I just finished reading this book from MVLL. In fact it is the first novel I read from my paisano (compatriot) and I was amazed at his technique and how entertaining this novel is. Excellent work, you wont' be dissapointed.

MVLL es considerado actualmente como uno de los escritores más representativos de la Literatura moderna y el eterno candidato a ganar el Premio Nobel. Su estilo ha innovado la narrativa y, valiéndose de técnicas ingeniosas, le ha proporcionado un dinamismo especial a sus novelas, favoreciendo su lectura fluida y canivalesca -a pesar de los pequeños espacios de tiempo que me permiten leer, he podido devorar a cada uno de sus personajez con una avidez pocas veces experimentada con otros escritores.

En esta novela MVLL demuestra sus habilidades para entretener al lector a través de un humorismo sutíl que arrebatan carcajadas durante su lectura.

El título, "La Tia Julia y el Escribidor", refleja de manera amplia y rígida la temática de esta novela. Por un lado nos cuenta la historia de Julia (Urquidi) -cuñada del tio Lucho (Llosa) y, por lo tanto, su tia política- con quien sostuvo un amor desenfrenado que no admitia barreras ni prejuicios sociales (ella tenia 32 y él sólo 18) y el cual culminaría en un matrimonio original y divertido.

La otra historia referida, y que se desenvuelve paralelamente a la ya comentada, describe de cuerpo entero las concepciones que, el entonces novel escritor, tenia (y que con el tiempo se lo ha tomado más que en serio en la vida real) acerca de su profesión. Estas concepciones estarían disfrazadas de un personaje más que peculiar, Pedro Camacho "El escribidor". Pedro Camacho simboliza, según una opinión personal y más alla de lo cómico que nos pueda parecer este personaje, al escritor "ideal": escribe más de 15 horas al día, su vida está dedicada en cuerpo y alma a la invención de nuevas historias. Y el rasgo más importante: cual Mario Vargas Llosa, sus historias son vivenciales, es decir, surgen de situaciones reales y las entremezcla con sus propias invenciones.

No acostumbro a recomendar libros ni escritores pero si a calificarlos. En ese caso diría que MVLL, sin temor a equivocarme, es uno de los mejores escritores de la actualidad y, al igual como todas sus novelas, "La Tia Julia y el Escribidor" mantiene esa calidad que caracteriza a las publicaciones de MVLL.

La tía Julia y el escribidor. Mario Vargas Llosa

Esta novela es impresionante. En el principio parece una obra liviana de vargas Llosa pero en la medida en que se avanza uno ve en este libro una gran obra que se va contando de una manera tan natural que resulta fácil terminar las 464 paginas del libro en escasos días y sin sentir el menor cansancio o fatiga. Las historias principales se desarrollan en la juventud del autor recontada y ficcionalizada de forma amena. Se ve que la novela ha sido trabajada arduamente para lograr ese equilibrio perfecto y esa ficcionalizacion que impide al lector mas aguzado adivinar que es verdad y mentira en la narrativa del amorío del escritor con su tía y su posterior casamiento con ella. ( no he leído nada sobre la vida de vargas Llosa así que evitare hablar mucho de esto para no caer en la trampa que Mario tiende para los lectores de hablar sobre una vida ficticia).Varias cosas de su vida me dió gusto saber como esa de que fue profesor un tiempo en Berlitz, instituto donde también yo desempeño esta labor de instructor, y me dió gusto saber ese detalle. La otra parte de la historia, la vida de Pedro Camacho, es tremenda en su contenido de obras al estilo Corin Tellado y radioteatros de los 70. Recuerdo haber oído algunos en mi infancia. Y ese personaje de carácter tan fuerte, de dedicación extrema al trabajo de escribir tan prolíficamente sobre una base diaria, me dió al igual que a marito cierta envidia, no por su contenido sino por la prolífica producción y nivel de ventas. Lastima que la vida le juegue una mala pasada, pero eso es algo que no contare aquí y que tendrán que descubrir los lectores que se embarquen en esta obra de Llosa que no los defraudara y los hará volver a buscar mas libros del autor Mis respetos a un buen autor y compañero de armas en la enseñanza.

Luis Mendez

En "La Casa Verde" Mario Vargas Llosa va dando muestras de su progreso a un estilo totalitario que quedaría demostrado finalmente en "La Guerra del Fin del Mundo". De allí en adelante el totalitarismo aparecería de manera desenfadada en todas las novelas que ha escrito hasta el momento.

