The Way to Paradise: A Novel

by Mario Vargas Llosa

Book Overview

A New York Times Notable Book Flora Trist n, the illegitimate child of a wealthy Peruvian father and French mother, grows up in poverty and journeys to Peru to demand her inheritance. On her return in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312424035
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Picador
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Sublime

Excellent book, following the narrative style of "La fiesta del Chivo" but with a totally different topic, Vargas Llosa beautifully describes the thoughts and lives of two completely different minds but equally strong personalities (must be in their blood, as they are related): the painter Gauguin and his feminist/socialist grandmother Flora Tristan. And, if you like art, I think that Vargas Llosa makes a wonderful job describing the thoughts that originate some of Gauguin's paintings... it is just sublime. Highly recommended.

One of Vargas Llosa's Best

I am great fan of Vargas Llosa, having read all his novels. While others have criticized his style, I find it works exceptionally well in this particular novel. The non-linearity of each of the protagonist's stories adds to a much fuller understanding of Koke and Flora. You appreciate each more after learning what choices they made to become who they are, when you already know them in their "prime". Unlike many other reviewers, I found Vargas Llosa's style of interjecting comments by the protagonists added an itimacy and immediacy to the stories. And now to do my own research on Flora and Paul.... For any of you who have not read Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, it is perhaps his best and most enjoyable novel. Feast of the Goat also a great read. Though my personal favorite is The War at the End of the World, another historical novel, though about much more arcane subject.

Will The Real Gauguin Please Stand Up ...

I remember as a young man reading The Moon and The Six Pence by Somerset Maugham and being intriged by the persona of Gauguin , and now Mario Vargas Llosa took me to another level of Gauguin's life and I am impressed by such a good novel , connecting Gauguin , Gauguin's grandmother , France , Peru and Tahiti with such finese and style . A book worth reading as history , social evolution and the Lost Paradise we look for in Religion ( Is Not There , Believe Me ) . By the way , if U want to know where Paradise went , read The Story of B , by Daniel Quinn . Enjoy and learn ....

Vargas Llosa shows "The Way to Paradise"

I had waited to read this book since hearing about it. I was not disappointed. Vargas Llosa is most masterful in describing the life of Flora Tristan, the little known early 19th century century women's and worker's rights activits. I hope this book will help renew interest in this fascinating woman. While the prose style of moving back and forth between Tristan and her grandson the painter Gauguin may appear difficult at first, it is materful in execution. Vargas Llosa has a brilliant manner in covering time, allowing for flashbacks to many important events in his main characters lives. Flora Tristan and Paul Gauguin each found "The Way to Paradise" in a unique way. I felt much more sympathy for Tristan, who faced numerous injustices and fought for a cause. Gauguin, while a brilliant artist, comes across as a bit crazed at the end. One does leave this work wondering more about Flora's daughter (and Gauguin's mother) Aline -- the one interconnecting person between these two. Reviews have not highlighted the fact that Vargas Llosa, who was born in Arequipa, Peru, is, as I understand, a descendant of one of Flora's Tristan uncles, though not the Uncle Pio, who played a crucial role in disinheriting Flora. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the personalities of these fascinating individuals. However, it is written as fiction, and I felt fortunate to have previously read portions of David Sweetman's brilliant biography "Paul Gauguin, A Complete Life", since it presented a factual context for both Flora and Gauguin's lives.

De lo mejor de Vargas Llosa

Es increible como Vargas Llosa te lleva atraves del espacio y el tiempo saltando de parrafo en parrafo y el lector no se pierde nunca! Flora esta en Paris reunida con obreros y un instante despues (10 anhos antes) en Arequipa visitando a su tio Pio, Gauguin esta Tahiti, 50 anhos despues, y en la linea siguiente esta (otros 10 anhos antes)pintando con van Gogh en Arles, y lector ve pasar todo esto frente a si sin confundir una sola idea. El manejo de los tiempos es similar a Pulp Fiction, donde Tarantino te va ofreciendo escenas de la historia en desorden, pero nunca te pierdes.Adicionalmente, el tema de las historias, el humor, y lo crudo de algunas escenas (tipo el capitulo final de "La fiesta del Chivo") hacen que este libro asuste y encante. En este libro el capitulo final es tambien fenomenal.