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kindasjulia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
newson66's review
5.0
Reading this book in the prime of my life - my fifties, I think I might be someway to understanding what Vargas Llosa is driving at!
A beautiful, very funny and haunting novel. It was the first book by the author I have read and certainly will not be the last. Gargantuan catastrophes willing.
A beautiful, very funny and haunting novel. It was the first book by the author I have read and certainly will not be the last. Gargantuan catastrophes willing.
nandithav's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fremzz's review against another edition
2.5
Simplemente no me ha gustado mucho personalmente. No encontré mucho interés en los capítulos de Mario y las historias cortas me parecieron curiosas haste que se volvieron repetitivas y confusas (con razón, pero ya no eran interesantes para mi). Es simplemente mi gusto personal.
mslzrmx's review against another edition
pche vargas llosa tal vez en otro momento
kishka's review against another edition
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
scarletohhara's review against another edition
3.0
I dilli-dallied between giving this book 3.5 or 4 stars, and am sticking to my 3 stars. Don't get me wrong, Llosa is a brilliant writer and an author whose books I am going to continue reading, it was this book that ticked me off slightly.
This book is about the author's romance with his Aunt Julia and nuggets about his friendship with a maniacal scriptwriter, Pedro Camocha and other friends. The romance with Julia and his relationship with his friends are dealt in alternate chapters, and the stories Pedro , the scriptwriter writes form the other half of the book.
It is this part that I have a problem with. They are interesting , no doubt, but are highly irrelevant. I was waiting for some connection between these stories and the author's story, but it didn't appear, and then finally resorted to skipping these entire chapters in order to not lose my interest for the book.
Plotwise, this is a simple love story interspersed with some soap opera stories, with a simple ending.
But what I loved the most is the style of story telling.
Llosa is a master at that, and I am fan for life!
If I had to rate only the author's style, I'd give it a 4.5/5 anyday!
If you have to read this book, go ahead and read the alternate chapters, the ones which talk about Llosa's romance, which also is kinda semi-autobiographical.
This book is about the author's romance with his Aunt Julia and nuggets about his friendship with a maniacal scriptwriter, Pedro Camocha and other friends. The romance with Julia and his relationship with his friends are dealt in alternate chapters, and the stories Pedro , the scriptwriter writes form the other half of the book.
It is this part that I have a problem with. They are interesting , no doubt, but are highly irrelevant. I was waiting for some connection between these stories and the author's story, but it didn't appear, and then finally resorted to skipping these entire chapters in order to not lose my interest for the book.
Plotwise, this is a simple love story interspersed with some soap opera stories, with a simple ending.
But what I loved the most is the style of story telling.
Llosa is a master at that, and I am fan for life!
If I had to rate only the author's style, I'd give it a 4.5/5 anyday!
If you have to read this book, go ahead and read the alternate chapters, the ones which talk about Llosa's romance, which also is kinda semi-autobiographical.
alexlaurelhoffman's review against another edition
5.0
I really wish I could have inhaled this book and retained Mario Vargas Llosa’s writing style in my veins. He writes so brilliantly. This book is a compelling, entertaining, poignant, and surprising one interlacing young Mario’s love affair with his Aunt (by marriage) Julia and the increasingly chaotic scripts of popular radio serials by the Bolivian scriptwriter, Pedro Camacho.
The sense of Mario’s youthful longing for a life of significance as a writer, his passionate love for his Aunt Julia, and his interest in the sensational scriptwriter feels so real, so true of an 18 year old with a romantic imagination.
And the scripts are a work of genius, mad though they are. In them, you can see the ways in which Pedro Camacho’s prejudiced influence his writing. I love, for instance, how important things happen to the protagonist of the tale only when he reaches “the prime of his life”, which is his 50s - of course. And how Camacho cannot stop himself from insulting Argentines and slandering women in ways that are totally unnecessary to the plot. It’s just so him. His character comes through so clearly in these scripts, from his lofty vocabulary to his lapses in memory.
This book is an imaginative feat that’s both funny and touching, filled with the mundane and the sensational. It’s difficult to properly describe it but suffice to say, I can’t recommend it more highly.
The sense of Mario’s youthful longing for a life of significance as a writer, his passionate love for his Aunt Julia, and his interest in the sensational scriptwriter feels so real, so true of an 18 year old with a romantic imagination.
And the scripts are a work of genius, mad though they are. In them, you can see the ways in which Pedro Camacho’s prejudiced influence his writing. I love, for instance, how important things happen to the protagonist of the tale only when he reaches “the prime of his life”, which is his 50s - of course. And how Camacho cannot stop himself from insulting Argentines and slandering women in ways that are totally unnecessary to the plot. It’s just so him. His character comes through so clearly in these scripts, from his lofty vocabulary to his lapses in memory.
This book is an imaginative feat that’s both funny and touching, filled with the mundane and the sensational. It’s difficult to properly describe it but suffice to say, I can’t recommend it more highly.
kategci's review against another edition
3.0
I read this when it was first translated almost 30 years ago and thought it was one of the best books ever. This time through I really enjoyed the parallel stories told and Vargas Llosa's vivid descriptions of the characters and everyday life in Lima. The ending is the weakest part of the novel; it seemed like he just wanted it to end and was disappointing. I'm glad I reread it as I was going to recommend it for one of my book groups and now I will not.