[.ca] The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (ISBN 0436201143)

Such a disappointment:
I read the first two books in this series which were fantastic and then I got to this one. It is terrible and a real disapointment.

Both tragic and humerous:
This books is part of a trillogy of books set in a mythical South American country, which is never given a name. Like the other books of the trillogy, it is mostly concerened with the citizens of the city Conchebajo de los Gatos. A city populated with extremely unique and well drawn characters. De Bernieres obviously has a great love for his people, and you get to know all of them very well if you read the entire trilogy. The novel is not a linear story, but a collection of incidents and descriptions of events, some extremely funny, some, like the river overflowing with the corpses of murderd street children, paint a poinient potrait of the social problems of South American cities. Not a light wait romp but a powerfull portrait of south american life, with a good dose of humor and magic thrown in. Having said that, you would be mutch better off starting at the beggining of the trilogy, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. The Neather Parts introduces you to all the characters properly, and is I believe a better book. Both funnier and more diverse in it's stories. If you like Don Emmanuel's, then go on to read this.

Terrific cultural fantasy!:
De Bernieres, who wrote the magnificent "Corelli's Mandolin" (see my review below, 1/99), has hit upon another culture in another fantasy. The Troubling Offspring is a wild convoluted tale involving the bizzare characters of, primarily, Cochadebajo (de los Gatos), an imaginary Andean pueblo. De Bernieres, who spent many years in Columbia, has managed to build a tragicomedy involving all of those very real aspects of the South American existence: screwy and corrupt politics, the screwy and corrupt church, and a certain amount of mysticism. The plot begins when the Cardinal decides that another Inquisition is due for the heathens of the mountain villages. The Cochedebajeros (described as a collection of "macho philosophers, defrocked priests, and slightly reformed prostitutes cohabiting in 'cheerful' anarchy") use some of the strangest ammunition imaginable to fight off the holy crusaders. The humor in this novel strikes at every turn, with chapters entitled, for example, "In which his Excellency, President Veracruz, wins the General Election without rigging it too much," or, "In which Felicidad's Gyrating backside Provokes Hostilities, " or, "An Apocalypse of Embarrassment Strikes the City," Oh, like much of De Bernieres, this book is a silly romp through what might otherwise be a serious subject.

Jungle or Andes? Mixed soup of Latin American folklore...:
De Bernieres once again sets up his narration in a "ficticious" village in the "Andean Jungle" of South America. Though, if you know of the author's teaching experience in Colombia, and the many "cues" he purposedly gives (in the shape of climatic and geographic features as well as in the expression of the life style of the people involved), it won't be difficult to point out the afore mentioned Latin American country as the "cauldron" the writer will use to freely (=carelessly, non-knowingly) pour his recollection of ancient "gentile" (=pre-Hispanic, pre-Catholic) stories, traditions, myths he must have heard (and subsequently written down to be used later) during his infatuation with the "New World" (as that part of the world is often called due to the lateness to be captured into formal "civilization"). However, even when you know it's purely fictional, there's always something that won't let you swallow it smoothly when, for instance, you find indigenous Quechua, Aymara, and modern Mexican symbolic presence all mixed in one colorful but rather odd and at times tasteless concoction. The magical and the real don't blend so smartly and their transition hardly ever occurs naturally; things just happen and we have to accept them as such without a chance of thinking or criticizing it (due to the risk of giving up reading at all). The main character isn't just one individual but the collectivity of the village that plays the role of the body wherein a handful of extraordinary men and women will compete to outstand as its prominent members in isolated chapters. The language used is simple and easy to read (that is if you're familiar with Spanish sayings and expressions; otherwise you'll miss the witty and sometimes maningful names De Bernieres plays with in this book). What the author tries -and at times succeeds- to depict (not perfectly as stated before) is the way of living and thinking of the people of any Bolivarian (area comprised by Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia) small town; something that will give an idea to the reader of why a young, resource-rich, energetic, spiritual sub-continent has difficulty in "emerging from the pit". Though, of course, a more complex view in this topic is required, I have to admit. The prose is fluid intra- but not so inter- chapters; the genius of the writer is shown in short self-contained not necessarily connected descriptions which at times can get you to feel the emotions he's forcefully inviting you to be part of. If you need something to read while you commute on the train/bus (as I have to) or just need something to read by bits while catching sleep every night (in the same fashion as a 30-minute weekly soap opera), this book will do. If you need something more acurate (though still fictional) and compelling, you'd better stick to native South American writers such as Gabo (GGM) or Marito (MVLl) who are more able of painting real landscapes using fantastic brushes (or viceversa). Probably, now that I think it again, your ignorance of Latin American culture could play in your favor and make you enjoy this book as it happened to me (not a strict connoisseur of Mediterranean matters) when I read Captain Corelli's...

Bizarre!:
I am very pleased that I came to Louis De Bernieres via Captain Corelli's Mandolin and not through this book. If it had been the other way around I might not have had the pleasure of reading one of the best novels of the last decade. This book did not deliver the full majesty of his writing ability. While De Bernieres once again demonstrates his wonderful literary style, I found this work a little too bizarre to be classed as great. His humour is well balanced and the narrative was for the most part coherent but somehow this didn't 'do it' for me. I found myself only mildly interested in how the story would finish and perhaps because of its 'magical' if not surreal nature, I found it difficult to connect. I also found that being completely ignorant of South America and all things Hispanic, I kept forgetting who were the main protagonists and what were their particular idiosyncracies. By all means read this, but even if you don't like it, don't let it put you off Captain Corelli's Mandolin.