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coralang's review against another edition
3.0
Courte Histoire intéressante et touchante. On doit s’habituer au style d’écriture plutôt étonnant. Finale prévisible.
raymonlagos's review against another edition
1.0
Escribo como se me da la gana, para que piensen que estoy haciendo lo mejor del año: El libro
Odio este libro
El peor que he leído en el año
Le daria 0 pero no se puede
Wakala
Odio este libro
El peor que he leído en el año
Le daria 0 pero no se puede
Wakala
readingfluency's review against another edition
2.0
Un comentario muy interesante sobre la masculinidad tóxica, la que conocemos todos tan bien.
gomar93's review against another edition
4.0
As someone only somewhat familiar with southern cone and, to a lesser extent, Caribbean literature, Vargas Llosa's stories provided for me an awesome glimpse into Peruvian literature and culture.
I don't think I've read anything quite as haunting as what I read in "The Cubs", particularly for the quick stream of thought in which it's presented. The story could have easily been a novel, but Llosa is so great at condensing the important aspects of a boy's adolescence that it seems like what is written is all a blurry stumble down memory lane, done so in one sitting. Now imagine all that trauma that we can assume occurred, but in the eyes of a man whose genitalia was mutilated by a dog during his adolescence. The idea could be generic if machismo and inability to assimilate to that culture were the goals of the story, but Llosa's stream of consciousness keeps the reader alert enough to have to decipher what the emotional, observational text means in the narrative.
The other stories in the collection still contribute to my impression of Peruvian adolescence. The most noteworthy are "A Visitor" and "A Younger Brother", the first of which sees an exploration of the weird hierarchical race relations in Peru that differ considerably from anywhere else I am familiar. Also, I really liked "A Younger Brother," which deals with family pride between two brothers in conflict about whether to murder an indigenous Peruvian who was "admiring" their sister. Simple, yet unembarrassed to explore the ugly sides of every day semi-urban life in northern South America.
I don't think I've read anything quite as haunting as what I read in "The Cubs", particularly for the quick stream of thought in which it's presented. The story could have easily been a novel, but Llosa is so great at condensing the important aspects of a boy's adolescence that it seems like what is written is all a blurry stumble down memory lane, done so in one sitting. Now imagine all that trauma that we can assume occurred, but in the eyes of a man whose genitalia was mutilated by a dog during his adolescence. The idea could be generic if machismo and inability to assimilate to that culture were the goals of the story, but Llosa's stream of consciousness keeps the reader alert enough to have to decipher what the emotional, observational text means in the narrative.
The other stories in the collection still contribute to my impression of Peruvian adolescence. The most noteworthy are "A Visitor" and "A Younger Brother", the first of which sees an exploration of the weird hierarchical race relations in Peru that differ considerably from anywhere else I am familiar. Also, I really liked "A Younger Brother," which deals with family pride between two brothers in conflict about whether to murder an indigenous Peruvian who was "admiring" their sister. Simple, yet unembarrassed to explore the ugly sides of every day semi-urban life in northern South America.
floveco's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Javier o luă înainte cu o secundă:
— S-a sunat! strigă el, deja în picioare.
Tensiunea răbufni violent, ca o explozie. Cu toţii eram împietriţi: doctorul Abásalo rămăsese cu gura căscată. Se făcuse roşu la faţă şi strângea din pumni. Abia îşi mai revenise, ridicase o mână şi părea gata-gata să ne ţină o predică, dar chiar atunci se sună de-adevăratelea. Ieşirăm alergând într-o hărmălaie, înnebuniţi, întărâtaţi de croncănitul de corb al lui Amaya, care o luase înainte, întorcând băncile cu susul în jos.
Curtea interioară era zguduită de strigăte. Cei dintr-a patra şi dintr-a treia ieşiseră mai înainte şi se adunaseră într-un cerc mare, îmbulzindu-se pe sub praful ridicat. Aproape odată cu noi îşi făcură apariţia şi elevii de-a-ntâia şi de-a doua, aducând cu ei noi vorbe grele şi încă mai multă ură. Cercul se făcu şi mai mare. Indignarea era unanimă în rândul elevilor de gimnaziu. (Cei de la primară aveau o altă curte interioară, micuţă, cu mozaic albastru, în aripa din partea opusă a colegiului.)
— Vrea să ne belească, ţăranul.
— Da. Fir’ar al naibii!
— S-a sunat! strigă el, deja în picioare.
Tensiunea răbufni violent, ca o explozie. Cu toţii eram împietriţi: doctorul Abásalo rămăsese cu gura căscată. Se făcuse roşu la faţă şi strângea din pumni. Abia îşi mai revenise, ridicase o mână şi părea gata-gata să ne ţină o predică, dar chiar atunci se sună de-adevăratelea. Ieşirăm alergând într-o hărmălaie, înnebuniţi, întărâtaţi de croncănitul de corb al lui Amaya, care o luase înainte, întorcând băncile cu susul în jos.
