Captain Pantoja and the Special Service is a satirical novel about the Peruvian army and their sexual habits. I really enjoyed the way the novel was formatted, with the story being told through different mediums, like reports in the army, letters between sisters, radio shows, and more. It gave perspectives to the story that you wouldn’t otherwise see, like the regular townsfolk or personal accounts from the prostitutes. I specifically liked the letter between Pochita and her sister at the beginning. It felt so genuine and like actual communication between two sisters. I really enjoyed reading it.
The comedic elements of this book were either hit or miss for me. The entire comedic premise was a little iffy at first, but in the end, I came around to it. I was honestly happy to see that rape and sexual assault weren’t viewed as something normal or good. The solution was a bit odd and not something I necessarily agree with, but I guess that’s what makes it comedic and the formal way it was treated made it all the more funny. Timing how long sex normally takes and then giving the soldiers a specific amount of time to be with a prostitute was a good bit and made me chuckle. The times the soldiers put up was a good little inclusion and then performing experiments to see how much faster the soldier would finish if given a pornographic novel beforehand was a good bit of comedy. However, there were parts I didn’t enjoy as much. The whole ass surgery part just was uncomfortable and felt like a joke a child would tell.
Some of the terminology used made me laugh. Seeing “cuckolded” (55) in the novel made me laugh, just because it’s used in the internet culture. The meaning has changed a bit, but still made me do a double take. Another word from modern day internet culture I saw was “harem” (145). Maybe the translators had a prophetic sense of what terms internet culture would use, but I enjoyed the language. Also other times language played an important role was the use of “specialists” instead of prostitutes. It really just added to the comedic aspect to the book. SSGFRI (Special Service for Garrisons, Frontier and Related Installations) was also a good aspect that added to the whole military treating this prostitute solution with far more seriousness than it probably deserved.
Question:
Did you find the book’s comedic aspects funny?
I hadn’t thought about some of the points you mention, about whether some parts that were funny, or that were trying to be funny, lost or gained efficiency in the translation. From what you mention it seems that it benefited the book. In the original in Spanish there are many expressions of the daily slang of Peru, or at least of the time in which the events occurred. Humor is something that gets old quickly, and the way to make people laugh in the 70s is no longer, I think fortunately, the way it is today.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your post and I do have to agree that some of the comedic elements were hit or miss for me too. I love how you incorporated the terminology of the novel into your post, as when reading I was also feeling like this can’t have the same meaning that it does today. I love to see how slang and terminology can expand over time. I hadn’t really thought about the language like “specialists” that was used instead of prostitutes until you mentioned it here. I wonder if it was meant to be a comedic element or matter of not being able to use that word in the novel. In porchita letter to her sister there were some words that were crossed out too, I wonder if they are connected?
Hey there!,
For me, the books comedic aspect wasn’t funny to me, although it was more of light snicker at the satire and disbelief. I honestly found it quite dark. I don’t think this is the right topic to put into a comedic eye as, even tho it may be exaggerated, events like this may have happened/happen and should be taken in a serious manner.
Thanks for the insightful blogpost! I likes how you mentioned how often the comedy of Captain Pantoja either lands or it doesn’t, I definitely think that this is due to the way that Mario Vargas Llosa formatted his novel. I also think that the comedy works, when the novel is focused on making lighthearted commentary on sexuality and especially when it mocks the Church figures and the too overt seriousness of the army hierarchy. But overall, I enjoyed reading Captain Pantoja, and I would definitely re-read again just for the jokes.