Death in the Andes

In an isolated community in the Peruvian Andes a series of mysterious disappearances has occurred. Army corporal Lituma and his deputy Tomás believe the Shining Path guerrillas are responsible but the townspeople have their own ideas about the forces that claimed the bodies of the missing men. This riveting novel is filled with unforgettable characters among them disenfranchised Indians eccentric local folk and a couple performing strange cannibalistic sacrifices. As the investigation progresses Tomás entertains Lituma with the surreal tale of a precarious love affair.<br><br><i>Death in the Andes</i> is both a fascinating detective novel and an insightful political allegory. Mario Vargas Llosa offers a panoramic view of Peruvian society from the recent social upheaval to the cultural influences in its past. <b><i>Death in the Andes </i>by Mario Vargas Llosa tells the story of a series of mysterious disappearances from an isolated community in the Peruvian Andes involving Shining Path guerrillas and a cannibalistic local couple - a work of powerful narrative drive from the Nobel Prize-winning South American novelist.</b> A complex gripping and disturbing book ... a peculiar and fascinating story. He is a great storyteller who combines high seriousness with lightness of touch and this is without doubt another of his great stories. Often comic always surprising ... Vargas Llosa mixes absurdity brutality fantasy and precise observation in a way that few writers can. Unputdownable and unforgettable <i>Death in the Andes</i> is his most forcible response yet to the country ... whose horrors and splendours continue to haunt his imagination. Peru's best novelist - one of the world's best. In an isolated community in the Peruvian Andes a series of mysterious disappearances has occurred. Army corporal Lituma and his deputy Tomás believe the Shining Path guerrillas are responsible but the townspeople have their own ideas about the forces that claimed the bodies of the missing men. This riveting novel is filled with unforgettable characters among them disenfranchised Indians eccentric local folk and a couple performing strange cannibalistic sacrifices. As the investigation progresses Tomás entertains Lituma with the surreal tale of a precarious love affair.<br><br><i>Death in the Andes</i> is both a fascinating detective novel and an insightful political allegory. Mario Vargas Llosa offers a panoramic view of Peruvian society from the recent social upheaval to the cultural influences in its past.