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guido_the_nature_guide's review against another edition
4.0
It is long, the prose is dense, it is atypical Vargas Llosa, and it is worth it. It is the story of an end-of-the-nineteenth century millennial cult in northeast Brazil and its suppression by the Brazilian military. The cultists follow a wandering preacher known as the Counselor, who serves as the cornerstone, but not the focus, of the events in the novel; very little is revealed about him, although his followers believe him a modern Jesus. The focus is rather on the town built and occupied by the cultists, Canudos, but it is not a single narrative. As the author says, "Canudos isn't a story; it's a tree of stories." The stories bounce back and forth between each side of the conflict, between former bandits, murderers, the physically deformed (literally circus freaks), all now saints, and politicians, soldiers, journalists out to save the Republic. Although each side views the other in absolute terms, vilifying the other as Satan, the Anti-Christ, or "the Dog", in fact there is no black and white. Everyone is capable of compassion and brutality, of ignorance and enlightenment. Millennial fanaticism arises out of poverty, bigotry, and injustice, while the equally fanatical response arises out of politics, plots and lies. Although this is not a novel of magical realism, at times it seems almost surreal: the cultists eschew money and believe the census to be a design to bring back slavery; the government believes the cultists are being armed and advised by the English to restore the monarchy. But this is not magical weirdness. It is the ordinary fog of misunderstanding and deliberate obfuscation we find around us every day - witness the circus that is the American presidential nomination process. Millennial eschatology reappears constantly throughout history, and it is unlikely to disappear because the conditions from which it emerges have not changed. There will be more Canudos.
saraireads's review against another edition
4.0
Video review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBLkyVcNQjk
This is a novelization of a real conflict that occurred in early 19th century Brazil, in a town called Canudos. A man referred to as The Counselor would visit towns in the area and speak to people that were often looked over or banished--the poor, ill, disabled, criminals, etc. He would preach about forgiveness and salvation, and he amassed thousands of followers in a short amount of time.
His followers settled in Canudos, a remote village, and over time developed their own politics and culture. They don't exchange money, they have different ideas of marriage, they don't have a census, and want to be a free and just society. The Brazilian government has a problem with this, and so they send a very small army to deal with the settlers. They do not succeed, and in fact suffer heavy losses, and they're left with little choice but to send a huge army to wage war against The Counselor and his followers.
Llosa attempts to give the reader an overview of how the Counselor came to lead thousands of followers, how politics played a role, the major players in the war, and various other characters who were part of the conflict in one way or another. There are dozens of POVs in the story, and each of them have a unique viewpoint/motivation for why they want to take down Canudos or be a part of it.
Through these various POVs you can get an idea of how religion and politics can clash, how religious fanatics cannot be "dealt with" given their strong beliefs, how war can happen based on misunderstandings, and most importantly, how you can't kill religion.
This was a well-structured, captivating novel. I ended up annotating a lot of it because I was fascinated by the followers of the Counselor, how they risked their lives for a man they believed was sent from God, and how it's very clear that religious fanatics cannot be beaten in the end--you can kill the person, but you can't kill the idea. It made me think a lot about the state of the Middle East and the religious warfare that has occurred over the years. It also made me think of cults, and the power of groupthink mentality.
However, the book was very long, almost 600 pages, and covered so much detail and so many different characters, that it started to become a chore. Towards the end I just wanted the story to wrap up, to see how it all would end for the army, the settlers, and the various characters in the novel. While it was very well-written, I had to dock a star for the length and the dragging on of certain scenes/POVs. If you're a fan of historical fiction, are interested in the Canudos war in Brazil, or are interested in the religious warfare aspect, then I recommend you give it a try.
This is a novelization of a real conflict that occurred in early 19th century Brazil, in a town called Canudos. A man referred to as The Counselor would visit towns in the area and speak to people that were often looked over or banished--the poor, ill, disabled, criminals, etc. He would preach about forgiveness and salvation, and he amassed thousands of followers in a short amount of time.
