Mario Vargas Llosa
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By: Harper Perennial
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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( V ) -> Vargas Llosa, Mario
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> Latin American
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
A Latin-American masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.
When one of the best contemporary Latin-American authors says "If I could only save from the fire one of the novels I have written, I would save this one", you know that the experience of reading this work has to be invaluable. In this novel, the author explores, through the use of some fictional characters, the effects of the dictatorship of Manuel A. Odria in Peru. One of the aspects that shocked me and that I still find surprising is how well the impact of these terrible events translates to other dictatorships that occurred later in the Latin American history.
Vargas Llosa uses a very difficult style throughout this novel, since he jumps back and forth through time and space, and also changes continuously among the viewpoint of different characters, without warning the reader about what is going on in each case. It does take some getting used to in order to fully enjoy the novel, but once you achieve this, the rewards are abundant and leave us satisfied. In this regard, it may help to read "The Time of the Hero" first, since in this book the author uses a similar technique, but keeping it a little simpler.
I have heard some of my friends and family complain about Vargas Llosa's style in this work, saying that the author is just trying to be fancy with his writing when there is no need for it. I do not agree with this; I think that the point the author is trying to make through his convoluted technique has to do with the frustration that people feel during a dictatorship and he wants you to feel some of it too when you are going through the experience of reading about it. But also, the author knows that you are going to have to give the book your full attention if you want to understand it, so his style helps assure that you will grasp his point.
In my opinion, there is only one other book that can compete with this one for the best Latin-American novel of all times, and most people can probably figure out pretty quickly that I am referring to "One Hundred Years of Solitude". I am not sure which one comes on top, but I know for sure that I would not want to have to make a choice in terms of which of the two to save from the fire!
Editorial Review:
A Haunting tale of power, corruption,
and the complex search for identity
Conversation in The Cathedral takes place in 1950s Peru during the dictatorship of Manuel A. Odría. Over beers and a sea of freely spoken words, the conversation flows between two individuals, Santiago and Ambrosia, who talk of their tormented lives and of the overall degradation and frustration that has slowly taken over their town.
Through a complicated web of secrets and historical references, Mario Vargas Llosa analyzes the mental and moral mechanisms that govern power and the people behind it. More than a historic analysis, Conversation in The Cathedral is a groundbreaking novel that tackles identity as well as the role of a citizen and how a lack of personal freedom can forever scar a people and a nation.
