In Praise of the Stepmother

Winner of the nobel prize in literaturewith meticulous observation and the seductive skill of a great storyteller, vargas llosa lures the reader into the shadow of perversion that, little by little, darkens the extraordinary happiness and harmony of his characters. the mysterious nature of happiness and above all, the corrupting power of innocence are the themes that underlie these pages, and the author has perfectly met the demands of the erotic novel, never dimming for an instant the fine poetic polish of his writing.review“powerful, incendiary...vargas llosa is a master storyteller.” ―the washington post book world“vargas llosa is a writer of promethean authority, making outstanding fiction in whatever direction he turns.... erotically stimulating, artfully self-assured, in praise of the stepmother is a steamy as it is intelligent.” ―newsday“startling...not only would an american presidential candidate not have written it but the national endowment for the arts wouldn't have given it a grant.” ―the new yorker“the author is silky....vargas llosa has written a genuinely erotic story and a wicked parody of one.” ―los angeles times“an elaborate and lushly written novel.” ―usa today“vargas llosa has tickled all our notions of love and lust, felicity and perversity, teased all our ideas of innocence and self-consciousness, and nibbled playful and ambiguous at every romantic fancy, from the classical to the abstract, the ancient to the postmodern, the sacred to the profane.” ―san francisco chronicle & examinermario vargas llosa is peru's foremost author and the winner of the 2010 nobel prize in literature. in 1994 he was awarded the cervantes prize, the spanish-speaking world's most distinguished literary honor, and in 1995 he won the jerusalem prize. his many distinguished works includethe storyteller,thefeast of the goat,aunt julia and the scriptwriter,death in the andes, inpraise of the stepmother,the bad girl,conversation in the cathedral, theway to paradise, andthe war of the end of the world. he lives in london.helen lane contributed to in praise of the stepmother from picador.