The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa

A small town in the Bahia Province of Brazil is the scene to an horrific battle.  The might of the Brazilian army is pitched against an impossibly ill-equiped band of peasants.

The peasants seem to be winning somehow and inflicting far too many casualties or their vast enemy.

Is it down to good luck? Or mistakes made by the commanders of the army? Or is it due to some divine power of their mystical leader?

The true motivations of the peasants is unclear. Some surmise that it is an English plot to overthrow the Republic and reinstate the monarchy others that it is holy war with the army seen as devils.

One thing is definite that annihilation will be the outcome.

Llosa’s great epic deserves attention as it is a classic.

The Storyteller by Mario Vargos Llosa

A Peruvian in Florence chances about a photo-exhibition in which he spots an old friend. Or is it? Has his friend become the mythical storyteller of a lost tribe or is it just a case of mistaken identity.

More magic realism from Senor Llosa but for me this story is just a bit too disjointed unfortunately. I am going to reread The War of the End of the World and this will not put me off though as this is a great classic.