Donde muere el río

Set in northern Peru, a frequent setting in Crisanto Pérez Esain's narrative, Where the River Dies revolves around a quest undertaken by the protagonist, Rafael Velásquez, who returns to San Miguel, a fictionalized version of Piura, after a long absence. Inquiring about Martha, his former girlfriend, he learns that she was found dead inside a taxi several years prior. He then understands that, while in Undarre, an imaginary city in northern Spain, he received a package containing all the letters they had exchanged since his departure. Upon learning that she was murdered, he discovers that she never stopped loving him, and he understands that his primary mission will be to find the killer. To this end, he will have the help of Ricardo, a night watchman or street guard, and Alonso, a university professor with whom he lived in Undarre while pursuing his doctorate. A counterfeit 20-sol bill, shipments of liquor hidden throughout the city, and parallel investigations converging on the same conclusion are some of the elements of a plot that intertwines themes such as the need for reasons to keep living, the discovery of friendship, and the finding of serene love, embodied in characters whom life deprives of moments of fulfillment. The story opens with the rising river, a metaphor for ceaseless change, and toward the end takes us to the Ñapique lagoon, where the Piura River ends in the middle of the desert. With echoes of magical realism, the novel explores what we lose and what we yearn for, throughout a constantly evolving process in which, ultimately, oneself becomes the subject of the investigation.