The Village of Outcasts — Siny Rose Van Iterson

The village of this story is located in Colombia. Although small, it has a wide reputation, for it is a leper colony. Whether ill or not, its inhabitants carry a stigma. To it comes Claudio, a healthy teen-age boy selected by his family to accompany his sick father into exile. An odd assortment of people are trapped in the village together. There is the mad woman who paints her walls dark green when she is depressed, the demoralized doctor who is not above blackmail in an attempt to escape his surroundings, the avaricious landowner who increases his holdings by sharp money lending practices. Outside the village lies the hacienda Puerta Grande, where Claudio finds work in the sugar-cane fields. It becomes a refuge, especially when he and the owner's daughter begin to fall in love. Working with a large cast of characters, unfolding an ingenious plot that contains one surprise after another, the author presents a complex panorama of village life. Shattering in its impact, this novel will haunt the reader long after he turns the final page