirror
- Location: Mexico, Spain
- Author: Nick Hunt
Red Smoking Mirror by Nick Hunt, novel set in 16th Century Mexico and Spain.
Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2024, Fiction With A Sense Of Place.
This is a cinematic novel set in the early 16th Century countries of what we now know as Mexico and Spain.
Eli Ben Abram has moved from Al-Andalus (Spain) and taken a flotilla across the Atlantic to Mexico. There he has
settled with his wife Malinala, 30 years his junior in the town of Tenochtitlan – Emperor Moctezuma’s capital – situated next to a volcano. The town is a mercantile hub where people of different backgrounds and faiths congregate, a true melting pot and it has a universal everyman feel. There is colour on the streets and a variety of fancy clothes, bald dogs rummaging around and inhabitants anticipatory of the arrival of the Emperor. Eli looks back to earlier times in Al-Andalus where he grew up in what seems to be present day Córdoba, which was a shining example of how peoples from all kinds of backgrounds could harmoniously co-exit.
Inevitably mankind agitates for change, seeking out others to blame for perceived ills, and unrest ensues; and then a dire plague descends on the populace. Caravans of people and vehicles are ambushed, omens are interpreted and the volcano starts to emit smoke and flames. Weird rituals are established and religious practices ensnare the populace..
The author experiments with the notion of an alternate history. What if Al-Andalus had not been reconquered by the Christians and had remained under Muslim control? He then goes on to ponder how that might have played out in territories that were ultimately conquered by Spain.
It is a fascinating read that is full of colour and detail and it is a story that is crafted with a competent, imaginative and painterly hand. I thought of works by Rousseau when I was reading it, with a dash of Renaissance processional paintings (like Gozzoli’s Procession of the Magi, pictured left, although the author depicts camels, not horses).
I got caught up in the description and richness, perhaps a little at the expense of the story. This is a very unusual read that has stayed with me. It also has shades of the works by Silvia Moren-Garcia.
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