Conversation in the Cathedral

Nothing better than a book

I can see how this book could be off-putting to many a reader, as it was off-putting to me through a great deal of the reading of it. To begin with, there is Llosa's style: Flashbacks, interior monologues, time-frame loops (often all in a single page!) - the whole Joycean, Faulknerian kitbag - so much so that, regarding the first half of the novel, I might suggest that it wouldn't be such a bad idea for the intrepid reader to use a pen - or perhaps pens of different colours - to mark off the different time-frames and narratives.And then there's the setting and characters: Peru - 95% set in the capital, Lima - in the 1950s, a city of dreadful night indeed, a world of whores - lots of these - cutthroats, assassins, and, above all, slews of very poor people living in squalid conditions in shantytowns---oh, and a few rich families. In short, the way most of humanity lives, are living, as I write this, on less than a dollar a day.Fortunately, for the persevering reader, one gradually becomes accustomed to Llosa's technique and the stylistic pyrotechnics slowly ebb away to an almost straight linear narrative at the end. Also, one realises how many layers the novel touches on: political, psychological, spiritual. I should say that - more than anything - it is a Bildungsroman of Santiago (read Llosa) and his disillusionment with Marxism, Capitalism - really any "-ism" and determination to shun the venality that makes the world around him a cesspool on so many levels. At the end, the reader feels that it is the most lovely life in the world to have a small apartment with books, a spouse and let's not forget the dog with which the novel begins and ends.Of course, it's not so simple; otherwise, this book would never have been penned. Santiago has tried to disencumber himself of the horrors of this world, even disowning his family, yet he lays bare the psychological scars of country and family for all to see here as if he is laying down a crown of thorns he has been wearing for his entire life.The Balzac quote at the beginning is quite apt and bears repeating. It's left in the French in my copy, so the reader of this review will have to do with my perhaps somewhat clunky, though accurate translation:"One must have searched through all social life to be a true novelist, seen that the novel is the private history of nations."The book accomplishes this feat astoundingly well. Indeed, the history revealed is so private that, fifty years on from the events in this book, I doubt you will be ingratiating yourself to the populace if seen on the streets of Lima with this book.It's really a very lonely, frequently depressing book, filled with what Wordsworth called "the still, sad music of humanity." Read it anyway.

I have been wanting to read this book for a very long time. Unfortunately the translation is really bad to the extent that I had to stop reading pn page 40. So sad...

Another example of screwed up Latin American politics and corruption with a required lack of understanding for the first hundred pages or so.If you aren't used to non-linear story telling: linear - this happened, then this happened, then.....;non-linear - this happened (sometime); this happened (some other time - maybe earlier, maybe later); this happened (could be later, could be sooner than anything else, could be any time in between, maybe). Simple - after 600 pages if you haven't figured it out it doesn't really matter - you've had a hell of a trip anyway.Sound like I'm being negative? I'm not - it was a blast. There are some real stinkers in here - and I liked some of them, disliked some and pretty much didn't care about the others.This book is pretty heavy and bleak. You can read the Amazon description. If you are already in a bad mood, save this one for later. Imitation of the characters is not a healthy form of flattery or living.

Murder in Moab This book shows Llosa early in his career when Peru's politics, like other South American countries, were being torn between indigenous parties, Communists, and the American-supported Generals. Like the politics, Llosa's writing style was purposely fragmented to reflect the country's state and the mental state of its people, top to bottom. As I described his style elsewhere, Mario Vargas Llosa writes like some auteurs make black and white films. Linear time is not important and the jump cut is used profusely, one brief scene from the past or future inserted in the middle of a contemporaneous scene. At first it is very confusing but after a while one must simply go with the flow and let the novel's projector run until the characters are sorted out and the stories of the country and its people are told.

