flexluthor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This one was a tough read, both because there are some horrific things happening throughout the book and also because it was slow paced. For a book about a war it sure took a long time to get some action. Perhaps I'm not as well educated on the gospels as some other readers, but despite having heard this described as a retelling of the Jesus story I did not see it.
I think the framing of the baron and the journalist discussing the fate of Canudos is interesting, and when the book starts to hop perspectives 3-4 times per chapter it became far more engaging for me. Overall I did enjoy it despite being somewhat of a slog, and Vargas Llosa writes beautifully about the country and landscapes of Brazil. I think there are a couple dozen well developed characters, and the tragedy of Canudos is gripping throughout.
I think the framing of the baron and the journalist discussing the fate of Canudos is interesting, and when the book starts to hop perspectives 3-4 times per chapter it became far more engaging for me. Overall I did enjoy it despite being somewhat of a slog, and Vargas Llosa writes beautifully about the country and landscapes of Brazil. I think there are a couple dozen well developed characters, and the tragedy of Canudos is gripping throughout.
claudiaferreira's review against another edition
5.0
4,5* na verdade... a certa altura a narrativa perde um pouco o folego... mas é muito bom... a ironia, a manipulação, a política...
bruntosaur's review against another edition
Gave up at 25% as really wasn't enjoying any aspect of it. I think when the most principled character rapes a woman and tries to frame it as liberating her from the chains of monogamy and convention it was the nail in the coffin. I thought I'd enjoy it as I love GGM but now realise the comparisons are completely irrelevant.
elisala's review against another edition
4.0
Un livre magnifique, un récit riche: par ses personnages, par son écriture, par le déroulement de l'histoire. Un récit long, aussi, mais je n'y ai pas vu de longueur, au contraire.
Même si on connaît presque dès le début le dénouement, on est pris dans le récit, et on se prend à rêver.
Les personnages sont attachants, même les 'pires', mais qui sont les pires, finalement?
Ma note est un peu dans n'importe quel sens, difficile d'exprimer comme ça en quelques lignes ce que ce 'pavé', cette véritable saga peut m'inspirer, mais dans une première approche: j'aime!
Un peu de l'histoire quand même, car c'est d'histoire qu'il s'agit: une histoire vraie, au Brésil au XIXème, une guerre qui n'en est pas une, opposant un groupe d'illuminés(?) de pacifistes(?) de croyants, en tout cas, dont la foi pourrait presque déplacer des montagnes, et des militaires, ayant définitivement le mauvais rôle dans ce livre. Je n'ose donc pas donner le nom de guerre à cet évènement, les forces sont trop disproportionnées, c'est bien plutôt une bataille de répression... difficile cependant de prendre fait et cause pour le groupe "réprimé", dont je ne partage pas les opinions, et pourtant, leur bataille est belle, leur foi est impressionnante... j'ai encore du mal à croire que cette guerre a réellement eu lieu: c'est trop fort trop riche pour être vrai ; mais parallèlement, j'ai aussi du mal à penser que toute cette histoire sort de l'imagination d'un seul être: c'est trop complet, trop riche pour cela... trop beau peut-être aussi...
Même si on connaît presque dès le début le dénouement, on est pris dans le récit, et on se prend à rêver.
Les personnages sont attachants, même les 'pires', mais qui sont les pires, finalement?
Ma note est un peu dans n'importe quel sens, difficile d'exprimer comme ça en quelques lignes ce que ce 'pavé', cette véritable saga peut m'inspirer, mais dans une première approche: j'aime!
Un peu de l'histoire quand même, car c'est d'histoire qu'il s'agit: une histoire vraie, au Brésil au XIXème, une guerre qui n'en est pas une, opposant un groupe d'illuminés(?) de pacifistes(?) de croyants, en tout cas, dont la foi pourrait presque déplacer des montagnes, et des militaires, ayant définitivement le mauvais rôle dans ce livre. Je n'ose donc pas donner le nom de guerre à cet évènement, les forces sont trop disproportionnées, c'est bien plutôt une bataille de répression... difficile cependant de prendre fait et cause pour le groupe "réprimé", dont je ne partage pas les opinions, et pourtant, leur bataille est belle, leur foi est impressionnante... j'ai encore du mal à croire que cette guerre a réellement eu lieu: c'est trop fort trop riche pour être vrai ; mais parallèlement, j'ai aussi du mal à penser que toute cette histoire sort de l'imagination d'un seul être: c'est trop complet, trop riche pour cela... trop beau peut-être aussi...
pianoman543's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
elissaro's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and War
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
natsume00's review against another edition
5.0
I can't stop thinking of Canudos during the 12 days of reading though I knew the town and the residents would be vanished at the end of the novel. You'll find everything around humans in the book, which is thick but you can't get bored.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
The upsides of this novel are so stunning it seems ungrateful to dwell on the downsides. But I'll start there. The first is Mario Vargas Llosa's almost disturbing pleasure in debauchery. The second is that the structure of the book seems a little off. The second half is entirely military campaigns and killing, which related to the first, can sometimes be tedious and feel unnecessary. The book is more War and War than War and Peace. Also, as the book shifts perspectives from the rebels to the government troops to the capital, it also shifts in time. As a result, the end of the Canudos military campaign is told more than a hundred pages before the end which adds to the occasional tedium. Also, as a result, the ending of the book did not seem to satisfyingly tie together the various pieces and a number of the more interesting characters disappeared.
All of that said, it is a monumental and for the most part thoroughly absorbing novel that effectively shifts perspectives and sympathies, telling what is ultimately portrayed as a tragic but morally ambiguous story. It shifts between the two parties in Bahia (the monarchists led by a Baron and the Republicans led by a newspaper editor), the army/federal government, and the breakaway Christian/communist/utopians of Canudos. Some of the creations, like the Baron de Canabrava, the nearsighted journalist, and several of the followers of the Counselor, are stunningly rendered and as real as any fictional figures. Many of the others are more stock characters, or not fully developed, or a little wooden (e.g., the cuckolded guide who spends a substantial portion of the book trying to hunt down his wife and kill her).
Feast of the Goat was better, but in many ways this book is literally bigger and also very much worth reading.
All of that said, it is a monumental and for the most part thoroughly absorbing novel that effectively shifts perspectives and sympathies, telling what is ultimately portrayed as a tragic but morally ambiguous story. It shifts between the two parties in Bahia (the monarchists led by a Baron and the Republicans led by a newspaper editor), the army/federal government, and the breakaway Christian/communist/utopians of Canudos. Some of the creations, like the Baron de Canabrava, the nearsighted journalist, and several of the followers of the Counselor, are stunningly rendered and as real as any fictional figures. Many of the others are more stock characters, or not fully developed, or a little wooden (e.g., the cuckolded guide who spends a substantial portion of the book trying to hunt down his wife and kill her).
Feast of the Goat was better, but in many ways this book is literally bigger and also very much worth reading.
jordiolmo's review against another edition
4.0
Me recuerda a La fiesta del Chivo (único leído hasta hoy de Vargas Llosa) en la forma de narración, con un poco de Guerra y Paz. Me costó pasar de las 200 páginas pero después de las 400 a 900 volando