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Captain Pantoja and the Special Service was written by Mario Vargas Llosa in 1973. I decided to read this novel because I'd heard of the author before, namely about the book "The Time of the Hero." I really wanted to like this book, but truthfully I wa... read full post >>

Captain Pantoja and the Special Service was written by Mario Vargas Llosa in 1973. I decided to read this novel because I'd heard of the author before, namely about the book "The Time of the Hero." I really wanted to like this book, but truthfully I wa... read full post >>

Mario Vargas Llosa’s Captain Pantoja and the Special Service was an eventful read. The book—both directly and indirectly—dealt with heavier themes of colonialism, discipline and control, sexuality, prostitution, and corruption, while simultaneously providing comedy. The first thing that stood out to me was how corrupt the military was. This was most explicitly shown to me […] read full post >>

    I have many thoughts and feeling after reading The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. Firstly, I felt like I was trying to listen to a story being told by a defensive, unaccountable, insecure narrator who seriously struggled with... read full post >>

    I have many thoughts and feeling after reading The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. Firstly, I felt like I was trying to listen to a story being told by a defensive, unaccountable, insecure narrator who seriously struggled with... read full post >>

Reading the first few pages of this novel already made me nauseous; needless to comment on the rest of the book which was only more and more outrageous as it went along. From the descriptors of the maths that are required to run a brothel, to completely grotesque descriptors about Captain Pantoja’s hemorrhoids, or cult … Continue reading → read full post >>

I quite enjoyed reading Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, as Mario Vargas Llosa wrote it as a clear satire and almost parody of the popular spy novels and movies of his time. The story of Captain Pantoja actually reminded me of other comedic parodies like Austin Powers and sketch tv comedies like Monty Python and SNL, […] read full post >>

 Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week. This week I chose to read Mario Vargas Llosa’s Captain Pantoja and the Special Service and I think I enjoyed it? I found some parts of the novel such as the objectification of wo... read full post >>

 Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week. This week I chose to read Mario Vargas Llosa’s Captain Pantoja and the Special Service and I think I enjoyed it? I found some parts of the novel such as the objectification of wo... read full post >>

The Hour of the Star explores issues of sexism and poverty and raises philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the formation of identity while following the lives of the Macabéa in the slums of Rio.Macabéa is from northeast Brazil. Peo... read full post >>