The Neighborhood

Mario Vargas Llosa

There's a sordid air wafting through The Neighborhood - a tale of corruption, scandal and murder in 1990s' Peru. Amongst the characters, there's Marisa embarking on an affair with a friend's wife; her husband, Enrique, with his lurid secret, and the unscrupulous journalist Garro. A fast-paced whirlwind of a book with characters that even though you may not root for, you could well end up empathising with.

Extract

There was something about her that he liked, and he read it. In those four pages dedicated to a television star, there was so much poison and animosity, so much spite, that Garro was impressed. He began to give her small jobs, inquiries, follow-ups, minor tasks. Julieta never disappointed him. She was a born reporter of his stripe, capable of killing her mother for a scoop, especially if it was dirty and salacious. Her article on the one-eyed cow would be brilliant and lethal, because Shorty always adopted as her own the phobias and predilections of her editor.

Parallels