The Neighborhood by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, was a complete pleasure to read. It's a rare book that entertains so completely.
One of the most significant Latin American novelists, Llosa won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. He writes across many genres, and I had no preconceptions beginning this book.
We meet the disparate characters starting with two wealthy couples living in Lima; Marisa and Enrique, and Chabela and Luciano, who are as close as family and live in penthouses and golf course homes. The women surprise themselves one night by beginning an adulterous affair with each other. Prominent engineer Enrique is shocked when the editor of the notorious tabloid "Exposed" attempts to blackmail him with photos obtained after he was entrapped into a drunken orgy while on business. Luciano is the lawyer he turns to - do they call the bluff, or pay the ransom? Folkloric poet and narrator Junito has watched his career crumble at the hands of the weekly scandal sheet, and writes a letter every day urging the police to shut it down. The pictures were taken by a photographer nervous of reprisals, and an article composed by Shorty, a female writer who is tough as nails with a total lack of scruples. The editor, Roberto Garro, derives great pleasure from destroying the celebrated and the respectable, thrills at turning lives into human garbage. He prints the expose - and society is shocked, titillated, disgusted, excited. Before the repercussions are fully realized, Garro is viciously beaten to death and dumped in a barrio alley. There are many who would profit or be satisfied he got what he deserves, but who is responsible?
The story alternates between characters - Marisa and Chabela, Juanito, Enrique and Luciano, Shorty and Garro - until the final chapter where each paragraph, sometimes each sentence, jumps from one character to another. This interlacing dialogue is a masterful technique I don't think I have ever experienced, a feat that Llosa manages to balance with skill.
Set against the backdrop of modern Lima and the politics which run the society, this was filled with so many surprises, along with intriguing characters, that I can't remember when I was so captivated and entertained by a novel. Recommended.
2016 / Hardcover / 244 pages
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