The Discreet Hero: A Novel

A tale of two citiesùPiura and Limaùrocked by scandal, and the disintegrating bonds of loyalty between the generations Nobel laureate Mario Vargas LlosaÆs newest novel follows two fascinating characters whose lives are destined to intersect: neat, endearing Fel?cito Yanaqu?, a small businessman in Piura, Peru, who finds himself the victim of blackmail; and Ismael Carrera, a successful owner of an insurance company in Lima, who cooks up a plan to avenge himself against the two lazy sons who want him dead. Fel?cito and Ismael are, each in his own way, quiet, discreet rebels: honorable men trying to seize control of their destinies in a social and political climate where all can seem set in stone, predetermined. They are hardly vigilantes, but each is determined to live according to his own personal ideals and desiresùwhich means forcibly rising above the pettiness of their surroundings. The Discreet Hero is also a chance to revisit some of our favorite players from previous Vargas Llosa novels: Sergeant Lituma, Don Rigoberto, Do±a Lucrecia, and Fonchito are all here in a prosperous Peru. Vargas Llosa sketches Piura and Lima vividlyùand the cities become not merely physical spaces but realms of the imagination populated by his vivid characters. A novel whose humor and pathos shine through in Edith GrossmanÆs masterly translation, The Discreet Hero is another remarkable achievement from the finest Latin American novelist at work today.

• | Author: Mario Vargas Llosa
• | Publisher: Picador
• | Publication Date: Mar 08, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 336 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback/Fiction
• | ISBN-10: 1250081629
• | ISBN-13: 9781250081629