Curtea interioară era zguduită de strigăte. Cei dintr-a patra şi dintr-a treia ieşiseră mai înainte şi se adunaseră într-un cerc mare, îmbulzindu-se pe sub praful ridicat. Aproape odată cu noi îşi făcură apariţia şi elevii de-a-ntâia şi de-a doua, aducând cu ei noi vorbe grele şi încă mai multă ură. Cercul se făcu şi mai mare. Indignarea era unanimă în rândul elevilor de gimnaziu. (Cei de la primară aveau o altă curte interioară, micuţă, cu mozaic albastru, în aripa din partea opusă a colegiului.)
— Vrea să ne belească, ţăranul.
— Da. Fir’ar al naibii!
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"The Cubs and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories exploring the way in which boys/young men see the World, how they decide what's important to them and how they approach "challenges".
The stories making up this book are: "Leaders","Confruntation","The Little Brother", "Sunday","A Guest","Grampa" and, my favorite, "The Cubs".(disclaimer: the names are translated by me from my Romanian version of the book, so the titles may differ in the official English version)
I really love how Vargas Llosa expresses raw and conflicting emotions through his characters. "The Cubs" ilustrates this the best with Cuellar and his friends. You can visualize the era in which they live and get lost in it just like in a well made movie (the feel of th city, the interests that evolve with the person, the society as a whole with it's gossip, pre-defined rules and layers in which everybody needs to settle in...not to mention, the phobia we are still trying to correct today).
I always though that Mario Vargas Llosa is unapologetically honest... that he tells you what he saw / lived... And I'm really glad for that.
Each story tackle a specific type of person and situation..and you can see that they are the most interesting for the author to present.
We also have in "A Guest" a bit of a camio for an important character from another book as an add on to quite an intense scene.
We have friendship and rivalry in "Leaders" ,"The Cubs" and "Sunday", some internal and external conflicts in "Confruntation" and "The Little Brother", and a bit of what makes children so unique as protagonists : greed, selfishness and innocense.
"Grampa" was the only one that left me wondering what I've read. It is captivating and intense, but the ending left me asking what was the purpose of it. It's almost outside of the narrative boundaries created by the other stories...Am I the only one feeling this way?
Anyway, if you're interested in reading this collection, I encourage you to first read "The Time of the Hero"(in original : "La ciudad y los perros" ) for a better understanding and enjoyment of some stories!("The Cubs" shares a very specific narrative choice to the book I mentioned)
Overall, I give "The Cubs and Other Stories" 4 stars! I recommend the collection to everyone interested in trying Mario Vargas Llosa, if his novels seem big and daunting, or to a completionists like myself! ^_^
Enjoy
The stories making up this book are: "Leaders","Confruntation","The Little Brother", "Sunday","A Guest","Grampa" and, my favorite, "The Cubs".(disclaimer: the names are translated by me from my Romanian version of the book, so the titles may differ in the official English version)
I really love how Vargas Llosa expresses raw and conflicting emotions through his characters. "The Cubs" ilustrates this the best with Cuellar and his friends. You can visualize the era in which they live and get lost in it just like in a well made movie (the feel of th city, the interests that evolve with the person, the society as a whole with it's gossip, pre-defined rules and layers in which everybody needs to settle in...not to mention, the phobia we are still trying to correct today).
I always though that Mario Vargas Llosa is unapologetically honest... that he tells you what he saw / lived... And I'm really glad for that.
Each story tackle a specific type of person and situation..and you can see that they are the most interesting for the author to present.
We also have in "A Guest" a bit of a camio for an important character from another book as an add on to quite an intense scene.
We have friendship and rivalry in "Leaders" ,"The Cubs" and "Sunday", some internal and external conflicts in "Confruntation" and "The Little Brother", and a bit of what makes children so unique as protagonists : greed, selfishness and innocense.
"Grampa" was the only one that left me wondering what I've read. It is captivating and intense, but the ending left me asking what was the purpose of it. It's almost outside of the narrative boundaries created by the other stories...Am I the only one feeling this way?
Anyway, if you're interested in reading this collection, I encourage you to first read "The Time of the Hero"(in original : "La ciudad y los perros" ) for a better understanding and enjoyment of some stories!("The Cubs" shares a very specific narrative choice to the book I mentioned)
Overall, I give "The Cubs and Other Stories" 4 stars! I recommend the collection to everyone interested in trying Mario Vargas Llosa, if his novels seem big and daunting, or to a completionists like myself! ^_^
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia