BOOK REVIEW: THE NEIGHBOURHOOD BY MARIO VARGAS LLOSA & STANKA ZOVKO HAUL

Hello dear readers and/or fellow bloggers! Today I have another book review to share with you: The Neighbourhood by Mario Vargas Llosa. Like the last book I reviewed (Blackberry Wine), this too is a novel that I enjoyed but felt that it could be better. However, this time the author Mario Vargas Llosa (Peruvian writer and a winner of Nobel prize  for literature) was already known to me. Moreover, I'll show you the rest of my recent haul i.e. the other clothing items I bought in Ozz store (run by a local designer fashion designer Stanka Zovko). If you remember, my husband took me on this shopping date to cheer me up exactly a week ago. You can see the first (a tea green set) and the second part (lilac dress) of my haul here. If you want, you can also have a look at Stanka Zovko's fashion shows I photographed in the past (March 2013 & October 2013) for more insight into her work. These photographs were taken on the same day as the last one I posted. I was planning to publish this immediately after that one, but I got sick in the meantime, had to travel and was without wi-fi. I'm feeling better now and I'm back with a new post. So, scroll down to see and read more. 

Before I share my book review, let's talk about the outfits I'm presenting this book with. What else did I buy that day in Ozz shop?

A MATCHING LILAC POLKA DOT SHIRT AND SKIRT- I absolutely love this set. I love that it can be worn together and separately. In fact, I already wore it both ways. The material feels so lux and soft. I'm sure I'll get to thirty wears with this set in no time. 

A FLORAL LILAC AND BLUE SKIRT- This skirt is fabulous. I wore it a couple of time already (including two travelling outfits but I didn't have the time to photograph them).  Yesterday I wore this floral skirt with a vintage blazer and I really liked that look (alas, it was already too dark for photos). I can't wait to show you more ways to style it. Do you have any styling ideas? How would you wear it?

That would be all for fashion talk. Now let's get to reviewing this novel. 

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD, A NOVEL BY MARIO VARGAS LLOSA 3.7/5

THE TITLE OF THE NOVEL & THE SETTING

The novel is set in Lima (Peru) in the nineties, more specifically- during the rule of controversial president Alberto Fujimori.  Both the time period and the actual location play an important part in this novel.  As is often case with Llosa, an examinations of Peruvian society runs parallel with the novel's plot. I have to say that this novel got me interested in both. I ended up googling Alberto Fujimori and reading about Peru. Other South American countries don't seem to play a part in this novel and perhaps it can be said that this novel is all about Peru. The novel is named after an area in an neighbourhood where most of the story takes place (Cinco esquinas- Five Corners). Literary translated, the novel's title would be Five Corners. The translator (or editor) probably opted for The Neighbourhood for practical reasons (most people are probably not familiar with Fiver Corners).

THE OPENING OF THE NOVEL

The novel opens with two friends spending an evening together. There's talk of terrorism, abductions and curfew (things indicating political uncertainty and government control). Marisa, the wife of one of the most powerful and rich businessman in a country is enjoying a dinner with her best friend, who is also the wife of her husband's best friend. I suppose these two female characters are introduced to represent the top of the society (and the same goes for their husbands). If they are afraid, it is implied that there must be something worrying going on, something in the air. After all, not even wealth can protect one in a country that is politically unstable or corrupt. So, early on in the novel there are hints about the political unrest of the time the story takes place in. When Marisa realizes that her best friend missed curfew, she suggest to her to sleep over- rather than to risk being pulled over by the police. Marisa's best friend agrees and soon there's an erotic scene between two friends- something that seems to surprise both of them. Their relationship (resulting in love triangles of sorts) will be examined as the novel progresses, but new characters will be introduced as well. Still, these two couples and their erotic life  play an important part in The Neighbourhood. 

EROTIC WRITING THAT ISN'T AT THE LEVEL I EXPECTED

Speaking of the erotic scenes, this first chapter is not be the last chapter devoted to erotic writing. In fact, there are many chapters devoted to Marisa's sexual adventures with her best friend and I have to say- it gets tiring after a while. The numerous descriptive description of sex felt out of place and even a bit trashy at times. It doesn't really add anything to the novel. I felt that there were too many of those 'erotic' chapters that could have been easily left out without hurting either the plot or the characters. The level of the erotic itself writing isn't very high either, at times it almost feels pornographic. It's just variations with the same characters and you cannot see much character development, inner changes or anything coming from it. I somehow expected more from this writer. The two couples felt like protagonists of a soap opera at times.  Fortunately, they  (the two married couples) are not the only prominent characters in the book or it would have been a lot more boring.  In other novel by Llosa that I read (Aunt Julia and The Scriptwriter), the author managed to take elements of soap opera and turn it into brilliant satire and amazing literature. Here I felt like the author really didn't do much with Enrique and Marisa, apart from sharing many graphic and descriptive anecdotes. Other characters that appear in this novel were far more interesting. 

 A MURDER MYSTERY AND AN EXAMINATION OF PERUVIAN SOCIETY

 In terms of the plot, this novel is more a murder mystery and a political thriller than anything else. In some ways, this book is a study of the Peruvian society of the nineties (conducted both through the story and the characters). As much space as those erotic Enrique and Marisa scenes take, they are ultimately not important for the plot. If the graphic scenes were taken out from the novel, not much would be changed in the terms of the plot or the novel itself. Indeed,  the plot of the novel is actually driven by the characters from the bottom of the society and here is where things get interesting. This is where Llosa shows his writing talent. 

