The Discreet Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa
A novel about love and betrayal, a younger generation that can no longer tell the difference between reality and desire, and the destructive effects of media fantasies.
Felicito Yanaque has raised himself from poverty to ownership of a trucking business. His two sons work for him. He receives a threatening letter demanding protection money. The police don't take him seriously, Felicito refuses to pay up and gets sucked into a nightmare. He becomes a reluctant public hero. Then his mistress is kidnapped, and matters become seriously complicated.
And he finds that his troubles have begun very close to home. His fate is interwoven with the story of Rigoberto, a wealthy Lima insurance executive. His boss and old friend, Ismael, suddenly announces that he is marrying his housekeeper, a chola from Piura, to the consternation of his twin sons, a pair of brutal wasters. Ismael escapes to Europe with his new bride, leaving Rigoberto to face the twins' threats, and their claims that he connived with a scheming woman to rob an old man of his fortune. Rigoberto is hounded by the press and TV. Meanwhile, his only son is having visions of a mysterious stranger who may or may not be the devil...
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.
Format: Paperback | 432 pages
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.7 | 348g
Publication Date: 23 Mar 2016
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication City/Country: London, United Kingdom
Language: English
Edition Number: 1
ISBN10: 0571310745
ISBN13: 9780571310746
Condition: Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. No obvious damage to the cover. The spine is bent inwards slightly. The majority of pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. A chunk of the first page page has been ripped out the top, none of which compromises the legibility or understanding of the text. No other rips or tears in the book. No missing pages.