A review by owenpeak
Pantaleón y las visitadoras by Mario Vargas Llosa

4.0

Such a brilliant read. I’ve read one of Vargas Llosa’s short stories before but now, after reading one of his novels, I really get his status as one of Hispanoamerica’s greatest satirical writers. The farcical yet frightfully real plight of Pantaleón Pantoja as he creates his army of prostitutes in the Peruvian rainforest is both compelling and deeply moving in a lot of ways. For instance, the adversity they face against the ever more disturbing and morbid antics of a Christian cult is quite terrifying and made me realise how, now more than even, sex positivity and the protection of sex workers is incredibly important.