In Praise of the Stepmother: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: In Praise of Vargas Llosa
Review: For North Americans and Europeans, In Praise of the Stepmother is no doubt the best known and most controversial of all of Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa's books. Wickedly witty and fun, this is a strange and beautiful little gem and a truly masterful and original piece of erotic storytelling.

Lucrecia, newly married to Lima resident, Don Rigoberto, an older, wealthy collector of erotic paintings, suddenly finds her position jeopardized by her husband's young son, Alfonso. She honestly wants the boy to love her, but at what cost? When Fonchito's hard won affection becomes hopelessly entangled with precocious--and dangerous--desire, the fun certainly begins, but the price, we see, may prove to be all too high.

As the relationship progresses into absurdity during Don Rigoberto's all-too-often absences, Vargas Llosa provides thematic commentary in the form of selections from the Don's art collection, included as full-color reproductions of famous paintings, from the Renaissance to the present day, each accompanied by a story to which the painting is to be an illustration. As the book progresses, so does the parade of paintings, twisting and expanding the concept of erotica.

For a small book, In Praise of the Stepmother has an enormous potential to enthrall and, yes, provoke. You might wonder how anyone could have written a book as good as this one. The only answer, of course, is that it is Vargas Llosa...at his best.

Strangely enough, in South America, it is Vargas Llosa's political novels that cause controversy; in North America, it is the sexual content. The cover of this little gem, Exposure of Luxury by Bronzino, was enough to make the censors want to go to work.

Anyone who loves wickedness, fun, wit or Vargas Llosa with fall in love with this book at the drop of a...stepmother.

Rating:
Summary: His best
Review: Fun, erotic, perverted, you can't believe what you are reading. One of those books where you go back and read over certain parts just to make sure that's what you originally understood because some of it is so off-the-wall. The main character is amazing and the rest just as surprising. Each could have a book of his own. Definitely worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: Well written but disturbing
Review: I dont think of myself as someone that would use the word perversion. . at least not in a negative way. . but I never got comfortable about reading a book that describes in detail the sexual relationship between a stepmother and her very young step-son. Vargas Llosa writes beautifully, there is no doubt. But I still don't want to read a beautifully written passage about a 10 year old seducing a 40 year old.

Rating:
Summary: a real treat from Llosa
Review: I have pretty much read everything from Llosa so I can definitely say that this is nothing close to his best still this is a nice little appetizer. By the way the beauty of the book is in it's brevity but on the other hand the charm of the book is in the details. Sounds like oxymoron?

The book is primarily around 3 characters - don Rigoberto, his son Alfonso and second wife Lucrecia. It goes into the details of the daily rituals of don Rigoberto and these details are just amazing. I will quote my friend - who once told me that this book is exactly like "Bloody Mary" - it has got the right amount of wrong vodka, the sex is like the tomato sauce, and the juvenile delinquency of Alfonso adds the tabasco while Lucrecia and her relationship with Alfonso is the rest. I have never found a better description of this book.
Llosa does an excellent job commenting on the situation with paintings - his description of the paintings is vivid. The print quality of the painting plates are excellent so the type setting. I also have to praise the translation which has done justice to the actual novel - hats off to Helen Lane

Rating:
Summary: Stresses All the Wrong Details
Review: Once you get past the basic premise -- sex between a 40 year old woman and a very young boy, there's nothing especially shocking, or even interesting, about this short novel.

Despite its brevity, individual scenes are described in far too much detail -- I think we get about a page and a half devoted to someone brushing his teeth, and there are similar scenes in which we learn the intricacies of trimming nose hairs, ear hairs, etc.

And while I was mildly surprised by the twist ending, I wasn't touched by it emotionally or intellectually.

To sum up, I've seldom read a book that left me feeling so uninvolved on so many levels.

Rating:
Summary: An intelligent and sensuous delight
Review: The story of the erotic intrigue between a middle-aged woman, her husband, and her precocious stepson, "In Praise of the Stepmother" engages both the reader's carnal and intellectual mind.

Interspersed throughout the text are a series of full-color reproductions of works of graphic art--Francois Boucher's "Diana at the Bath," Titian's "Venus with Cupid and Music," and others. Vargas Llosa accompanies each of the reproductions with a fictional interpretation that serves as a counterpoint to the primary narrative of the stepmother and her household. This device allows the author to take his reader across time and space, from fantasy to horror as the erotic odyssey unfolds.

In both the main narrative and the shorter embedded fictions, Vargas Llosa both shocks and seduces the reader with his sensuous detail and psychological insights. "In Praise of the Stepmother" is a multi-media tour-de-force. A delight for lovers of erotica, classic visual art, and great literature, this book confirms in my mind Mario Vargas Llosa's stature as one of the world's great writers.

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Summary: Erotic Wonder, by fermed
Review: This book has so much beauty and sheer writing virtuosity that it must stand separate and alone. Like the Chaconne, or the suites for unaccompanied cello, or Shakespeare's sonnets, this book takes your breath away.

An integral part of the narrative are the six paintings (handsome reproductions of world art by Fra Angelico and Francis Bacon, among others) which are woven as counterpoint to the storyline. Nowhere in literature does one encounter such a masterful and extraordinary melding of two art forms: it produces a delectable, erotic, and frightening little masterpiece.

It is a story of lust, love, revenge, of Eros, of sexual awakening, and of the punctilious attention to one's body parts. It can be spiritual or gross, refined or vulgar, hilarious or tragic, depending on who you are, how you look at it, and the mood you are in. Every time I have read it (five, so far) it has again shocked, and delighted and made me humble by the sheer force of its beauty. The flawless translation by Helen Lane detracts not one iota from the Spanish original. Of course you should read it.

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC OF LIMA
Review: This is a miraculous, intriguing, daring and unlikely book that compares with Lolita in theme and aftertaste. One is always cautious of the pitfalls of translations, but the sincere erotica of this short novel, combined with its anchoring art references and child-heart, elevates it in a way that you don't notice its foreign origins. Llosa is, of course, a masterful storyteller. He is also audacious, which may be be his lasting relevance. Here, the revelatory title tells but half the story: you have to take the journey with Fonchito to fully enjoy Llosa's sardonic take on the duplicity and ignorance of the human condition. A small classic!