Film and / or Novel

[Kamyar]

Reading Conversation in the Cathedral, you are absolutely exclaimed that how beautifully a montage mechanism can deconstruct a narrative in a literary masterpiece. Believing that film was eventually recognized as a form of art just when proved that moving pictures are capable of escaping from the unity and the continuity in time and space in montage in early experiences of Russian formalists, you can breath the fresh air of innovation in Llosa's bravura works. The difference comes from the fact that moving from one scene to the other, you can recognize it in a visual work instantly, since there is an instant change in the visual elements, but in book, with no reference to the change, you will be more puzzled than ever. Interestingly the concept comes back to the movies: you can see a narrative as a deconstructed puzzle when there is no change in the visual elements. That is how Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu's two great ventures (Amoros Perros and 21 Grams) fascinate the viewer and that is how his Babel seems miserable; that is how his good films recall Llosa's words, forms and worlds.

[Elena]

Hi, Kamyar. I´m glad to see somebody from so far away reading Vargas Llosa and watching mexican movies.

I find interesting the comparison you establish between the construction of "Conversation..." and the visual deconstruction in Inaritu`s movies. However, I would like to know whether you read other novels by Vargas Llosa, for this way of catching the reader's interest through presenting him different pieces of a puzzle without initial references is typical of his narrative. I consider "Conversation..." one of the best novels of last century, and, by far, Vargas Llosa´s masterpiece. But I can´t help, after having read most of his oeuvre, feeling a little tired of this technique that he always uses.

[Rachel]

I've seen this book in the bookstores, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about it plot-wise. Thanks :).