"In Praise of the Stepmother" by Mario Vargas Llosa *****
- Originally published in 1988
- Peruvian author
- Epigraph: "One must wear one's vices like a mantle with poise. Like an aureole one is unaware of that one pretends not to perceive. It is only natures entirely given over to vice whose contours do not grow blurred in the hyaline mire of the atmosphere. Beauty is a --marvelous-- vice of form.".....Cesar Moro, "Amour a mort"
- Vocabulary:
- hyaline: glassy or transparent
- Quote:
- p.51...."There the three of us will be, calm, patient, awaiting the artist of the future, who roused by desire, will imprison us in dreams, and pinning us to the canvas with his brush will believe that he is inventing us."
- Review: I read this in one sitting. Llosa offers the reader an erotic, provocative, shocking view of the human spirit. The narration moves from the tale of a man, his second wife and his son to interpretive narration focused on classic works of art. His theme takes the reader deep into the instinctive and sensual part of their being and boldly suggests that it is a fine line between what is a human being's dark side and evil. Where does sensuality become depravity? The references to and interpretations of the classic paintings speak to the timeless nature of our darker yearnings and the dilemmas they create. Do not venture into this one unless or until you prepare for an unsettling read.
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