Lituma en los Andes.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

In this powerful new novel, Mario Vargas Llosa returns to his exploration of the Peruvian character, in particular, Peru's endemic violence. Corporal Lituma of the Guardia Civil, who made an earlier appearance in La casa verde, is now stationed in Naccos, a deserted mining town in the Andes infested with Shining Path revolutionaries. Lituma is investigating the disappearance of three men he suspects were abducted by terrorists. But there's another possibility. The local Indians still practice pre-Hispanic religions, of which human sacrifice is a part.

Lituma's subaltern, Tomas Carreno, is a naive, endearing twenty-three-year-old who murdered a bigwig officer known as El Chancho, whom he was assigned to protect. Tomas catches El Chancho abusing his moll, pulls out a gun and shoots him, then escapes with the woman. Furious at being "rescued," the prostitute nevertheless stays with Carreno until they get to Lima, where she escapes with all his savings. Tomas's godfather (who may actually be his real father) is another bigwig with connections in the drug world. He arranges to have Tomas sent to Naccos to get him out of the way of El Chancho's men, who seek revenge, but the Shining Path represents an even more serious danger.

Vargas Llosa juxtaposes images of horrific terrorist kidnappings with others of ritualistic Indian sacrifices and savage assaults by the military and the drug lords. The observations of Dr. Paul Stirmsson, a Danish anthropologist who studies pre-Incaic societies, round out the picture by demolishing the myth that Peruvian violence is a remnant of the Spanish conquest. Stirmsson comments that far from being "tolerant conquerors" who incorporated their victims' culture, the Incas were ruthless fighters who obliterated the Huanca and Chanca civilizations, which themselves were steeped in violence. Vargas Llosa's point is that violence is intrinsic to every segment of Peruvian society.

Reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange, Vargas Llosa's novel sublimates savagery through art, imbuing the images of brutality...