THE PLOT-  BLACKMAIL AND MURDER ARE JUST THE STARTING POINTS

So, what happens? I already mentioned that the novel opens with Enrique's wife having an affair with her best friend. After some confusion, Marisa and her friend seem to find a good balance in their lives but there is more drama to unfold. Marisa's husband is blackmailed and even worse, he cannot resist insulting his blackmailer, setting things into motion. Enrique, who is an extremely successful businessman, one day receives a visit from Rolando Garro, the editor of a trashy gossip magazine that is none the less extremely powerful. This gossip magazines has been known to ruin lives and careers. Even powerful politicians fear this magazine. Now, the personality of this Rolando reporter is very interesting. As the novel progresses, his life story will be elaborated on. During their initial meeting, the reader can feel that Enrique despises Garro and everything he stands for. As a reader, I found it hard to sympathize much with Enrique, despite the fact that he was a victim of blackmail. I wonder if the writer made Enrique and Marisa seem two dimensions as characters, so that the reader would sympathize more with the characters from the bottom of the society, even if the 'poor' characters do things that morally cannot be justified, Enrique and Marisa have not faced the same challenges and so they don't really hold the higher moral ground.

NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, THERE ARE SECRETS EVERYWHERE

When Garro comes into Enrique's office, the bottom of the society meets the top. For a moment, the balance  of power changes. When Rolando Garro presents Enrique with explicit pictures from an old business trip (showing him taking part in an orgy), Enrique is terrified but tries to hide it. Rolando leaves it at that, promising not to have anything to do with it but signaling just that and Enrique knows Rolando will eventually attempt blackmail. Enrique with much difficulty opens up to his best friend who is an experienced lawyer and shows him the photographs he received from Garro. The lawyer friend gives him the sound advice he expected and somewhat relieved for having shared his secret, Enrique prepares for worst.  Anyhow,  Rolando Garro  shows in Enrique's office again and demands that Enrique invests in the magazine. Garro is not so much interested in the money, rather he really believes in his magazine and his style of journalism. He is convinced that if a man as esteemed as Enrique would invest in it, the magazine would get credibility. Disgusted with the idea, Enrique refuses and even worse insults Garro, who in turn threatens to have it all published tomorrow. That is where the story really starts to unfold. The blackmail and the murder that happens soon are the plot being put into motion. 

THE TWO COUPLES WHO AREN'T BAD BUT AREN'T GOOD EITHER

Generally speaking, the personality of both Enrique and his lawyer friend is showed as angelic and perfect. The same goes for their wives. Enrique's sin is portrayed as a moment of weakness, it is even mentioned more than once that he was drugged and tricked into taking part in that orgy. It is clear that the whole thing was staged for blackmail. Similarly, Enrique's wife and her best friend are showed as loyal wives who are doing nobody any harm with their secret relationship. That's all fine, but I didn't see much character development from any of them. Moreover, I found it hard to relate to either Enrique, his wife or the other married couple. I cannot say that I really cared for what happens to them- I wonder if the writer wrote them that way intentionally. The fact that they are wealthy people in a country where so many are so poor perhaps dehumanizes them. It is not that they are bad people, but somehow they cannot be the heroes of this story. They are too observed with their lives and too passive. Neither of the four really takes any initiative to get at the bottom of the things. They deal with the scandal, they have their little secrets but at the end of the day they are neither hurting anyone nor doing anything particularly interesting. Why do they take up so much space in the book? 

OTHER CHARACTERS THAT ARE THE REAL HEROES OF THE BOOK AND THE WAY STORIES MERGE TOGETHER

There are several characters that will be introduced as the story progresses, the most important of them is Garro's young assistant, a petite young woman with great investigative powers. The author contrasts not just different characters but also different classes of society, all the time hinting at some darker forces at work. Llosa tells the story from different perspectives, but all the stories come together in the end. I liked the way the stories merged together as the novel progressed. 

THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS & CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

When it comes to characters in this novel, I have mixed feelings about them. Some were written extremely well and felt real while others felt more two dimensional. If the author focused less on graphic scenes involving Marisa and Enrique, perhaps their characters would have been better developed. This way all we know about them are the details from their sex life. As important a role as sexuality can play in an life of an adult, it's hardly everything that one can know about a person. Plus, there is no examination of their sexuality as such, just a series of erotic adventures that could have been written less graphic- they do get repetitive after a while. On the other hand, Rolando Garro and his assistant feel like such real and well rounded characters. The villain of the novel, the so called 'doctor', a man from the shadows was written well. All the personalities from the bottom of the society were written well and seemed quite credible. Rolando Garro's assistant in particular was a powerful female character that went through some serious character development. There is also this sweet old senile character, a retired artist that has reasons to hate Garro. I found his life story to be quite touching. All in all, there are many interesting characters in this novel. I like how the personalities depicted are neither black nor white (apart from the mysterious villain naturally). 

THE THEMES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EXPLORES ARE OFTEN QUITE SERIOUS

As many of the Llosa's work, this novel explores political and social intrigues, government control, espionage, repression, clashes between different layers of society, moral degradation and human relationships. 

THE STYLE OF WRITING 

I would describe the style of writing as more postmodern than modern. Despite the seriousness of some of the themes it explores (such as corruption and government control), the writing has an ironical, satirical and often quite a  comical tone. Towards the end of the novel, the writer employs a fascinating technique of  interlaced dialogue, something he is known for. By mixing the dialogues of different characters, the writer manages to bring them all in one space and to connect them. I would have loved to see more of this kind of dialogues throughout the novel. It's a shame that the interlaced dialogue technique is used only at the very end. 

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

The Neighbourhood is one of Llosa's most recent works, but it's not one of his bests. To be completely honest, I was disappointed with some elements of this novel. The quality of the writing is not consistent. It's not something you expect from a Nobel prize winner for literature. Nevertheless, it was still in many ways an interesting and thought-provoking read. The final chapter was absolutely brilliant. 

 Thank you so much for reading and visiting. Have a lovely weekend ahead!