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mg_in_md_'s review against another edition
3.0
Set in the not-so-distant past in Peru, this story centers around the disappearance of three men in a remote Andean mining village. Peruvian Army corporal Lituma and his deputy Tomás have been dispatched to investigate and to protect the village from the Shining Path guerrillas that they assume are responsible for the disappearances. The townspeople distrust the army men and have their own ideas about what happened to the missing men. To pass the time in the remote outpost, Tomás entertains Lituma each night with tales about his love affair with a wayward prostitute, which are intermingled with the mystery of the missing men.
The plot fluidly moves between past and present, sometimes in the same paragraph or sentence. The writing style took some getting used to and I sometimes found myself unsure where the story was in the timeline and wondering how, or if, the events were related or not. While I eventually got into the flow, the non-linear style may be off-putting to some readers. The tale weaves in a number of political and cultural aspects critical to this time period in Peru, and is considered a political allegory of contemporary Peru. I thought it might have been helpful to include an explanation for some of the terms in the text for readers not familiar with this period of Peruvian history. While most could be discerned from context, a list of terms/definitions at the end of the book would have been helpful.
I used this book for the 2017 BookRiot Read Harder Challenge prompt "read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author."
The plot fluidly moves between past and present, sometimes in the same paragraph or sentence. The writing style took some getting used to and I sometimes found myself unsure where the story was in the timeline and wondering how, or if, the events were related or not. While I eventually got into the flow, the non-linear style may be off-putting to some readers. The tale weaves in a number of political and cultural aspects critical to this time period in Peru, and is considered a political allegory of contemporary Peru. I thought it might have been helpful to include an explanation for some of the terms in the text for readers not familiar with this period of Peruvian history. While most could be discerned from context, a list of terms/definitions at the end of the book would have been helpful.
I used this book for the 2017 BookRiot Read Harder Challenge prompt "read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author."
sarahplainandtall's review against another edition
Too hard to tell the different timelines apart. Just not my style of book.
kelseywelsey's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of nice little details about Peru but the dialogue is too hard to follow.
gypsynyx91's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Definitely a hard book to say I liked or enjoyed because it was pretty brutal but I do think it was very well done and I’m glad I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Sexual assault
greglhoward's review against another edition
5.0
Some of my favorite scenes in the novel, and this describes a hefty portion of the novel, was the interspersing of characters telling stories and having discussions with characters around them. The story was relatively straight-forward and the ending was not great, but the writing was terrific, and the characters were compelling.
olicooper's review against another edition
3.0
Need to get my hands on more of these books. A bit of magic was definitely weaved into this story, and I was a fan.
affyfe's review against another edition
1.0
I did not like this book. I choose this for the read harder challenge to read something by a Central or South American author set in one of those countries.
This book painted a violent, misogynistic, paranoid view of the Peruvian sierras. It centers around a strange disappearance of a couple men in a remote mountain town. Everyone is skeptical of the supernatural beings and believe they are responsible for this. While the corporal is questioning the village and attending to nearby issues his second in command tells him the long story of his lost love.
I had a hard time following what was present time and what was previous in the story. It was very hard to differentiate as the two were woven together and made things confusing. There was a lot of unnecessary violence and terrible attacks by the gangs in the mountains that didn't really add anything to the story. But the worst part was how women were treated in this book, they were only objects and could be talked about and treated however they wanted, truly shameful.
Don't recommend this book.
This book painted a violent, misogynistic, paranoid view of the Peruvian sierras. It centers around a strange disappearance of a couple men in a remote mountain town. Everyone is skeptical of the supernatural beings and believe they are responsible for this. While the corporal is questioning the village and attending to nearby issues his second in command tells him the long story of his lost love.
I had a hard time following what was present time and what was previous in the story. It was very hard to differentiate as the two were woven together and made things confusing. There was a lot of unnecessary violence and terrible attacks by the gangs in the mountains that didn't really add anything to the story. But the worst part was how women were treated in this book, they were only objects and could be talked about and treated however they wanted, truly shameful.
Don't recommend this book.
thecloudthief's review against another edition
4.0
English title: Death in the Andes
It took some time to finish the book. Some parts kept my attention, some parts didn't. But I liked it in general. It was a different story. I really liked the writing style. The storytelling was wonderful. I need to thank the translator here as well. Because I think the translation was great. The plot was complex but I liked that style. It was only annoying in a few parts. I also liked that I had the chance to learn about the old Peru culture a little in the story. It was the first book I read by this author, and probably won't be the last. I'd like to read at least one more book by him.
(Yabancı bir kitap kulübü için okuduğumdan ilk düşüncelerimi tam düzgün olmasa da İngilizce yazdım. Yakında Türkçe kısa ama güzel bir yorum yazmak dileğiyle.)
It took some time to finish the book. Some parts kept my attention, some parts didn't. But I liked it in general. It was a different story. I really liked the writing style. The storytelling was wonderful. I need to thank the translator here as well. Because I think the translation was great. The plot was complex but I liked that style. It was only annoying in a few parts. I also liked that I had the chance to learn about the old Peru culture a little in the story. It was the first book I read by this author, and probably won't be the last. I'd like to read at least one more book by him.
(Yabancı bir kitap kulübü için okuduğumdan ilk düşüncelerimi tam düzgün olmasa da İngilizce yazdım. Yakında Türkçe kısa ama güzel bir yorum yazmak dileğiyle.)
balletbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
A weirdly dispassionate book, odd given how brutal some of the characters are to one another. I can't tell if that is the original Vargas Llosa writing or if it's an artifact of translation. Related, it got really confusing as the narrative switched between Careno's story of his adventure with the prostitute when he was a teen (? I think he was teenaged) and the present-day storyline in the workers' camp, sometimes in the same paragraph. Worth reading for the period of Peruvian history/conflict covered in the novel, although it doesn't scream "Nobel-winning author".
msgtdameron's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
My last review came down hard on Llosa style. This is one of his earlier works and stylistically a much easier read. However, the plot line goes into much more native Andes myths, mysticism, and beliefs some of which are rather scary. There are parts where I was feeling the fear of the character as I was reading. This work gets a little more of the horror of some native beliefs and that makes it closer to a horror story than a murder mystery. Great read.