pll
10-07-2010, 05:22 AM
I'm pleased this morning by something completely unrelated to cycling: Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa (his website (http://www.mvargasllosa.com/menubn.htm)) was awarded the Nobel in literature (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2010/bio-bibl.html). It was high time -- he had been in the short list every years since the 1980s and there was the nagging suspicion that his politics were a consideration in not awarding him the prize.
A couple of his political/historical novels (that I enjoyed):
Conversación en la Catedral / Conversation in the Cathedral - set during the dictatorship of Manuel Odría (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_A._Odr%C3%ADa), Peru in the 1950
La Guerra del Fin del Mundo / The War at the End of the World - set in the Brazil backlands, late 1800s, in Canudos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canudos)
La Fiesta del Chivo / The Feast of the of the Goat - set in the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, last days of the Trujillo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo) dictatorship. He was interviewed by Charlie Rose in 2001 (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/2802), following the publication of the English edition.
Other well known novels:
La Ciudad y los Perros / The Time of the Hero -- life in a military school
La Tia Julia y el Escribidor / Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter -- if you are close to 50 years old, you'll get a kick out of this book
Pantaleón y las Visitadoras / Captain Pantoja and the Special Service -- a military operation to establish a 'special service' (prostitutes) for a garrison
One of his first publications was a fabulous short story, Los Cachorros (The Cubs), very much worth reading and a staple in many a literature class in Peru.
A couple of his political/historical novels (that I enjoyed):
Conversación en la Catedral / Conversation in the Cathedral - set during the dictatorship of Manuel Odría (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_A._Odr%C3%ADa), Peru in the 1950
La Guerra del Fin del Mundo / The War at the End of the World - set in the Brazil backlands, late 1800s, in Canudos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canudos)
La Fiesta del Chivo / The Feast of the of the Goat - set in the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, last days of the Trujillo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo) dictatorship. He was interviewed by Charlie Rose in 2001 (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/2802), following the publication of the English edition.
Other well known novels:
La Ciudad y los Perros / The Time of the Hero -- life in a military school
La Tia Julia y el Escribidor / Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter -- if you are close to 50 years old, you'll get a kick out of this book
Pantaleón y las Visitadoras / Captain Pantoja and the Special Service -- a military operation to establish a 'special service' (prostitutes) for a garrison
One of his first publications was a fabulous short story, Los Cachorros (The Cubs), very much worth reading and a staple in many a literature class in Peru.