This was probably not the best choice for my first try at Latin American literature. Not to be critical of MVL, but I struggled with this book. The most difficult part was how the dialogue skips without notice between scenes back and forth in time, and between different characters. I caught on about 200 hundred pages in, but it was still a struggle. Having said that, it is an interesting and engaging novel of Peru and Latin American recent history in general. This author is fairly objective in presenting the history versus some authors who lean drastically to the right or left. I'm looking forward to reading more MVL. Unless you are experienced with this type of writing be prepared for a difficult but worthwhile read.

I feel rather dumb reading the enthusiastic reviews of a novel I didn't manage to finish, or to understand. I love Llosa's The Feast of the Goat. Although in the Feast he also uses his technique of interweaving narratives and back-and-forth leaps in time, the meta-story is always clear and the characters are well-defined, especially the Goat. The Feast is a great epic story that sinks deep, whole and transcendent, into the reader's memory and soul. Coversation at the Cathedral is, by contrast, utterly confusing. Characters come and go in incomprehensible succession, conversations form and fade without reason, new characters are lurking behind corners (or are they the same characters with different names?). It is difficult to know at different times in the book who is talking--Santiago or Ambrosio--and whose memories are conjured up in this cauldron of mostly dull, even cliched, conversations. Perhaps it is my fault--lack of patience or interest--that prevents me from seeing this book as a masterpiece. But I can hardly believe that Llosa would save only this particular book from a fire.

This book is a masterpiece. Reading it on Kindle helped, using the Search function to keep track of the large number of characters fleeting into and out of the plot. The style is challenging, but rewarding as I felt it captures the way one's thought processes work, in a non-linear fashion while aiming to weave a coherent story out of the often random components of one's life, and to come to terms with past decisions and regrets. As other reviewers noted, there is a political dimension to the story describing, in captivating detail and through several lenses, life under a military dictatorship regime (with some aspects, such as the relationship between the business establishment and government, probably relevant to a wider range of political regimes). The book also has an important sociological dimension, through weaving perspectives of different social classes (some strongly linked to birth and race). And the book has a philosophical and psychological dimension, highlighting the existential loneliness of each of the characters, through the telling of their inner thoughts, but most importantly through readers' realisation that some of the key events and connections between characters have been revealed to the reader but remain unknown to the characters themselves.

My first Llosa novel, The Feast of the Goat, swept me off my feet; I thoroughly enjoyed it, and couldn't wait to read another novel by the author.For help on deciding which of his novels to read next, I turned to that immensely valuable facility that I've used over the years, which has seldom failed me - the Amazon book peer-review facility.After reading the reviews of a number of his books, I decided on Conversation in the Cathedral, as a result of its high rating (all the four reviewers gave it five stars).However, a common thread that runs through the reviews is that the novel is rather difficult to read and comprehend, mainly at the initial stages, on account of the author's rather difficult, convoluted narrative style, in which he switches seamlessly not only between the past and the present, but also between different characters.But I thought to myself - 'Ah, I should be okay, having got through another novel with a similar style - Jean-Paul Satre's The Reprieve.'However, in spite of the reviewers' advance warning and my confidence that I would cope, I still found the novel rather difficult at the initial stages, to the extent that I almost stopped reading it.I, however, heeded the reviewers' advice that in spite of the initial difficulty, readers should stick with the novel, and in time, they will get used to the author's style, and make sense of the book.They also pointed out that rewards of such perseverance are immense, for once the reader 'gets into' the book, he or she would be abundantly rewarded.I'm very happy that I heeded their advice, for I truly did 'get into' and thoroughly enjoyed the book. As I progressed with its reading, everything started falling into place, including the initial confusing parts.So my advice to anyone reading or contemplating reading this novel is - persevere, and you'll be immensely rewarded!

A challenging read but always worth the effort. You need to concentrate to pick up the chronology and the reasons for the change in order. However, as usual the characters are strong and you get a strong impression of Peru and the world at that time.

I found difficulty working out who was speaking and to whom and where. It was a little disconcerting and spoilt the enjoyment of the read.

I found this novel very long winded and repititive. I by far preferred the other novels by Vargas Llosa, I have read all 18.