El vasto territorio

El vasto territorio is a novel that reflects the growing anxiety about environmental issues and attempts to portray the effects of ecological crisis from a southern hemisphere perspective. As it begins to shift towards a more dreamlike tone, this book stands out as the first work by Chilean writer Simón López Trujillo, which won the Municipal Literature Prize in Santiago in 2022.

The novel weaves together two interconnected stories to explore the strange symptoms that appear in human psychology when a fungus thrives in the context of eucalipto monoculture in Curanilahue. One narrative follows Pedro Marambio and his children, who are victims of the precarization of their lives and environment. The other is told from the perspective of Giovanna, a scientist returning to Chile to continue her research on mycology.

These viewpoints, which embody ethical dilemmas in a highly conflictive zone, will be supplemented by additional voices, including those of medical professionals, rural workers, corporations, law enforcement agencies, and media outlets. The book also includes the perspectives of members of a growing religious sect that anticipates the arrival of a new messiah, as well as seemingly non-human voices whose message seems to propose alternative forms of coexistence between species.