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Harsh Times cover art

Harsh Times

By: Mario Vargas Llosa, Adrian Nathan West
Narrated by: Ian Guerra
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Summary

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Guatemala, 1954. A CIA-supported military coup topples the government. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changed the development of Latin America: that those in power encouraged the spread of Soviet communism in the Americas.

Mario Vargas Llosa has written a drama on a world stage, in which some persecutors end up as victims of the very plot they helped construct. Ironic and sensual, provocative and redemptive, Harsh Times is a story of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today.

©2021 Mario Vargas Llosa (P)2021 Faber Audio

What listeners say about Harsh Times

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Frustrated

I found the reading of the story soporific, dull. I am sure it is a good story but I kept having to recap to try and workout what was going on! Stopped half way through. First time I have done this with a book.

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Banana Republic

I love Mario Vargas Llosa usually but in this book the political climate is harsh. I had to be in the right mood to listen it was a little too bloodthirsty for me. Well written and a bit raw.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Historically important story killed by a flat, monotonous reading

One of the worst performances of an audiobook that I’ve heard. A pity as the original is one of the most important South American authors on a hugely important part of Latin America’s emergence.

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