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224th out of 680 books
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2,759 voters
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord (Latin American Trilogy)
The setting for this iridescent gem of storytelling by the bestselling author of Corelli's Mandolin and The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts is an unnamed South American country where the rule of law has given way to the rule of the lawless and the laws of magic.The young philosophy professor Dionisio Vivo is the only citizen who dares denounce his country's cocaine mafi...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
March 3rd 1998
by Vintage
(first published 1991)
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This book is hard to explain. On one hand, it's a genuinely passionate statement about how the cocaine trade has crippled South America and everyone is too afraid to go against the cartels; on the other hand, it's a magical realism story where human women can give birth to cats, gods posses people, and panthers can be domesticated.
Amazingly, these two very different elements combine to make a fantastic story. It doesn't seem like it would work - how can an author make a statement about the real...more
Amazingly, these two very different elements combine to make a fantastic story. It doesn't seem like it would work - how can an author make a statement about the real...more
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I love this book. It is a great satire describing one man's fight agaist the evil of the drug cartels in a fictional South American country. It sets a beautiful love story against a violent backdrop. With gentle humour and sarcasm he contrasts the simple truths set out by Dionesis Vivo a professor of philosophy with the incomprehensible lunacy filling the country. The story is told in a magic realist style - homage to South American masters but, again, this blunts the impact of the brutality des...more
Writing in the mystical style of South American novelists, Louis de Bernieres creates a story that is hilarious and horrific, sadistic and sad, colorful, fantastic, illuminating, beautiful, mythical and brutal, tragi-comedy and allegorical love story of Columbia.
Senor Vivo, professor of philosophy, unlikely adversary, and Everyman, finds himself the target of retaliation by the brutish drug lord, El Jerarca, who has moved into the area. Vivo's audacious acts of heroism, in the form of anonymous...more
Senor Vivo, professor of philosophy, unlikely adversary, and Everyman, finds himself the target of retaliation by the brutish drug lord, El Jerarca, who has moved into the area. Vivo's audacious acts of heroism, in the form of anonymous...more
Utterly engrossing, this is like if Garcia Marquez got off his high horse and lessened his stern seriousness and had some frickin' fun. Carnavalesque- the central love story is embedded like a beautiful diamond in this multi-chaptered saga of magical realism and extra bittersweet poignancy. I loved this revisit to Louis de Bernieres' vivid terrain--the inclusion of Dionosio (Dios---> God?) Vivo to the cast of characters that includes Remedios the Revolutionary and Don Emmanuel is an assurance...more
Beautifully written and amazingly vivid, this is a book that covers a great swathe of narrative, and human experience. Sometimes it made me laugh out loud. One chapter prevented me from sleeping, and still haunts me. When de Berniers is playful, he is charming. When he plunges into the darkest aspects of human nature and behaviour, he is shocking. Through the contrasts, the dramatic shifts betwen light and dark, compassion and horror, he weaves a complex story. There is romance, tragedy, magical...more
I really enjoyed this quite bizarre story. It reminded me somewhat of the style of Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in that the author captured the essence of the landscape and the people with vivid flavour and texture, and gave us a wonderful hero in Senor Vivo. The slightly paranormal experiences of the jungle cats and the ability of the natives in the mountains to astral travel and assume the identities of various deities is partly I suspect due to some hallucinogenic experiences...more
Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord is a parody, pastiche and example of magical realism in equal measure—the tale of a philosophy professor, Dionisio Vivo, from a country not unlike Colombia, who begins a war of letters in the newspaper editorial pages against a major drug trafficker, and is forced to end it in great violence. This is not a book for the faint-hearted (I'm not joking about the degree of violence) nor is it a book for someone who finds the magical realism genre tiresome (de Bernières av...more
I am definately in the minority in giving this a 2-star rating but I will stick to my guns. This book is mainly an exercise in intellectual mast**bation. I like to learn new words so I didn't mind having to reach for the dictionary every second page and even used online translation for some of the Spanish words.
