Death in the Andes

In a remote, shabby community in the Peruvian Andes, people vanish without explanation. The disappearances involve Shining Path guerrillas and a local couple who carry out cannibal sacrifices that echo the Dionysian rituals of ancient Greece. The novel reads partly as a detective story and partly as a political allegory. Its many characters include guerrillas, Indians, army officers, townspeople and cult worshippers. Through them it shows present violence and unrest, the country's past, and its links to Indian culture and pre-Hispanic mysticism.

Why You Should Read?

• Follow a string of unexplained disappearances in a remote community in the Peruvian Andes.
• Explore political violence and social upheaval alongside the nation's past and its Indian culture.
• Meet guerrillas, army officers, eccentric townspeople and cult worshippers in one crowded and varied cast.
• Experience a story told through several narrators, time frames and subplots, mixing mystery with political allegory.

About the Author

Mario Vargas Llosa was born on 28 March 1936 and died on 13 April 2025. He was a Peruvian writer of novels, journalism and essays, and he also worked as a politician. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. His novels The Time of the Hero, The Green House and Conversation in The Cathedral brought him international fame in the 1960s. He also won the 1967 Rómulo Gallegos Prize and the 1986 Prince of Asturias Award. His books include comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels and political thrillers.