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A review by ehlupton
Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa
4.0
This book starts from a particular premise that may be difficult for some people to swallow: Soldiers living in the middle of the jungle commit more rapes because they have no sexual outlet. Modern Americans, especially those of us who call ourselves feminists, don't conceptualize male sexuality in this way, as an uncontrollable force that requires an outlet somewhere or else it erupts, untamed! But it's entirely conceivable that others, especially army officers, might see it that way, so it's best to accept the premise and move on, because it pays off.
The army decides to form a corps of travelling "specialists" (prostitutes) that will be called the Special Service. They assign Captain (Quartermaster) Pantaleon Pantoja, a man with a reputation for efficiency, to lead the brigade and work out the details. He, his wife, and his mother leave for rural Iquitos (Peru), the staging point for the service. The problem is, the army didn't expect him to be quite so successful...
Mario Vargas Llosa uses the Special Service as a launching point to make fun of not just political and religious targets, but also the people of the city of Iquitos and how information moves through them. In addition to the "special service," a weird religious cult and a radio talk show host (called Sinci, who I imagined as kind of Rush Limbaugh-esque) play significant roles in the plot. Vargas Llosa uses a variety of techniques to tell the story, including reports, newspaper articles, radio program transcripts, and a peculiarly cinematic way of cutting conversations together without giving the reader room to breath that gives the impression that multiple actors are standing on the same stage. At the end, Vargas Llosa seems to point out the inherent hypocritical nature of those who oppose Pantoja and the Service, but he avoids overly romanticizing prostitution. Unlike many novels, the prostitutes are fully formed characters who are taking control of their own lives, not figures to be pitied or scorned. Seeing the culture of Peru in the 1950s is also very interesting. In all, a very satisfying read.
The army decides to form a corps of travelling "specialists" (prostitutes) that will be called the Special Service. They assign Captain (Quartermaster) Pantaleon Pantoja, a man with a reputation for efficiency, to lead the brigade and work out the details. He, his wife, and his mother leave for rural Iquitos (Peru), the staging point for the service. The problem is, the army didn't expect him to be quite so successful...
Mario Vargas Llosa uses the Special Service as a launching point to make fun of not just political and religious targets, but also the people of the city of Iquitos and how information moves through them. In addition to the "special service," a weird religious cult and a radio talk show host (called Sinci, who I imagined as kind of Rush Limbaugh-esque) play significant roles in the plot. Vargas Llosa uses a variety of techniques to tell the story, including reports, newspaper articles, radio program transcripts, and a peculiarly cinematic way of cutting conversations together without giving the reader room to breath that gives the impression that multiple actors are standing on the same stage. At the end, Vargas Llosa seems to point out the inherent hypocritical nature of those who oppose Pantoja and the Service, but he avoids overly romanticizing prostitution. Unlike many novels, the prostitutes are fully formed characters who are taking control of their own lives, not figures to be pitied or scorned. Seeing the culture of Peru in the 1950s is also very interesting. In all, a very satisfying read.