His followers settled in Canudos, a remote village, and over time developed their own politics and culture. They don't exchange money, they have different ideas of marriage, they don't have a census, and want to be a free and just society. The Brazilian government has a problem with this, and so they send a very small army to deal with the settlers. They do not succeed, and in fact suffer heavy losses, and they're left with little choice but to send a huge army to wage war against The Counselor and his followers.
Llosa attempts to give the reader an overview of how the Counselor came to lead thousands of followers, how politics played a role, the major players in the war, and various other characters who were part of the conflict in one way or another. There are dozens of POVs in the story, and each of them have a unique viewpoint/motivation for why they want to take down Canudos or be a part of it.
Through these various POVs you can get an idea of how religion and politics can clash, how religious fanatics cannot be "dealt with" given their strong beliefs, how war can happen based on misunderstandings, and most importantly, how you can't kill religion.
This was a well-structured, captivating novel. I ended up annotating a lot of it because I was fascinated by the followers of the Counselor, how they risked their lives for a man they believed was sent from God, and how it's very clear that religious fanatics cannot be beaten in the end--you can kill the person, but you can't kill the idea. It made me think a lot about the state of the Middle East and the religious warfare that has occurred over the years. It also made me think of cults, and the power of groupthink mentality.
However, the book was very long, almost 600 pages, and covered so much detail and so many different characters, that it started to become a chore. Towards the end I just wanted the story to wrap up, to see how it all would end for the army, the settlers, and the various characters in the novel. While it was very well-written, I had to dock a star for the length and the dragging on of certain scenes/POVs. If you're a fan of historical fiction, are interested in the Canudos war in Brazil, or are interested in the religious warfare aspect, then I recommend you give it a try.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
4.0
It is around Antonio Vicente Mendes Maciel, a historical and Christic figure, ascetic and hallucinated. A madman doubled as a saint, nicknamed the Counselor by his disciples, that one day, a millenarian and messianic movement formed in Bahia. At the end of the XIXth century, when Brazil had just abolished slavery and was still in the infancy of a democracy, it passed from the Empire to the Republic for less than ten years. This court of miracles, this motley collection of poor natives, beggars, pilgrims, impoverished peasants, Maroon enslaved people, freedmen, bandits, and repentant murderers, refused to bow to the new power. It rejected the census, civil marriage, the decimal metric system, paying taxes, banishing private property and money in absolute collectivism, restoring churches, cemeteries, and holy places, and seeing in the Republic the embodiment of the Antichrist. This "city of god" successfully routed three military expeditions to give way to the number finally. The War of the End of the World, a moving and harsh historical fresco, seeks to bring this special moment back to life with its epic breath and the great wealth of these well-established characters. By freeing himself from the limits of time and space, Mario Vargas Llosa meticulously retraces the circumstances and motivations that led all these destitute and disgraced beings to wander through Sertao, a particularly inhospitable region of the Brazilian Northeast. To share without back the fate of this illuminated man, whom he sees as a prophet, he describes the organization and the preparations of the belligerents of the two camps. The maneuvers of the Republicans' exploit, the sovereignty of monarchical inspiration, and the press organs in the pay of their sponsors blame themselves for the proliferation of this seditious Sebastianist movement.
This is an excellent novel about a guerrilla war, a form of civil war with which the history of Latin America abounds. It is a particularly poignant book from which we do not come out unscathed.
This is an excellent novel about a guerrilla war, a form of civil war with which the history of Latin America abounds. It is a particularly poignant book from which we do not come out unscathed.
woodpusher's review against another edition
4.0
Difícilmente una novela de Vargas Llosa decepcione y esta no había de ser la excepción. Sin embargo la guerra no es tema de mi predilección. El lenguaje literario, como siempre en este autor... formidable. Y la trama permanecerá con uno por mucho tiempo, tan sencilla y tan fuerte. Por supuesto recomendable lectura para cualquier tiempo.
lazy_winnie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
lexiscott1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
cant remember anything , it was just too political and oh my days i cannot remember all those names (Dostoyevsky style )
dariuskay's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book that feels long in every section. The first 250 pages are largely introductory, although the initial campaigns to put down the Canudos rebels do happen in the beginning parts. The story and reserved style (and rich imagination) do much to make the book compelling, but ultimately this is very fatiguing.
mariafernandagama's review against another edition
4.0
As a Brazilian who learned about Canudos in school, I have to say I didn't really know much about it before reading this book. I had no idea that three military expeditions were crushed trying to reach the community, and most surprisingly, I had no idea that 25 thousand people were killed when the fourth one finally succeeded. It makes me sad to think that I don't know my own history as much as I should.
