The Boy, The Condor, The Monkey and The Tortoise is a multifaceted exploration of man’s disaffection with tendencies he has developed as he has become civilized. These separate him from his natural world and the satisfaction inherent in it. The narrative centers on a young boy’s attempt to understand and reach his potential through a series of conversations and a magical trip with a host of anthropomorphic characters.Jaime Bedoya Martinez takes us to a territory which he has explored in past works and which he now develops through a series of Socratic conversations between a philosophical prodigy, George Mario, and characters representing three distinct animal families (Avian, Primate and Reptilian), and thus methinks modes of existential thought. The book is a harsh representation of man’s inhumanity. This cruelty, argues Jaime, is often provoked by man’s isolation from self and others through frivolous distractions, which then incarnate into institutional sadism that human society imposes on other life forms and ultimately himself.The writer is skilled at leading us through utopian scenes and activities from which he extrapolates. His description of a society where life is led in natural and democratic ways gives us fodder for dreaming of an existence without isolation and misery. The socialistic existence of his neat little towns, although terrifying to current conservative and authoritarian elements, are devoid of the type of personal intrusion supposedly inherent in welfare communities. In fact, this reality corresponds to a stronger, more independent human being- one which does not work for the sake of satisfying others need for wealth but for the sake of bettering one’s own life. A type of enhanced and moral libertarianism. This is where the book provides answers rather than conflicts. Modernity has normalized the tendency for physical wants or trifles to dominate our attention. Mr. Bedoya salient point, and certainly of this book, is that if man concentrates on his spirituality, a natural order to life follows, both as communities and individuals. For the writer, if we can overcome our egoism, we can create a world of natural fairness and justice. If we understand and prescribe to our natural state, the chaos of our current communities will be resolved; the crime which is rampant in our cities will succumb to the content and ecstasy of a life well lived. Wishful thinking? Perhaps.Unfortunately, the writer left the destiny of the protagonist unresolved, or maybe it is better this way. I get the feeling that Mr. Bedoya would have wanted all of us to live vicariously through George Mario and have suffered the doubts, the excitements, the enlightenment which brought him to a better personal understanding of his life.
