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A review by mariafernandagama
The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
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.