I consider my experience with this book a love affair gone horribly wrong. Once again I'm harshly reminded of the dangers of praising a book before I've finished it. What began as an amazing wonder promising to be a masterpiece, hitting a still patch towards the half-way mark and quickening its pace towards the end, died an awful death in Chapter 20, a hateful, misogynistic, self-absorbed, malicious end that made me regret all the time I'd spent with Llosa, all the times I'd raved about him, all the books I'd ordered of his in anticipation of heartache after this one had ended. But after reading the last chapter, I felt heartsick instead, as if I'd been betrayed even. And in retrospect, it revealed the insidious virgin-whore dichotomies Llosa had woven into his plot and many subplots, all the while masquerading as a lover. So consider this an anti-spoiler warning and, if you do venture to read this would-be beauty, stop at Chapter 19. I'm certain any ending you'll imagine will be more gratifying than the one Llosa would like to attack you with.

¡Wow! ¿Qué puedo decir? Cada vez que leo algo de Vargas Llosa me pregunto qué falta para que lo declaren uno de los mejores de todos los tiempos. Es increíble cómo este señor produce maravillas con el lenguaje, pero dando la impresión de que es tan fácil escribir: llano, simple, sin rebuscamientos en la forma, pero impresionante, maravilloso, intenso y profundo en el fondo. Este libro nos da mil historias dentro de una sola. Ya la historia de amor de la tía Julia bastaba para mantenerme pegado al libro, pero Vargas Llosa le añade a uno de los personajes más maravillosos que me he encontrado: Pedro Camacho, el "escribidor", al cual hace vivir una verdadera historia de amor con las historias, con el arte de escribir; un mundo imaginario maravilloso que nos comparte en todas las historias que intercala entre los capítulos. Cada una de ellas podrían ser la base para otras tantas novelas maravillosas, y al mismo tiempo casi siempre son la historia de Pedro Camacho contada en situaciones diferentes. El final, de entrada, parece un poco simple, pero finalmente es el que le corresponde a una novela que trata de las historias de radioteatros, que incluye historias de radioteatros en ella, y que, finalmente, es una historia de radioteatro en sí misma. ¡Maravilloso!

Nel fiore dell'età, la cinquantina , fronte spaziosa , naso aquilino, sguardo penetrante, rettitudine e bontà nello spirito ...( da Radio Central , calle Belén, Lima - ON AIR)Un romanzo variopinto, brioso e chiassoso come un festejo o una resbalosa creola,molto piacevole da leggere . Si intrecciano la rocambolesca storia d'amore del giovane Mario ( Marito/Varguitas) aspirante scrittore e la tía Julia ,divorziata trentaduenne e i romanzi radiofonici partoriti dalla pirotecnica fantasia dello scribacchino - novello Balzac- Pedro Camacho. Le imperdibili puntate ,dalle trame complicate ma sempre avvincenti, spaziano dalle prediche armate di Don Seferino Huanca Leyva (e che nomi! una goduria!) alle canzoni dell'aedo dei Barrios Altos , Crisanto Maravillas ,in un crescendo di passioni, misteri, segreti ,sangue, sventure ,scherzi del destino , calamità :D fino a che ...esplodono o implodono , non si capisce bene , in una divertente caciara finale ... (romanzo e anche meta-romanzo, con una riflessione, leggera ma profonda,sulla scrittura e su chi sia lo scrittore che - si intuisce - non è un semplice e folle scribacchino ...)Una lettura gustosa , grazie Marito ! 3/4 stelline

Lima (Peru)Bio je to ovjek prodornog ela, visokog nosa, orlovskog pogleda, olienje dobrote i ispravnosti i prijatne spoljanosti koja je odslikavala ljepotu njegovog duha. (str. 335)

My first novel read by Vargas Llosa and loved it. He recently won the Nobel Prize in Literature and whom I heard interviewed by Elenor Wachtel (CBC Podcast) and just by this book alone I can see why he won.This is one of his earlier works and his writing style is lucid, visual and an ease to read (in translation). The story follows an 18-year old writer named Varaguitas working for a Peruvian radio programme editing the news in the late 1950s. Whike studying law and to make some extra cash, the hero and a colleague spend their shifts cutting out newspaper articles to be read on the hourly newscasts. The story unfolds when they hire a well-known Bolivian screen-writer who creates a popular radio series. This is the era before television when radio programs, even in Peru ruled the masses. The quirky man is such a hit that fans throng to the radio building to see him day and night. They become friends in the oddest sense and their friendship is challenged when people notice the writer begins interchaging names of characters.Enter Aunt Julia who becomes his love interest. Despite the fact she is divorced and 15 years his senior, the bond is believable since movies, the radio show and her interest in staying young tie the couple in love. I won't spoil their outcome but when Varaguitas' parents return from the U.S.A. when they hear they want to get married. Apparently, this part of the story is autobiographical as Vargas Llosa did briefly marry his aunt.What keeps the book moving is the chapters alternate between the story of the aunt and the radio stories. Each develops in such a fascinating way that I admit I wish he had written a few more stories as they were so entertaining..An excellent intro to a maestro of literature.