Sería fácil pensar que el nombre de la novela debería otorgarle el tema central a un personaje, a un lugar o simplemente a un hecho cualquiera. Sin embargo, "La Casa Verde" es una excepción porque son varias historias contadas al mismo tiempo sin un tema central, excepto que el Perú es el lugar común en donde se desarrollan. Lo maravilloso es que con una habilidad innata, MVLL nos pinta al Perú de una manera integral, recorriendo costa, sierra y selva (las tres regiones naturales que presenta este país) a través de tres historias que se desenvuelven paralelamente y sin una relación aparente al inicio pero cuyo desenlase las unificaría. El totalitarismo de MVLL podría parecernos atrevido pero nos demuestra una vez más que esa palabra no existe para este escritor peruano.

Por un lado Fushia, mientras escapaba por el Río Amazonas, narra a Aquilino los embrollos en los cuales se encuentra involucrado tras haber intentado estafar a otro estafador más poderoso que él. El motivo sería el robo de caucho, cuya explotación se encontraba en boga en el departamento selvático de Iquitos en ese momento.

Por otro lado, Don Anselmo construye La Casa Verde, llamada así por el color del cual fue pintada su fachada, y se convertiría en el primer prostíbulo que rebolotaría la pasiva vida de Piura (una ciudad al norte de Perú). Con el transcurrir del tiempo y a pesar del progreso favorable del negocio, Don Anselmo seguiría sintiéndose solitario. Pero su soledad se vería aplacada al enamorarse; el único inconveniente, para la sociedad, era que Don Anselmo le triplicaba en edad y además ella era invidente. Debido a esto decide ocultar su relación que saldría a la luz de manera trágica cuando los pobladores deciden incendiar aquel antro de perdición sin saber que en ella habitaba la niña amada de Don Anselmo y que además estaba embarazada. El final de la historia es excepcional ya que une, como lo dije anteriormente, las tres historias alrededor de una mesa de un restaurant barato, simbolizando la pobreza humana, la cual suele actuar sin pensar en las consecuencias que podría conllevar sus actitudes cucufatas y salvajes.

Considero a esta novela como una de las mejores de la producción literaria de MVLL y se la recomiendo sólo a los que gustan de la verdadera literatura, los demás desistirán en las primeras páginas.

This complex novel evolves during many years, through the memories and experiences of the characters, within the characteristic arbitrary timing of Vargas Llosa: flashbacks, voices from different ages speaking simultaneously, sudden jumps in time. The action takes place in two basic locations: the high and dry city of Piura, and the Amazonic region of Peru. There are several stories which interact and cross at several points: Fushia, the smuggler who dominates the Indians, whose story is told during his trip with the old Aquilino, down a river; the love story of Lalita and Nieves the soldier; the soldiers of Santa María of Nieva; Sargent Lituma and the Woman from the Jungle; Don Anselmo, the mythical founder of Piura's nightlife, and thereafter a harp-player at brothels; The Unconquerables and the nuns from the convent.

The novel is an epic of life in Peru, a solid and vast book. Characters from the past and the present speak their minds and tell their deeds. The tone is varied, from the sordid to the epic, from city to jungle. A great novel by an accomplished author, in which the different stories slowly converge to paint a broad landscape. In a less dark way, from time to time Faulkner seems to be in the background, Latinamericanized.

este libro es tremendo, puedes sentirte dentro de el con una facilidad increible, puedes sentir la lluvia que no cesa por semanas y la vida en las zonas de la selva. es muy buen libro para comenzar a leer a vargas llosa, aunque tambien se puede comenzar con algo como la ciudad y los perros. magnifica lectura

I couldn't stop reading it eventhough they were too many names I really found it interesting,fast to read and with a lot of humor.What I need is that I have to talk about this book at school and I'm not very good at doing this.Can some one help me?I've got to get the best grade because I'm a little low in grades right now.Thank you very much.
I hope someone understand my English because it has been a long time since I've spoken it.Bye.

Although this novel has been termed "Flaubertian" by more than one writer (and not only as a compliment, at least in some cases), my opinion is that Gustave Flaubert was never even close to portrait the untangible spirit of everyday love, hate, lust, greed, gossip, fanatism and passion the way Vargas Llosa does in this novel. Perhaps people from more temperate societies could have a difficult time understanding how all the forementioned characters interact to form everyday life in Latin America, but if anybody could show it to them, it is Vargas Llosa. In this novel a demented,compulsive chauvinist, racist(anti-Riverplateans) and diminutive radio soapopera scriptwriter is nevertheless redeemed by an unconquerable zeal to portray what are just small exagerations of what really happens aroud him; and even serves as an inspiration for a budding writer and his forbidden love. How all this twists and turns is fascinatingly complex, and beyond any possible synopsis.