de Bernier's style is florid and overly self-indulgent, perhaps in an effort to mimic the storytelling style of overexcited Mexican housewives or boastful gauchos. I liked the way the sto...more
de Bernier's style is florid and overly self-indulgent, perhaps in an effort to mimic the storytelling style of overexcited Mexican housewives or boastful gauchos. I liked the way the sto...more
Vastly entertaining first half, second half much darker. Tells of Dionisio Vivo and his struggle to ask searching questions of a south american country's tolerance of cocaine production. There are some lovely lyrical touches and some serious points, but I felt a bit cheated at times. The magic realism aura lulls you into a false sense of security, an atmosphere where coincidence becomes superstition and thence to legend, where romance is the stuff of fairy tales, and people give birth to cats. Y...more
The font in my edition is a tad unpleasant to read. Will see how I go.
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This was an entertaining and thought provoking book, but not quite at the level of the first in the series. It was much darker and graphic than I was anticipating, although I did enjoy it. In the previous book of this series I laughed out loud through most of the book, in this one I didn't really laugh until the final chapter. I'm also not sure how well this book would stand on its own. Having the background of reading "Netherparts" provided a lot of context that might have made this story somew...more
Mar 15, 2013
Eva Kamm
added it
Fascinating!
I'm a great fan of Louis de Bernieres, having been introduced to him through the previous novel in this trilogy 'The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts'. I enjoyed this book but ultimately was left wanting for something more from this story's narrative conclusion. Perhaps it's the nature of the Don Vivo myth that builds to epic, magical proportions. It's certainly the stuff of folklore and national legend but is it something more? Felt to some degree that the journey sets out there but never qui...more
If they made a Hieronymous Bosch painting into a novel, and set it in South America, this might be the result. (Could be the polar opposite of Downton Abbey or Pride and Prejudice.)
De Bernieres' signature 'combinatorial creativity' in his prose is present throughout this novel-- as is his reality-based satire.
The characters are magical: Dionisio as the tragic hero figure who also happens to be a professor of 'secular philosophy'; Aurelio the indian, a master brujo who knows santeria and communi...more
De Bernieres' signature 'combinatorial creativity' in his prose is present throughout this novel-- as is his reality-based satire.
The characters are magical: Dionisio as the tragic hero figure who also happens to be a professor of 'secular philosophy'; Aurelio the indian, a master brujo who knows santeria and communi...more
Wish I could give 3.5 or 3.75... Enjoyable, particularly for its elements of magic realism. I loved how (amongst other more fantastic things--) large tame jaguars could roam the streets alongside more 'real' elements of a late 20th century story. Many witty bits, some laugh aloud funny. But, I enjoyed the first half much more than the second... it started to lose it's charm and humour a bit. But, overall a good story with a clear moral perspective.
How do you review a book that is so hard to explain ??? I can't. Unfortunately, I don't have the gift of putting my thoughts onto paper or finding the words needed to describe how I feel. I can only suggest that you read the review of this book on Goodreads by a girl named Madeline. (copy & paste this link to see her review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) Her review sums up everything I wish I could say. My own review could only be summed up by stating that Louis De Berniéres is a...more
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord began as an enthralling, funny, well-written book. Then it took a tragic turn, and became deep, philosophic, and thought-provoking. It's characteristic Louis de Bernières, a sequel to The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (but don't worry if you don't remember most of it; I didn't and still very much enjoyed this one).
The best way to describe this, I think, is to say it's a lot like life: Funny, unpredictable, rich, harrowing, sweet, and sad. But not depressing. It...more
The best way to describe this, I think, is to say it's a lot like life: Funny, unpredictable, rich, harrowing, sweet, and sad. But not depressing. It...more
Ooo - I want to give this book three and a half! I really enjoyed parts of it, the story was fantastic and the characters really likeable, but there seemed too many avenues left hanging for no completely apparent reason. That and the barbarity of some scenes - I'm not easily offput but there was one part in particular in this book that was horrendous.
Overall a good book and a fabulous author - well worth a read.
Overall a good book and a fabulous author - well worth a read.
May 16, 2013
Judy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Judy by:
I followed on from Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts recommended by Robert Spittle
Shelves:
contemporary
*Sigh* I couldn't read this series now. The violence would really upset me these days. Indeed, there is one scene in this that still haunts me! But the magical realism is delightful as is the wonderful cast of characters. I love that Cochadebajo and those glorious big cats:-) Wish I could read it again one day.
I was given this book a number of years ago by a friend and just hadn't gotten around to reading it. I was delighted to find that it was on the "1001 Books you Need to Read Before you Die". I loved de Bernier's style, especially his use of magic realism and I do intend to explore more in this series.
I recently reread this book. I was looking for a dose of some of Louis De Bernieres' humour and magical realism. But I had forgotten how gruesome and violent this book is. I still loved it on a second reading though. It's a much more melancholy, contemplative novel than I remembered.
A couple of loose threads didn't stop me from avoiding this, generally speaking, although there were times when I was uncertain why it was that I was continuing to read it. The final part of the book written as a piece of journalism was fantastic and attributed Vivo with a further sense of heroism that I was hoping for.
Having now read all three novels in the South American trilogy, I think Don Vivo is the best. It continues to flesh out the characters so beautifully crafted in the first book while containing more of the romance and heartbreak with a bit less of the magical realism of Don Emanuel. De Bernieres doesnt lose a step in terms of plot, characterization, tone, etc. He is, at this point, probably my favorite contemporary English writer. I haven't read anything of his more recent than Birds Without Wing...more
So many stories in one book. Romance, violence, religion, hope. Dionisio Vivo was a hero after my own (journalism major's) heart. With his mighty pen and letters to the editor, Senor Vivo brings the cocaine trade to their knees and wins the hearts of his countrymen.
I especially loved chapter 16, titled "Memos." It ends with:
"From: The Missionary of Information
To: The Office of His Excellency the President
His Excellency is to be reminded that he abolished this Ministry two months ago."
Without th...more
I especially loved chapter 16, titled "Memos." It ends with:
"From: The Missionary of Information
To: The Office of His Excellency the President
His Excellency is to be reminded that he abolished this Ministry two months ago."
Without th...more
This book is wildly different from the more widely known Correlli's Mandolin. It is similar to Isabelle Allende's works (of whom I am a huge fan). It has the flavor of a South American novel--mysticism and earthiness. Well worth reading.
The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (the first book) was, in a way, a birth story; although this one is on the surface a love story about a couple well past adolescence, I read it more as a coming of age story.
Heavenly. Such a treasure to discover this series. Brilliant, witty, wry, intellectually stimulating, wonderful characters, fantastic events....Must request next book in series from library. Happiness is de Bernieres.
A nice continuation of the story started in The war of Don Emmanual's Nether parts, although I found this one to be the saddest of the 3 parts. Don't want to include any spoiler, though!
Philosophy, distilled: "I do not want you to believe any of this because it is all crap, but it is crap in which the piles of our pseudo-European culture are embedded, so you had better understand it because no one who does not understand the history and taxonomy of crap will ever come to know the difference between crap and pseudo-crap and non-crap..." (233).
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Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.
Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motor...more
More about Louis de Bernières...
Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motor...more
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“He read his own obituary and an editorial lamenting his demise and praising his fortitude and immediately began to think up witty ways of writing to the paper to announce his continued and uninterrupted existence. The other two joined in the game with enthusiasm, and soon all three of them were howling with laughter and emptying bottles at a rate which would have alarmed even a depressed Scandinavian.”
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“Dionisio arose reluctantly from his bed, went to the window to see what kind of day it was, and went to the telephone to call the police.”
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