Reading the first few pages of this novel already made me nauseous; needless to comment on the rest of the book which was only more and more outrageous as it went along. From the descriptors of the maths that are required to run a brothel, to completely grotesque descriptors about Captain Pantoja’s hemorrhoids, or cult like activities of sacrificing humans. The content was abhorrent, although the writing itself was quite interesting.
One thing I do appreciate is the changing form of writing format, for a letter, to a mission report (?) to just a dated narration. The different formats that is utilized adds so much dimension to each characters perspectives and their jobs. With each format change, the language also changes drastically, which is not always achieved across authors, so it was quite impressive that the tone of the story shifts so much depending on what context you were hearing it from. I personally enjoyed the bits where you would jump back and forth between 2 situations; I could visualize it like a movie with its jump cuts and I thought the effect of that choice was very special.
Regardless, I find the way the book deals with the subject matter a bit alarming, since there is a certain sense of dehumanization when describing the prostitutes and women broadly, and I think that might raise some red flags about the way this book was intended as “comedy”. I know of many people, on justifiable grounds, who wound find this completely inappropriate, and I think that is why “black comedy” remains controversial. To some degree, I recognize that might be the point of this book, as I have read that the author had his work based on facts, but it is still appalling to see sex work described as going on “convoys” or taking about servicing 20 men a day as if it’s just a statistic. The only image I have from that is a woman tired out on a mattress, just used, waiting for it to start over again and again and again. Frankly, I can’t find anything comedic about that. The depiction of the circumstances of the prostitutes weren’t depicted all disingenuously though; even at the core of these stories, its made clear that poverty was the root cause of prostitution, and that only coupled with the abhorrent conditions they are forced to work in, whether in slave-driving brothels, or walking door to door with no semblance of security in their jobs. Thats why it wasn’t only a steady stream of money that allured the prostitutes to join the secret service, but also the respect that is given with the position. In this sense, the novel reminds us about these real events in history and provides a thought provoking depiction of it.
Lastly a question to all: what do you think the broader significance of the cult was, with the place it has within this story?
Until next time,
Kelly
“The content was abhorrent, although the writing itself was quite interesting.” After reading several of this week’s posts, this is one of everyone’s general conclusions. We cannot deny that Vargas Llosa is a highly skilled writer, but whose ways of portraying situations are not appropriate for us. At the time the novel was written they were already scandalous, but for other reasons. I wonder then -and I hope all of you help me answer- if, despite this, we can say that this novel is relevant today, and why.
Hi Kelly! I agree that the fact that this book was called a comedy and uses prostitutes and sex work as the joke is quite problematic. I understand, of course, that it was a different time when this was written, but it still rubs me the wrong way. The comedic elements felt like they were supposed to be the absurdity of the situation with the reader just supposed to take what happens as jokes and not think too hard about them. Obviously, this isn’t good and paints sex work in a weird light. On your point about the story telling, I agree. I really liked how different mediums were mixed in to tell the story from different perspectives.
Hi Kelly, I totally agree with you on how the innovative use of myriad mediums such as letters, dispatches, broadcast transcripts, etc has played a significant role in crafting the vibrant characters and events depicted in the book. Regarding the cult, it appears to me that it serves as a counterforce to the Catholic Church, which was the dominant religious institution in Peruvian society during the 20th century. The cult’s beliefs and practices are in direct opposition to those of the Catholic Church. This can be seen as a challenge to the power of the Catholic Church, which had a significant influence on the political and social landscape of Peru during this period.