I never thought I could get so much reading pleasure out of a Latin American writer. I am hooked and will try to read all of Mario's books. This book took me to a fascinating culture in Lima, and the life and tribulations of a young and aspiring , latin writer and lover and the characters of a decade long gone in the world

Reading Mario Vargas Llosa's works of literature is one of the best experiences a reader can have. In "Letters to a Young Novelist" Vargas Llosa shares the name of authors that have shaped his life as a writer, along with his personal insight on narrative techniques, and an unconditional love for the written word. Each chapter presents valuable information for anyone interested in the art of writing or for anyone who enjoys reading a well-written book.

This book is written as a series of letters to an anonymous, aspiring novelist. Obviously it is fashioned after Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet", and although somewhat cheeky, the style and tone of these pseudo-letters fit Mario Vargas Llosa's objectives in writing.

Unlike some of the mainstream writing tutorials that are around, this volume, although slight in page length, has genuine and truly original insights that will help your writing tremendously. For example, whereas most writing instructors teaach you to stick to one point-of-view, Vargas Llosa says one of the most unbending rules in fiction is that no novel sticks to one kind of point-of-view, that it subtly changes. There are equally startling and persuasive directives regarding spatial and temporal matters in fiction.

The book is fun to read as well; only a novelist of Vargas Llosa's caliber can dismiss many of the so-called 'classics' and not seem vindictive and/or crazy. To fully understand this book (although not totally necessary), a reader should have at least a passing knowledge of the writers and their works that Vargas Llosa invokes as examples. i.e. Proust, Flaubert, Robbes-Grillet, etc.

If you are an aspiring writer, chances are good that this wry book will be an indispensable guide. Highly recommended.

"Letters" is an adroitly written instruction book for beginning writers. Incorporating an imaginary correspondent, Mario Vargas Llosa writes a series of letters to a young protege sharing his years of literary experience and outlining the principles that make a novel. It is an interesting vehicle for an instruction book and it works. Most books of how to write are overloaded with superfluous detail and have the annoying tendency to be academic in the approach to writing. This book is breezy, conversational, loaded with brilliant insight and fun to read. Sighting loads of examples from classic and not so classic novels he brings to life essential topics of style, voice, time, point of view and other narrative tools that the masters of the novel have incorporated for hundreds of years.

Many of the novelists Vargas Llosa sites for his many examples are unknown to me and he has roused my interest in reading their books. Alas, many of them are not translated into English (at least not that I can find on Amazon). But that does not diminish the satisfaction derived from reading this diminutive book. His best advice to any writer is to be a great reader. An example he has clearly followed himself.

I gained a new respect for Vargas Llosa after reading this book. I admit that I've often had trouble finishing his novels, like "The Green House" and the "The War of the End of the World." But this collection of essays is very lucid and insightful. A true joy to read.

The topics vary, and cover everything from the "bad" films of Luis Bunuel to the fading legacy of Che Guevara. In fact, there seems to be an even split here between literary and political themes. I loved, for example, reading a Latin American perspective on the works of David Mamet.

I also enjoyed "Nicaragua at a Crossroads." His description of the capital city is amusing, heartbreaking and gives you a sense that the people of Managua live in a truly surreal world. No writer of magic realism could ever imagine a stranger form of urban chaos than the one depicted in this essay.

"Making Waves" is a brilliant collection -- one that ranks with Umberto Eco's "Travels in Hyperreality" or Octavio Paz's "Labyrinth of Solitude."

Mario Vargas Llosa is often overshadowed by the more famous Spanish writers such as Garcia Marquez and Fuentes. However, he deserves his place among them and may perhaps be better. "Making Waves" displays the writer's usual quick wit and sarcasm as he muses over everything from Peru's Shining Path to Hemingway to Rastafari to Che. It's a collection of essays spanning many decades, and often they are merely his take on a particular social, political, or literary trend. The book makes for enjoyable reading in bits and pieces. A highly intelligent work!

"Making Waves," by Mario Vargas Llosa, brings together more than 40 essays by this great writer from Peru. The book has been edited by John King, who also translated these essays into English. Vargas writes about politics, literature, popular culture, the writer's vocation, and other topics. His moods vary greatly throughout the book: outraged, annoyed, sentimental, exasperated, and enthralled.

The book is filled with fascinating insights and memories. It is fascinating, for example, to read how Vargas Llosa's first novel was burned and denounced. He frequently attacks Cuban leader Fidel Castro. One of the best selections, "The Story of a Massacre," tells of the tragic slaying of a group of journalists; this piece takes us into the worlds of the Shining Path guerrillas and the Iquichano Indians.

Another excellent selection is "My Son the Rastafarian," about his son's conversion to the Rastafarian religion while staying at an English school. Many of Vargas Llosa's essays explore the lives and work of other writers: William Faulkner, Doris Lessing, Julio Cortazar, Ernest Hemingway, and others. And there are a few weird surprises, like his essay on Lorena Bobbitt, the woman who cut off her husband's penis.

