A review by therealmette
The Cubs and Other Stories by Mario Vargas Llosa
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After last summer's Death in the Andes, I had expected to love this one as well - but I didn't. Either the author's writing has improved a lot in the ca. 20 years between those two books, or I just happen to dislike his short-form work.
I found most of the stories to be extremely bland. Maybe if I was a guy who grew up in Peru in the middle of the 20th century, they'd have made me nostalgic, but they mostly made me feel disgusted.
Two exceptions - "The Visitor" was my favorite story and genuinely surprised me, and "On Sunday" was quite action-packed as well.
As for the main story "The Cubs", there were a lot of possibilities for P.P. to make a girl happy without his appendage. Just saying.
I found most of the stories to be extremely bland. Maybe if I was a guy who grew up in Peru in the middle of the 20th century, they'd have made me nostalgic, but they mostly made me feel disgusted.
Two exceptions - "The Visitor" was my favorite story and genuinely surprised me, and "On Sunday" was quite action-packed as well.
As for the main story "The Cubs", there were a lot of possibilities for P.P. to make a girl happy without his appendage. Just saying.