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The War of the End of the World | 
 enlarge | Author: Mario Vargas Llosa
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 226927
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0312427980
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312427986
ASIN: 0312427980
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
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Product Description
Deep within the remote backlands of nineteenth-century Brazil lies Canudos, home to all the damned of the earth: prostitutes, bandits, beggars, and every kind of outcast. It is a place where history and civilization have been wiped away. There is no money, no taxation, no marriage, no census. Canudos is a cauldron for the revolutionary spirit in its purest form, a state with all the potential for a true, libertarian paradise--and one the Brazilian government is determined to crush at any cost.
In perhaps his most ambitious and tragic novel, Mario Vargas Llosa tells his own version of the real story of Canudos, inhabiting characters on both sides of the massive, cataclysmic battle between the society and government troops. The resulting novel is a fable of Latin American revolutionary history, an unforgettable story of passion, violence, and the devastation that follows from fanaticism.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 O cangaceiro in the heavenly kingdom February 6, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The most interesting aspect of this fat and strong novel is that Brazil looks so much like China, with their bandits and their sects and their religiously motivated revolts. The real historical background is a rebellion of Christian sectarians in North Brazil in the late 19th century, after a bad drought ravaged the area in 1877 and later the liberation of the slaves, then the change of the monarchy into a republic, complete with separation of state and church, and a major tax reform, confused the province of Bahia endlessly, until the rebellion was supressed by military force. 'The Antichrist has a name, it is Republic!' There is also an interesting character called Gall, a European revolutionary who tries very hard to see this kingdom of god as a proper social revolution.
Sounds a lot like the Taiping Rebellion in China, which was a huge 'Christian' uprising against the Manchu emperors in China a few decades earlier. The similarities of countryside banditry go much further, the Brazilian cangaceiro folk hero was a Chinese stereotype as well. (I recommend to watch the current Hongkong movie 'Warlords' about these phenomena; the movie was not well received in China, but it is instructive.)
Leader of the Brasilian story is an apocalyptic prophet, called the Conselheiro, who looks much like the Taiping leader who declared himself Jesus's younger brother. Except the Conselheiro was chaste. Of course the book's title is suitably ambiguous: not only is the location of the war at the end of the world, but the world will end precisely in 1900, says the Conselheiro.
Vargas Llosa published this heavy load of a book in 1981. In 1990 he ran as a conservative candidate for the presidency of Peru and lost to a populist opponent. Good for literature, MVLl wrote some more good stuff later. Whether it was good for Peru, we will never know, but he could not possibly have done more damage than the guy that he lost against. Not sure there are many cases of writers making successful politicians. (Havel maybe; who else?)
I must have bought the book about 20 years ago. I have no idea why I picked it up for reading only now. Must try harder to implement something like a FIFO management system in my book shelf, i.e. first in, first out. Difficult.
I wish my Spanish were fluent enough to read the original, but the translation seems to be competent. A special treat are the Portuguese names: Epaminondas Goncalves, Maria Quadrado, Febronio de Brito,Frutuoso Medrado, Teotonio Leal Cavalcanti, etc etc, then all the Antonios and Joaos (Big Joao, Abbot Joao, Satan Joao etc etc). Can't get enough of it. It is like reading Brazilian football team squad lists.
And one more hint on names: there is one character who turns out to be a main element of the narration, who never aquires a name in the whole big novel: the 'nearsighted journalist' is a clever tool in the complex structure of the story. Don't take it with double meaning. Well, maybe you can.
 An epic read. Macondo meets Jonestown. May 12, 2007
A bit of a tough read at times but the reader is definitely rewarded for sticking with it. Llosa keeps the readers attention by jumping between naratives. Some characters introduced a little late in the story also help with getting through the book. The review on the front cover states that this book is "the most powerful and ambitious Latin American Epic novel since Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude." I tend not to agree that Gabo's is an "epic novel". Although I do see some similarities in the formation of larger-than-life personalities and circus-like characters.
I did however like to follow the story of Canudos which did often seem to be a sister city to Macondo and Jim Jones's People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. I plan to read more by Llosa in the future.
Aside from fiction, let me make remarks on facts of history April 29, 2007
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The book is great, as is Losa's world class quality.
However, reading the base of REAL historical fundamentals, I think that this area is a bit hidden behind a foggy athmosphere dominated by the obvious need to satisfy readers with entertainment. Of course - for it's NOT a history book - these remarks of mine are second to the main aim of the book. Clearly, only for the readers of this review.
