Books to Get You Thinking

On October 6th, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to acclaimed Peruvian author Mario Vargos Llosa “for his cartography of the structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt and defeat.” An icon in Latin American literature, Vargos Llosa is a prolific writer widely admired for his work that reflects the interplay of corruption and power in South America. The novelist joins his contemporary Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Octavio Paz in the foray of Spanish language authors who have claimed the Nobel over the last three decades. Over his lifetime Vargos Llosa has written more than thirty books that cover a wide spectrum of fiction, nonfiction and essays. A large selection of the author’s works can be found right here in the Mercer County Library system. Here is a sampling of titles that are sure to excite and enthrall:

The Feast of the Goat: An enthralling novel that takes a multi faceted look into life in the Dominican Republic under the brutal regime of General Rafael Trujillo and the chaotic days following his assassination. Three interwoven story lines involving the Rafael Trujillo, the group of conspirators plotting to overthrow him, and a woman - Urania Cabral who is the daughter of one of his ministers, are brilliantly fused together to present a portrait of the dictator and the pain, atrocities and corruption that pervaded his regime.

The War of the End of the World: A multi layered historical novel of epic proportions, the novel is set in 1897 against the backdrop of the arid lands of northeastern Brazil. Llosa has based this work on the uprising in the Brazilian backlands that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century. Through the battles and conflicts ensuing between the established Republic and the prophet who created Canudos - a habitation of bandits, beggars, prostitutes and the like, the author examines issues of the individual and the government. It is a tale spun of passion, violence and tragedy, with different voices, perspectives and characters reflecting the underlying premise that the path of fanaticism can lead only to devastation.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is a captivating social comedy, with a landscape which also reflects the author’s use of wit and definitive sense of irony. The novel has two parallel stories running through it. The story of Mario the young aspiring writer working at a radio station who falls in love with his older Aunt Julia is partly autobiographical. Seen in juxtaposition is Pedro Camacho, a scriptwriter who churns out daily scripts for half a dozen radio soaps as he slowly goes insane. Set in Lima, Peru in the 1950s the novel examines the trials and tribulations of creative writing.

Who Killed Palomino Molero? An excellent testament to the wide spectrum of genres Vargas Llosa has covered in his writings, this book is detective fiction at its best. At the same time though, more importantly, it is also a story that reflects the rigid social stratification of society in 1950’s Peru as well as the political corruption rampant in the system. At the heart of the novel lies the brutal murder of Palomino Molero, a musician who sang boleros to young women but then enlisted in the air force only so he could live in the military base close to the woman he loved. In this whodunit two civilian officers start investigating the murder and in the process the readers witness the different forces of evil, class and race relations, and love that propel the thoughts and actions of the major characters featured in this drama.

- Nita Mathur