This book tripps balls.

I was so happy to be back in this world of de Bernieres' Latin America, and I definitely recommend reading the first book first- you COULD follow along with only book 2, but not everything is explained here. There will be some confusing parts for you, to say the least.

Still a fantastic book, following on the heels of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, but it was not so easy to ignore the darker parts of this one. In DENP, the lightness and humor of the writing allowed you to gloss more easily over the rough patches if you preferred it that way, but no such luck with Senor Vivo - the same humor was present, but the book takes you right into some pretty dark stuff surrounding the coca trade.

Not quite captain corelli’s mandolin but thoroughly enjoyed. Very silly and fun but also suddenly very sad - would recommend.

Great book. Very funny at the beginning and dreadfully dark at the end.

Fascinating!

I had no idea that the thrift store close to home had also second-hand books on sale. I went there a lot of times searching for nice clothes, but never, ever noticed the English books sitting on the shelf. Today I went in this store with a friend and wasn't intending to buy anything when, suddenly, I had a vision: I finally saw the books. And they were soo cheap, like 0.30 cents. Mostly romance, but there was also this book, that I proudly took home. :)

I so love this I am obsessed with the series! But I have to say that this is the one I do not love as much as the other two but very very interesting still. There are some parts which Bernieres sounded so much like Jorge Amado that it may be even plagiarism.. And there is a butchery scene there that you will never forget. A worthy read.

This book is wildly different from the more widely known Correlli's Mandolin. It is similar to Isabelle Allende's works (of whom I am a huge fan). It has the flavor of a South American novel--mysticism and earthiness. Well worth reading.

How do you review a book that is so hard to explain ??? I can't. Unfortunately, I don't have the gift of putting my thoughts onto paper or finding the words needed to describe how I feel. I can only suggest that you read the review of this book on Goodreads by a girl named Madeline. (copy & paste this link to see her review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) Her review sums up everything I wish I could say. My own review could only be summed up by stating that Louis De Berniéres is a genius & I applaud him for telling this story so brilliantly !! I also think that De Berniéres' exaggerated (or is it??) view of politicians is fantastic. If you've never questioned the people in office, read this to get a sense of how De Berniéres portrays them. Their ignorance is comical, WOW ...

I simply loved this book.

The font in my edition is a tad unpleasant to read. Will see how I go.

Tak především jsem si obohatil slovník o termín "kolumbijský kravaťák" a věřte, že toho byste na předzahrádce potkat nechtěli. A ani jinak jsem nepřišel zkrátka, i tahle knížka je výborná, byť Válka o zadnici Dona Emmanuela byla přece jen o kousek lepší.
Dvojka není tak rozprostřená do široka, je tu míň postav i dějových linek, o to víc se toho ale dozvíte o hlavním hrdinovi a jeho nejbližším okolí. Nechybí tu ani humor, absurdita ani šokující momenty, kterými nás zahrnul už první díl. A jelikož už mám dočtenou i trojku, můžu s klidem prohlásit že celá tahle série je bomba jakých je málo.