But anyway, this book, although inspired by true events, is mostly fiction. Several characters, their lives and their complex feelings and morals were invented by the author, and some of the characters that did exist are also reimagined by the author in their intimate and private lives. I feel this is a testament to the author's ability to create characters that are entirely human and therefore are deeply flawed, even though their intentions might be good. I felt weirdly fascinated by the way he pictures Galileo Gall: we never doubt his radical beliefs are real in his heart, but we also get to despise him for being so profoundly alienated to the people he believes he's trying to protect. He dismisses the religious core that is the base to the rebellion, instead convincing himself that this is just an unimportant mask to the real revolutionary reasons that are making poor people finally stand up to their opressors. His arrogance blinds him to the fact that he too is not capable of taking them seriously. And when he turns out to be a disgusting rapist and disgraces a young woman for life, he can't respect her enough to understand that he has disturbed a very serious tradition, and that now he is expected to die by the hands of her husband.
This woman is my favourite character, by the way. I love her journey from unimportant side character to becoming a big and powerful influence by the end of the book. I also love how she is able to find happiness and love in the midst of chaos and absolute violence. She deserves it, after spending her life catering to men's desires.
And there are so many other interesting characters, I could spend hours and hours talking about them. Curiously, the one character that doesn't inspire much attention is the one that started this whole mess - Antonio Conselheiro. I feel like this is the only possible way to teel this story, though. We can never know if he really believed the things he preached, so it makes sense that in the book, as in real life, he has no other alternative but to remain a mistery to us. Through his words and his blessing, terrible assassins transformed into pious, repented believers. He convinced 25 thousand people to deny the government and everything else and isolate themselves in a community that was bound to be dismantled from the beginning. This is what we know about him, and the rest we can only imagine.
But anyway, this book, although inspired by true events, is mostly fiction. Several characters, their lives and their complex feelings and morals were invented by the author, and some of the characters that did exist are also reimagined by the author in their intimate and private lives. I feel this is a testament to the author's ability to create characters that are entirely human and therefore are deeply flawed, even though their intentions might be good. I felt weirdly fascinated by the way he pictures Galileo Gall: we never doubt his radical beliefs are real in his heart, but we also get to despise him for being so profoundly alienated to the people he believes he's trying to protect. He dismisses the religious core that is the base to the rebellion, instead convincing himself that this is just an unimportant mask to the real revolutionary reasons that are making poor people finally stand up to their opressors. His arrogance blinds him to the fact that he too is not capable of taking them seriously. And when he turns out to be a disgusting rapist and disgraces a young woman for life, he can't respect her enough to understand that he has disturbed a very serious tradition, and that now he is expected to die by the hands of her husband.
This woman is my favourite character, by the way. I love her journey from unimportant side character to becoming a big and powerful influence by the end of the book. I also love how she is able to find happiness and love in the midst of chaos and absolute violence. She deserves it, after spending her life catering to men's desires.
And there are so many other interesting characters, I could spend hours and hours talking about them. Curiously, the one character that doesn't inspire much attention is the one that started this whole mess - Antonio Conselheiro. I feel like this is the only possible way to teel this story, though. We can never know if he really believed the things he preached, so it makes sense that in the book, as in real life, he has no other alternative but to remain a mistery to us. Through his words and his blessing, terrible assassins transformed into pious, repented believers. He convinced 25 thousand people to deny the government and everything else and isolate themselves in a community that was bound to be dismantled from the beginning. This is what we know about him, and the rest we can only imagine.