El Huerto de Mi Amada / My Lover's Garden

Esta novela es una excelente y muy divertida radiografía de la sociedad peruana, sin embargo, esta visión clasista y elitista que nos presenta el autor, aplica al resto de las sociedades latinoamericanas. Novela de enredos, chismes, envidias y un caudal de sentimientos y emociones que se mezclan en una divertida ensalada de intrigas con una resolución magistral.

This novel is written by a Peruvian writer, so I will try to be perfectly objective. I liked it from beginning to end. I am ashamed to say that this is the first novel I read of Bryce, but surely makes me want to read more of him. He has this unique way to narrate the story that changes from being the narrator to be some of the characters talking, yet keeping it perfectly understandable (at least in Spanish, I think in English must be the same). The way he tells the story of Carlitos and Natalia is so funny you could read this book without stopping, and add to that the stupid attempts of the Cespedes twins to climb in the social scale of the 50's Lima, using everything and everyone to achieve it. There's just one part I did not like and it was the way the relationship ends, so not believable. And another weak point is that is a very shallow story. But come on, not everything written has to be serious or profound.

It is so refreshing to dive into Bryce Echenique books!!He can make you get into a new world as the good literature should, with a new vocabulary and a lovely way to write sentences like he only can twisting the meaning and the order to make something quite new (I read his books in Spanish, so I have no experience with the English versions of his books, if any), and this book is it not an exception. I read (among others) "Un Mundo para Julius" from this same author and I loved it too, they are in a way similar books on my opinion, people that are discovering the world, though a very particular world.If you want to know how the sweet life was in Lima-Peru in the 40's don't miss this opportunity, but this book is not about that, It is about love, fantastic humour and lifes, that neither you nor me, will always live (thanks god!) but this I enjoy reading as much as any thing.