"Chronicle of San Gabriel" explores an isolated rural Peruvian community from the perspective of a city dweller. After his mother's death, Lucho, a teenager, is sent from Lima to stay with his relatives at the San Gabriel hacienda. There he witnesses the provincial customs of an agrarian community. He is fascinated by his manipulative young cousin, with whom he develops a tortuous relationship. The novel is a testimony to the decay of the large Peruvian landed estate.Julio Ramon Ribeyro (1929-1994), was born in Peru and died in Paris, where he spent most of his life; he authored "Los gallinazos sin plumas" (Birds Without Feathers), "Cuentos de circuns-tancias" (Stories of Circumstances), and "Las botellas y los hombres" (Bottles and Men.)