100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders πŸš€

Harsh Times

4.02 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 8,088 ratings, 1,083 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa is a gripping exploration of political intrigue and historical events in mid-20th century Guatemala. It delves into the complex interplay of power, corruption, and foreign intervention. With rich character development, the story illuminates the impact of political machinations on human lives and national destinies.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're interested in historical narratives layered with political intrigue and complex characters. Set against the backdrop of Guatemala's political landscape, it explores themes of power, betrayal, and the impact of American intervention, offering a riveting glimpse into Latin America's tumultuous history.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The new novel from the Nobel Prize-winning master of fiction - the true story of Guatemala's political turmoil of the 1950s.

The new novel from the Nobel Prize-winning master of fiction - the true story of Guatemala's political turmoil of the 1950s.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'A wildly enjoyable book; the 85-year-old Vargas Llosa is as sharp and mordantly funny as ever.' - Financial Times

Guatemala, 1954. A CIA-supported military coup topples the government. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changed the development of Latin America: that those in power encouraged the spread of Soviet communism in the Americas.

Mario Vargas Llosa has written a drama on a world stage, in which some persecutors end up as victims of the very plot they helped construct. Ironic and sensual, provocative and redemptive, Harsh Times is a story of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa has been praised for its intricate storytelling and masterful blend of historical and fictional elements. Critics appreciate the vivid portrayal of Guatemala's turbulent political scene and the profound character development. However, some reviews mention that the complexity of the plot might require careful reading to fully appreciate the narrative's depth.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571365692

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 November 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Contributors:

  • Translated by Adrian Nathan West

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 253g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. He has also won the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world's most distinguished literary honor. His many works include Sabers and Utopias, The Discreet Hero, The Feast of the Goat, The Bad Girl, and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter.

Adrian Nathan West is a novelist, essayist, and translator based in Spain. His work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The London Review of Books, McSweeney's, and more. He is the author of The Aesthetics of Degradation and a contributing editor at the translation journal Asymptote.

Also by Mario Vargas Llosa

View all
  • Harsh Times
    WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE Guatemala, 1954. A CIA-supported military coup topples the government. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changed the development of Latin America: that those in power encouraged the spread of Soviet communism in the Americas. Mario Vargas Llosa has written a drama on a world stage, in...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
    Set in Peru during the 1950s, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is the story of an 18-year-old student who falls for a 32-year-old divorcΓ©e. Mario, an aspiring writer, works at a radio station that broadcasts live each day, up to a half-dozen short-run soap operas. At the same time that the author meets his Aunt Julia, the radio station, which...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Feast of the Goat
    Urania Cabral, a New York lawyer, returns to the Dominican Republic after a lifelong self-imposed exile. Once she is back in her homeland, the elusive feeling of terror that has overshadowed her whole life suddenly takes shape. Urania's own story alternates with the powerful climax of Dictator Rafael Trujillo's reign. In 1961, Trujillo's decadent inner circle (which includes Urania's soon-to-be...
    Paperback
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Time of the Hero
    The Time of the Hero has been acclaimed by critics around the world as one of the outstanding Spanish novels of recent decades. In the author's native Peru, this powerful social satire so outraged the authorities that a thousand copies were publicly burned. The novel is set in Leoncio Prado Military Academy in Lima, where a group of cadets attempt...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The War of the End of the World
    Deep within the remote backlands of nineteenth-century Brazil lies Canudos, home to all the damned of the earth: prostitutes, bandits, beggars, and every kind of outcast. It is a place where history and civilisation have been wiped away. There is no money, no taxation, no marriage, no census. Canudos is a cauldron for the revolutionary spirit in its purest form,...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Notes on the Death of Culture
    'The most approachable and exhilarating Latin American writer of our times.' Robert McCrum, Observer In the past, culture was a kind of vital consciousness that constantly rejuvenated and revivified everyday reality. Now it is largely a mechanism of distraction and entertainment. From one of the world's great literary intelligences, Notes on the Death of Culture is an examination and indictment...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Neighborhood
    When a high-profile businessman is blackmailed by a notorious magazine editor, his comfortable life is threatened by the salacious exposΓ©. While attempting to field the scandal, the businessman's wife, seeking comfort, begins a secret affair with the wife of his best friend. Then the editor is found murdered, and the two couples have no choice but to descend into the...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Dream of the Celt
    As The Dream of the Celt opens, it is the summer of 1916 and Roger Casement awaits the hangman in London's Pentonville Prison. Dublin lies in ruins after the disastrous Easter Rising led by his comrades of the Irish Volunteers. He has been caught after landing from a German submarine. For the past year, he has attempted to raise an...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Bad Girl
    A New York Times Notable Book of 2007 From Nobel Prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa comes The Bad Girl, a "...splendid, suspenseful, and irresistible novel... A contemporary love story that explores the mores of the urban 1960s–and 70s and 80s." – The New York Times Book Review Ricardo Somocurcio is in love with a bad girl. He loves her as...
    Paperback
    $5300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Score
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Mistake
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Legacy
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from the Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Legacy now for the much-anticipated answer to the question: Where are they now? Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation . . . A wedding....
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Land
    Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theΒ new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, TomΓ‘s and his reluctant son,Β Liam, are working for the great...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Bookplate
    New Release
    Light Wielder
    THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* β€˜The BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindle’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ β€˜The author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
    The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson is a landmark fantasy series that has captivated readers worldwide. Renowned for its innovative magic system, intricate world-building, and compelling characters, this trilogy is a must-have for any fantasy enthusiast. Immerse yourself in a world shrouded in ash, where a once-hopeful land is ruled by the tyrannical Dark Lord, known as the...
    Set
    $6499
    Elsewhere:
    $7500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL A BARACK OBAMA READING PICK A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. 'The most enjoyable hard SF I have read in years' GUARDIAN 'Weir's finest work to date... This is the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know...
    Paperback
    $2099
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.