Novel tells story of Kawésqar people of Patagonia
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Bérengère Cournut wrote a novel, Eskera au bout du monde, following Eskera, a child who can perceive the history of her ancestors, and her life among the Kawésqar people of Patagonia.
Cournut initially decided to stop writing about Indigenous peoples, but she was inspired by Franck Doyen’s work honoring the Patagonian people.
She then travelled to Patagonia with support from anthropologist Nastassja Martin, following in the footsteps of the late author Luis Sepulveda, who described the region as the end of the world. The novel depicts a slower pace of life where Eskera gathers mussels, collects albatross eggs, and watches for her friends. Eskera travels throughout the maritime channels of Patagonia with different companions, moving from Ultima Esperanza province to Wellington Island.
Cournut intentionally blends the past and present, portraying ancestors coexisting with contemporary people. Cournut based her work on the history of the Kawésqar people, who once numbered 4,000 individuals but had dwindled to around 100 by 1930 due to a genocide officially recognised in 2021. The author believes literature can restore voices to these communities and their descendants.
