Mario Vargas Llosa Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter

Mario Vargas Llosa
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
Title: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
Author: Mario Vargas Llosa
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 384
Publisher: , 0
ISBN: 0140248927
Format: PDF / Kindle / ePub
Size: 7.2 MB
Download: allowed
Description
Mario Vargas Llosa's brilliant, multilayered novel is set in the Lima, Peru, of the author's youth,
where a young student named Marito is toiling away in the news department of a local radio
station. His young life is disrupted by two arrivals.
The first is his aunt Julia, recently divorced and thirteen years older, with whom he begins a
secret affair. The second is a manic radio scriptwriter named Pedro Camacho, whose racy,
vituperative soap operas are holding the city's listeners in thrall. Pedro chooses young Marito to
be his confidant as he slowly goes insane.
Interweaving the story of Marito's life with the ever-more-fevered tales of Pedro Camacho,
Vargas Llosa's novel is hilarious, mischievous, and masterful, a classic named one of the best
books of the year by the New York Times Book Review.
Insightful reviews
Jorge: Hacía tiempo que no leía una novela que me fascinara tanto... La tía Julia y el escribidor
es una de esas novelas que despiertan las ganas de escibir, tanto por su protagonista, un
jovencito que desea ser escritor (alter ego del mismo Vargas Llosa) y se enamora de una tía
política aún joven (treinta y pocos), como por el escribidor, Pedro Camacho, un guionista de
radioteatros con una creatividad increíble para los melodramas truculentos.
Creo que perdí un poco de objetividad, ya que la novela la terminé hace un tiempo y no escribí
mis impresiones inmediatamente, pero lo que sí destaco de la historia es su ritmo: la historia
principal, la historia de Mario, el joven protoescritor, narrada en primera persona, ocupa los
capítulos impares, mientras los capítulos pares son ocupados por los relatos de radioteatro de
Pedro Camacho. Esto le da gran agilidad e interés a la lectura, ya que los dos hilos son igual
de envolventes, con la diferencia que los radioteatros de Camacho nunca concluyen, sino que
cierran con un enganche para el "capítulo siguiente", lo que genera una frustrante y a la vez
deliciosa sensación de "coitus interruptus".
Es una historia de juventud y vejez, de cómo se enfrentan la juventud con la madurez y la
decadencia, y de cómo la enfrentan algunos: mientras la tía Julia, una divorciada joven sin
hijos, se enfrenta a la vejez inminente con dignidad, conciencia de la muerte y alegría (ella
desea seguir disfrutando de la vida, aunque la sociedad conservadora la mire como una loca),
Pedro Camacho intenta ignorar la decadencia, insistiendo en que la cincuentena es "la flor de
la vida", y tratando de desviar la mirada cada vez que la decadencia le recuerda su mortalidad.
[SPOILER]El crecimiento y juventud también se vive a través de nuestro protagonista, que se
inicia en los primeros pasos de la escritura, y Camacho, quien vive un decaimiento progresivo
en su habilidad para escribir. Esto llevará a Camacho a a mezclar historias y situaciones hasta
el punto que sus radioteatros, antes los más escuchados e influyentes de todo Perú, se
conviertan en objeto de burla. Así, mientras Mario vive su primer amor y triunfa tanto contra las
presiones familiares y los prejuicios de la clase media de los años 1950 como contra el
frustrante proceso de decepciones que es la escritura, Camacho acaba en un sanatorio mental
primero y luego como estafeta en una revista de mala muerte, con todo su antiguo orgullo
pisoteado por el patetismo de la decadencia.[/SPOILER]
Camacho es una parodia de sus propias palabras: los protagonistas de sus radioteatros son
todos "hombres que habían llegado a la flor de la edad, la cincuentena: frente ancha, nariz
aguileña, mirada penetrante, rectitud y bondad en el espíritu". Camacho es, por el contrario, un
hombre bajo, desconectado del mundo, con grandes dificultades para adaptarse a los cambios,
incluso a los de su propio cuerpo y mente. Aún así, Camacho debe ser uno de los personajes
más fascinantes de la literatura latinoamericana: con sus prejuicios (los argentinos siempre
aparecen como personas sucias, brutas, incivilizadas y crueles), su tozudez (sólo había una
forma de escribir), su clasismo intelectualoide (los actores eran incapaces de contribuir al
proceso creativo porque no eran artistas como él), su rigidez militar (tenía totalmente
disciplinados a todos los trabajadores y actores del radioteatro), Camacho es al mismo tiempo
una parodia y un retrato muy digno de un pequeño dictador del arte, un director de orquesta
obsesivo y autista, que tiene un don que él mismo no comprende y que sería incapaz de
recuperar si es que llegara a perder.
El idilio amoroso de Mario y la tía Julia es igual de entretenido, pero lo cierto es que la épica del
amor se queda pequeña ante la épica de la decadencia. Pero, pese a que Camacho se devora
la historia, el romance de Mario y la tía Julia sale dignamente parado, principalmente porque
sus protagonistas viven un equilibrio entre astucia y locura, entre valentía y conciencia de la
muerte, y la figura del padre de Mario -un ser gris que sólo aparece hacia el final de la historia,
pero que impone su peso a lo largo de todo el relato- genera una empatía especial con el
narrador-protagonista.
