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Hoy voi hablaré con usted sobre Mario Vargas Llosa y ‘Quien mato a Palomino Malero’ - But judging by the confused looks on your faces - usted no habla Español Well you may not speak Spanish, but if Mario Vargas Llosa could have his book ‘Who killed Palomino Malero,’ translated, then I guess I can talk to you in English, though I might give you a little background information first. In 1950, General Manuel Odria organised a coup which overthrough the Peruvian government and he soon claimed presidency. As President of Peru, he returned the nation to a dictatorship and dissolved the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), putting stress on the relationships between white Peruvians (the ‘gringos’), the natives and ‘cholos’ (half-breeds) This book is set in Peru in the 1950s, in this time of political unrest. And although the story does not directly deal with political events, the way in which the people of Talara deal with the gringos clearly shows that they have been affected by what is happening in their country, and it is important to bear such things in mind when trying to understand a different culture History is full of acclaimed authors and playwrights who have been involved in politics, Vargas Llosa himself was heavily involved - running in the presidential election in 1987. But as far as politics are concerned, he has made the biggest difference with his books and the political and social comments that they make. When reading this novel it originally appears to be a murder mystery, but the setting and tone is unlike any other murder mystery I have ever read. The story opens with a graphic description of the brutally murdered body of a young Air Force Airman, and with the first few lines it becomes clear that this is not a book for those with a weak constituton. ‘The boy had been both hung and impaled on the old carob tree. His position was so absurd that he looked more like a scarecrow or a broken marionette than a corpse. Before or after they killed him, they slashed him to ribbons: his nose and mouth were split open; his face was a crazy map of dried blood, bruises, cuts, and cigarette burns. Lituma saw that they had even tried to castrate him; his testicles hung down to his thighs. He was barefoot, naked from the waist down, a ripped T-shirt covering his upper body. He was young, thin, dark, and bony. Under a labyrinth of flies buzzing around his face, his hair glistened, black and curly.’ The story follows the line of investigation that two local Guardia Civil Policemen take in their attempt to find the boy’s killer, and it also manages to take time and look at the life of these men in what can only be described as ‘rural Peru.’ It is soon discovered that the victim is Palomino Malero, eighteen years old and a supurb, guitar playing cholo.
Approximate Word count = 1733
Approximate Pages = 6.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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