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The Time of the Hero

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
4.17 goodreads logo

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( 27,659 ratings, 1,730 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
The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa delves into the lives of cadets at a military academy in Peru, exposing the harsh realities of their existence. The story captures the moral and social complexities within the rigid confines of military training, revealing themes of corruption, honour, and the struggle for power. It is a profound exploration of adolescence and identity against the backdrop of a militarised environment.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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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 intrigued by stories that delve into the complexities of power, identity, and morality within a military academy setting. With its blend of personal and political tension, it appeals to readers who appreciate character-driven narratives and psychological depth.

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A social satire which outraged the authorities of the author's native Peru, where 1000 copies were publicly burned.

The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa is 'a work of undeniable power and skill' (Sunday Telegraph) set in a military academy in Lima, focusing on a group of cadets whose pranks set of a cycle of betrayal, murder and revenge which jeopardizes the entire military hierarchy.

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

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 to break out of the vicious round of sadistic ragging, military discipline, confinement and boredom. But their pranks set off a cycle of betrayal, murder and revenge which jeopardises the entire military hierarchy.

'A work of undeniable power and skill.' Sunday Telegraph

'Vargas Llosa is tough, funny and inventive. His writing always has edge enough to hold interest. But what finally distinguishes the book is not so much the sharpness of its hostilities as the strength of its affections.' Listener

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?

The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa has been widely praised for its compelling narrative and character development, portraying the harsh realities of life in a military academy in Peru. Critics have highlighted the novel’s exploration of themes like power, corruption, and the loss of innocence. It’s celebrated for its complex storytelling and the author's critique of society, making it a significant work in Latin American literature.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571173204

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 January 1995

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Contributors:

  • Translated by Lysander Kemp
  • Translated by Lysander Kemp

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 312g

Pages: 384

About the Author

Mario Vargas-Llosa was born in Peru is 1936. He is the author of some of the last half-century's most important novels, including The War of the End of the World, The Feast of the Goat, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter and Conversation in the Cathedral. In 2010 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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