Para cerrar, se trata de un imprescindible de la literatura latinoamericana, que me gustaría
releer en algunos años más, cuando tenga más tiempo y haya olvidado un poco la historia.
David: 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.
Agnieszka: If you should happen to read it-just ignore me.Ignore all I’ve written about.It’s not a
real review.In fact,this is not review at all.
It’s been some years I read “Aunt Julia …” for the first time.It was at hospital,after my
surgery,waiting for.. Oh,I didn’t know what I was waiting for.Anyway,I was lying in bed like
some miserable Lazarius , looking like shit and feeling the same,in a strange city,with no one to
talk.Ok,it doesn’t matter.So,I was lying and thinking,and more thinking.Chemotherapy,radiation
therapy and whatever.Dreadful thoughts were flashing through my mind.Screw it.
Like Picasso, who had blue and rose periods in his painting,I had then Latin American period in
my reading life.Full of Macondos,labyrinths , imaginary beings.I’m sure you know what I
mean.No wonder that I took with me such book.O dear me ,we’ve got everything here:romance
of young boy with his sophisticated aunt Julia,scandalized at this family,oohs and
aahs,gosh,how she could,she’s older,she’s divorced, she’s amoral,poor Marito,she’s ruining
his life.Meanwhile Marito wants to be a writer and settle one day in Paris.But now his studying
law and working at the local radio station Panamerica.There he meets Pedro Camacho from
next door Radio Central.Oh Pedro,what the guy he was.I’m pretty sure that was him who
invented all that idiotic and stupid soap operas in all televisions.Yes,Pedro,scripts the most
ridiculous radio soap operas full of degenerations,fires, murders,incest.Name it,he can do
it.Protagonists from one story appear in another story in purpose to be killed by drowning.No
matter that in the first one this hero was killed in fire.Apparently he was no lucky.All events are
more and more bizarre and finally are looping itself like some Möebius strip.
Besides we have cramped cafés full of tobacco smoke,crowded streets of Lima,sultry
nights.Atmosphere of passion.Oh,there is a bourgeoisie here with all its hypocrisy and
dullness.Prose of Llosa is vivid,full of South American temperament and appetite for life.
It was January frosty night and with every page I was like that freaking Cheshire cat,grinned
from ear to ear.Don’t get me wrong.I’m not saying that this book saved my life;this book is
neither the wisest nor the funniest I’ve ever read.I’m only saying it helped me to survive that
night.I couldn’t wish for more then.I made it,others weren’t so lucky.And this book will always
be reminding me of it.
the gift: stunned me, notwithstanding he has gained the Nobel and such doesn't warrantly
severe work, not easy to learn work, that this is often really easy to learn but additionally
postmodern in its way. this jogged my memory of either Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one other
Latin American Nobel laureate, whose paintings is kind of diverse and poster baby for magic
realism- after which additionally Italo Calvino's If on a winter's evening a traveler... i assume
since it jogs my memory of ways blameless of literature on the related youth, and the way the
tale is a reflection, a manifestation, of the advanced pleasures of style writing or as during this
case, radio serials...I didn't anticipate to get pleasure from it lots from the 1st fifty pages or so,
yet as soon as he starts off to create the scriptwriter, as soon as the particularly cold romance
with the aunt recedes to trade with the extravagant chapters of the radio scripts, i discovered
the paintings even more engaging. yes, the romance isn't very compelling, however the worlds
of melodrama within the complicated interweaving of characters within the serials, comedy and
satire of the radio personalities, the radio newsmen, with whom our narrator works, make up for
any lulls in so-called actual life. possibly this is often on purpose, maybe it indicates how tales
and characters can develop into self sufficient and over-real to either creators and receivers of
artworks, possibly this is often simply over considering the author's project. I remember that this
can be autobiographical, yet no matter what resource it comes from, it's how the tale is informed
is what the tale is told. had I learn this prior to Marquez or Calvino, this is able to were a
favourite, as is it definitely encourages me to learn extra of
Llosa...http://www.michaelkamakana.com/uncate...
Asma Fedosia: The genius of this ebook is perhaps how complex the double plot and the quirky
characters are and the way easily the full tale flows. Tack directly to that relaxing messiness its
humor, pathos, unconventionality, and wordplay. fairly a writerly feat that reaches its apex within
the final 4 chapters.
Beth: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by way of Mario Vargas Llosa is a pleasant romp during the
streets of Lima. the unconventional alternates among the story of a tender legislation student's
romance together with his aunt's sister who arrives from Bolivia after her divorce and episodes
of the radio serials composed via the lately employed Bolivian scriptwriter operating at a station
owned by means of the legislation student's employers. The protagonist has a component time
task on the different station within the comparable group, as information director, and he
befriends the recent scriptwriter. the author is slowly unraveling from overwork, and it exhibits in
his writing, within which tales from diverse scheduled courses turn into more and more
entangled and confused. in the meantime the romance among the 18 yr previous information
director and the middle-aged divorcee explanations scandal within the family, and a ensuing
madcap seek of the geographical region for a mayor prepared to miss information of the
wedding legislation finally ensues. The writing itself is pleasant and amusing, portray little
glimpses of Peruvian existence because the plot strikes quick along. This booklet does not try
and do something heavy or profound, however it is a wonderful diversion.
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