In an essay on Hemingway, Mario Vargas Llosa writes, "The condition of the writer is strange and paradoxical." He adds that the writer needs to "feed the beast within which enslaves him." Vargas Llosa has been feeding his own "beast" for a long time now, and the world is a richer place because of this. I highly recommend "Making Waves" to all interested in contemporary literature and politics.

Enhanced with an informative Foreword by Mario Vargas Llosa and introductions by Edward Ranney and Publio Lopez Mondejar, Martin Chambi: Photographs 1920-1950 presents the enduring and transcendent black-and-white photography of Martin Chambi, one of Peru's most acclaimed photographers. His pictures strikingly present the daily lives of Cuzco men and women in the first half of the twentieth century, and presents a wealth of portraits filled with emotion, determination, which ultimately form an impressive legacy of memory and pride. Martin Chambi: Photographs, 1920-1950 is a highly recommended addition to any personal, professional, or academic Photography Studies reference collection.

I can't stop looking at this book. It is that captivating. Chambi's work helps to preserve one of the world's most fascinating and unique cultures. To look at his photography is to look at Cuzco itself. In the eyes of the people of Cuzco you can see years of desperation yet at the same time a great sense of hope. This collection of photos brings to life Cuzco pre-Machu Picchu tourism boom and does it wonderfully. Chambi was not only Peru's best photographers, he was at the time one of the wolrd's best. It has been said that he showed a perfect sense of balance in his work. Chambi clearly captures moods as is evident in this collection. Among his most well known photographs is "Tristeza Andina" or "Andean Melancholy." This is a haunting but beautiful photograph of a Quechua Indian playing a flute with his llama standing behind him. It is difficult to describe the feelings that this photograph can evoke. This book is easily worth any amount you may pay for it.

This is a Smithsonian monograph collection of photographs by the Peruvian photographer that portray many facets of Peruvian life... Print quality is excellent. The photographs are amazing and a fascinating look at culture, landscape and society 1920 - 1950.

Prior to reading this I had thought of Vargas Llosa as a writer more clever than profound. However this book reveals a author at the peak of his powers. It digs deep into challenging and provocative ideas, using a narrative technique that adds depth to and complements the plot. Right up to the last few pages it keeps forcing you to question and reevaluate what you believe within and about the story. One of my favorite books and, in my opinion, easily his best.

The book is a challenging one and at the beggining one might get lost in its complexity. It is at the end that one realizes the message that Vargas LLosa is conveying. I read the original version in spanish.

es un libro intenso, en el que se siente la fuerza narrativa de vargas llosa. en realidad a veces crees estar en esa selva donde pasan semanas y llueve a cantaros. muy recomendado, es vargas llosa en uno de sus mejores momentos.

Luis Mendez

Este es uno de los mejores trabajos de Vargas Llosa, hay sentimiento, intriga, historias que se entrecruzan y sobre todo una captura perfecta de ciertas características latinoiamericanas que nos hacen tan universales.

I think I read this book some five years ago and I still keep on buying it for my friends. A truly masterpiece that will stay with the readers for the remaining of their lives.

Though I admit to being partial to Mario Vargas Llosa, this particular book stands out as one of the best contemporary novels. The story is compelling and extremely well told. The plot is complex and entraitaining. The narrative is rich and flows easily. You will not find much or the author's characteristic humor in this tragic story. The ironic cruel nature of human behaviour and human institutions is present in each page. I hate it when author's of the stature of Vargas Llosa are said to be mainly interesting because they describe cultures that are foreign to us (mainly their own). This is not a book about Peru nor critisism of South American dictatiorships. This is a book about God and religion, about love and betrayal and about intollerance and human stupidity. If anyone thinks that the events and characters portrayed in the novel are "foreign" to us, maybe he should think twice and remember Wacco or Ruby Ride. This monumental work is not for the faint of heart. It is brutal in its depiction of pain and misery. It is a tragedy, and a sad one at that! I highly recommend this book, it is one of my all time favorites.

Es increible como Vargas Llosa te lleva atraves del espacio y el tiempo saltando de parrafo en parrafo y el lector no se pierde nunca! Flora esta en Paris reunida con obreros y un instante despues (10 anhos antes) en Arequipa visitando a su tio Pio, Gauguin esta Tahiti, 50 anhos despues, y en la linea siguiente esta (otros 10 anhos antes)pintando con van Gogh en Arles, y lector ve pasar todo esto frente a si sin confundir una sola idea. El manejo de los tiempos es similar a Pulp Fiction, donde Tarantino te va ofreciendo escenas de la historia en desorden, pero nunca te pierdes.

Adicionalmente, el tema de las historias, el humor, y lo crudo de algunas escenas (tipo el capitulo final de "La fiesta del Chivo") hacen que este libro asuste y encante. En este libro el capitulo final es tambien fenomenal.