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Death in the Andes is a detective story set in the Peruvian Andes in the 1980s and 1990s, written by Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. Three people disappear in the fictional town of Naccos, located in the Peruvian Andes, where there was increasing violence in the mountains. The plot is full of mysteries and tension.
Lituma and his colleague Tomas were transferred to a small post in Naccos due to road construction that needed some protection. They live worried about being attacked by Sendero Luminoso guerrillas. In addition, they have to deal with the investigation of the disappearance of three people, the distrust of the construction workers, and the stories of the mythology of the people of the mountains. To pass the time, in the unpredictable climate of the Andes, they talk about memories of Carreño's love, as Tomás is also called.
My Impressions
I was weakened by the month of March, so this book was a punch in my stomach. But since I started reading it, it felt like it was written to be a movie, with parallel stories and temporal passages so fluid that they can be a little confusing at times if you're not attentive. You get hooked on the book until the end to know what really happened.
There is a lot of violence, either from the guerrillas or related to the beliefs and cultures of the people of that region, where some beliefs with offerings and sacrifice remained present. Also, Lituma has a lot of prejudice on different levels, especially because he is the only one who is from the coastal area of Peru.
The feeling of tension, fear, and difficulty of living in Peru at this time seems palpable throughout the text. Not even Carreñito's love story escapes this.
Note 1: For those who don't know Sendero Luminoso (I didn't know much about them either) they were a guerrilla group derived from the Communist Party of Peru (PCP). They were almost messianic for its founder, known by the codename Presidente Gonzalo.
They became famous for his motto Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and for the uncontrolled violence they imposed on Peru. Even the Communist Party at the time and other leftist parties rejected the group's acts for following a more radical approach, but there are still Maoist strands that idealize their fight and some of his supporters.
The group weakened in 1992 with the arrest of the leaders. There were still dissidents from the group that was fighting for amnesty for the arrested leaders.
Note 2: The character Lituma is present in another book by the author, Who killed Palomino Molero? (1986), also a crime novel.
SPOILER ALERT
The version I read maintains several local terms with explanatory footnotes. It was very useful and greatly enriched the atmosphere and knowledge about the local culture.
If you want to know a little about the history of Peru, get to know the climate of the Andes, and read a good dark mystery story, this is the book.
About the Writer:
Peruvian award-winning writer, journalist, and politician, Mario Vargas Llosa is Peru's best-known writer and one of the greatest in Latin America. Most of his books are related to his experience in Peru and have a unique narrative.
Other Books: The Time of the Hero (1963), Conversation in the Cathedral (1969), Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (1973), Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977), The War at the End of the World (1981), The Feast of the Goat (2000).
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