Rich young man somewhere on the banks of the Amazon doesn't get the girl and squanders the fortune left him by his rubber baron father.

Not being familiar with the original myth of an underwater city, it was difficult to see where this was going, especially as the timeline jumped about. ( )

Volume XIII of the Canongate Myths series is a short novel inspired by Amazonian fables of an enchanted city, and the search for Eldorado. The action centres around the Brazilian city of Manaus which, although situated way up the Amazon, is a major port.

Arminto Cordovil is in love from afar with Dinaura, an orphan from up the river under the care of the Carmelites. Florita, his family housekeeper tells him stories about the Indian girls, that they want to walk into the river to seek the enchanted city. Arminto gets permission to date Dinaura, but then his father dies making him an orphan too – his mother had died in childbirth. Arminto has to take charge of the family shipping empire and plantations further up the Amazon. When the freighter, The Eldorado, crashes, Arminto sees it as an omen, and combined with his obsession for Dinaura, things start to get out of control, especially when he discovers the truth about his father’s business.

Life up the Amazon at these faraway trading posts is vibrantly brought to life, for despite the remoteness, the river brings a diverse and rich mix of people to the steamy paradise. Arminto, having had a hard relationship with his lone parent, and ignoring advice from Florita and his father’s lawyer Estiliano, becomes obsessed with searching for his own private Eldorado. Although it was beautifully evocative of the region, and I felt at home with placing it timewise back around the 1930s, I didn’t feel as in touch with the myth of the enchanted city that inspired the story. I would have loved to hear more about the mysterious indigenous people and their legends, but Arminto was a rather unreliable narrator, smitten as he was. Fans of Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquez, will enjoy this little tale, and perhaps notice some parallels.

I particularly like the fact that the Myths series is worldwide in scope and I am looking forward to exploring further beyond the classics. It is a shame though, that having started off in hardback, new additions appear to now be in paperback only, (which is exasperating to collectors). ( )

I did like this book, but it fell short of a really satisfying read for a few reasons. It may be that much of the essence of the story was lost in the translation. I found the structure of the book a bit disjointed, and it was frustrating that there were no speechmarks, so it was difficult to tell if someone was speaking, or when the speaking stopped.
The story is about a man, Arminto, who squanders his inheritance and spends his life waiting for and searching for a lost love. There are many references to myths and legends, in particular the legend of The Enchanted City, submerged under the sea. Parts of the book were very poignant and inspired, but the quality of the writing was not consistent; sometimes I would find myself very absorbed in the story, and other times I was trying to work out what was happening and why the narrator appeared to be skipping haphazardly from one point in time to another. Maybe the author meant the writing to be like this? After all, it is a tale being narrated by an elderly man who may or may not have become senile. However, I would have preferred a more fluent read.
I was also disappointed by the ending, which to me seemed contrived.
The highlight of the book for me was the poem at the beginning, 'The City' by C.P. Cavafy, which is also referred to in the main story. ( )