The simple REASON for that horrific tragedy and disaster was:
Brazil's young republic feared being dismembered in pieces after taking over the country from Monarchy, which left in the air a somehow atmosphere of vaccum of power.
Canudos refused to bow before central government.
In fact, they already were an independent "something". If succeded, it would make the rest of the "young" country into a powder keg. It then triggered the recorded carnage of the worst horrors in Brazil ever happened.
It's simple like that.
All the other reasons were just reinforcements.
Ignorance? Gimme a break... The inhabitants refused to accept the presence of a republican state representative, submitted to central government. Allowing it so, every little rebel village would want to build their own country. Refused courts, police and catholic church (religion was "official"). No abroad dominance was allowed. They had their own laws, notarians and judges.
Why such a savage reaction thereafter?
Simple: Brazil was ethically still in Middle Age.
Although the nature of raw people itself had allways been highly peacefull, such was not that of the rulers. The nature of power dominance in Brazil had always been arrogant and ferocious, as local warlords (coroneis) inherited their unlimited local powers bestowed from the former Portuguese Crown and - until recently - from the Emperor himself.
From centuries they were the Law itself, profited oceans of gold from slavery trade and exploitation, and no mercy was given to millions of indigenous former inhabitants which were annihilated physically and culturally, very alike the Incas and Astecas by the Spaniards in the rest of the continent.
They were not leaders, they were rulers, and used to be it so for centuries, though. Mercilessness to the "enemy" was the ruthless law. Our ancient heritage is savage and cruel.
A good thing about Canudos?
The courage of our people became visible to any other Brazilian ever since. And then we started to have our flag in history.
Similar to the american Alamo.
Til the last man, die with the hounour of no surrender.
Sweeping grand novel of immense proportion July 29, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
It is very difficult to describe this long amazing novel. It has many of the qualities of Tolstoy's War and Peace; of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables; and of Marquez's Hundred Years of Solitude. I greatly enjoyed Llosa's Feast of the Goat, but War of the End of the World is not only twice as long, but also twice as complex.
Hugo indicated that small rebellions, quickly overcome by the central government, actually strengthen the government because it serves as a test of the governmental infrastructural strengths and weaknesses; reveals loyalists and traitors; and once over it seals the power of the state in the mind of the people. I thought of this concept from Hugo's Les Miserables as I read War of the End of the World and read where wave after wave of military expeditions were sent off to destroy a group of religious misfits that challenged the authority of the new Brazillian Republic.
The novel explores the power of spiritually charismatic people to shape a community that sees all others outside the community as the Devil and thus fight until the end against the great Satan. In this case, Brazil had moved from a monarchy to a republic and representative government and elected officials were seen as Satanic by an odd collection of spritualist. And yet, this community was built as Jesus built his ministry, appealing to rich and poor alike to a higher calling, and more often attracting the misfit than the establishment.
I also thought of the lessons Sociology teaches us about group cohesion and ability of groups to define identify and direct behavior. The Counselor, a man of powerful Christian charisma, reminded me of Saint Theresa of India or St. Francis of Asisi. Priests and monks join his flock. Those who have been cast aside by society join the flock. Those who have committed great crimes and murder join his flock. The state can not allow too much dissention and still survive and the new Brazillian government sees this Christian commune as a threat which must be destroyed. However a great price is paid to finally destroy every man, woman, child, and dwelling place in the community.
The character of the Baron de Canabrava is an exceptional political player who recognizes that an insurgency can be used to discredit the existing government. The various Brazillian parties; monarchist, republicans, and jacobites, all fight for control of the central government using the insurgency as the issue by which the frame attacks at each other and attempt to persuade public opinion. However the continued resistance of the community against wave after wave of military troops begins to threaten all parties equally and thus bring enemies together.
The final bombardment and fall of the Christian commune was exceptionally well written, driving the viewer through horror after horror as the Christian village collapses in the final 150 pages.
Few novels are this ambitious. Fewer novels are this successful at casting a national image of immense proportion.
Excellent book. June 7, 2006
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
I read this book here in Brazil, about twenty years ago.This book is an excelent fiction, rooted in some reality.The mad man who is in this book isn't only similar to Antonio Conselheiro (Anthony, the adveicer, in English), but someone such as Bin Laden.In fact, like Bin Laden the mad prophet of this book is tall, bad dressed, has a long bear,has many and poor followers, etc.A photo of Bin Laden is a perfect portrait, to principal character of this book.
If you are looking for a fiction very fun, this book is a good choice.
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