Big Cats and Large Rats. (Senor Vivo and the Coca Lords - Louis de Bernieres)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Senor Vivo and the Coca Lords - Louis de Bernieres
Date:	24/01/06 (278 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sharp, funny, the 2nd in the series.

Disadvantages: none.

Most reader’s face a dilemma sooner or later on whether to continue reading books by a favourite author, especially when it’s loosely based on a similar book (or group of books.) There is bound to be a certain trepidation on turning the first page and wondering if this book will live up to the high standard of the previous one. I recently reviewed the first book by Louis de Beriernes and knowing there were another two in a similar setting, I didn’t want to be disappointed, but I hungered for another dose of the magical web spun by de Berniernes and so I embarked on “Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord”, my heart in my mouth (so to speak)
This is a follow-up to “The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts” and there is still one left for me to read. It’s not a trilogy as such, but it’s based in the same fictional Latin American country and certain characters from the previous book appear in this one as well.
I’m not going to introduce the author again, neither do I expect people to read any previous reviews of mine as this book can be read as a stand-alone, although I do recommend reading the other one first. Enough procrastination, on with the show, and let’s hope I can once again entertain you long enough to capture your interest.

Dionisio Vivo discovers another “cravate” (corpse) and we meet his friend Ramon.
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Vivo is a young lecturer of philosophy in the town of Ipasuerio and an ardent letter writer to La Prensa (the nation’s most intellectual publication) on the subject of the coca barons who undermine both the economy and the health of the peasants by supplying cocaine at home and abroad. Vivo’s letters are a source of embarrassment to the president (who is wondering why he hasn’t be bribed by the drug barons) and a pain in the neck to El Jereca (the drug lord) so when new corpses keep appearing outside his home, Ramon, his friend and the local chief of police, tries to warn him about the threats to his life. Blithely Vivo carries on his own way of life, continuing to court the beautiful Anica and showing an uncanny ability to survive numerous assassination attempts.

Dionisio Vivo attains god-like status and threatens the lives of his loved ones.
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Naturally no self-respecting drug lord can afford to keep losing his men and when the president himself (along with much of the public), places Vivo on a pedestal then action must be taken and Anica is forced to choose between her family’s lives and her love for Vivo. In despair over Anica’s rejection of him Vivo attempts suicide but fate still has a destiny in store for him and his survival whips up a frenzy until he becomes seen as a brujo (medicine-man, magician etc). Women flock to the town in the hope of having his babies and help is given to him by the mysterious Indian, Auerilo in the form of prophecy and two large tame jaguars from the fabled city of Cochadebajo de los Gatos (readers of the first book will know the story behind this.)
This is where I must leave you to discover the fate of Vivo and those he loves, but expect a few surprises along the way; I’ve given very little away and missed out a lot in the hope that you will want to discover not only the ending but the journey there.

Analysis.
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This is where I normally wax lyrical on the author’s prose and characterisation and I’m not about to change part of that, but this book has deeper implications than just a very entertaining read and to fail to do justice to de Berniernes theme would be sacrilege of the highest order.

By placing the setting in a fictitious country the author can give full reign to his imagination whilst still retaining much of the evil practises that continue to this day in similar countries, not for nothing did he spend a lot of time in places like Columbia where the drug trade is still rife. He travelled a great deal and made acute observations about the ordinary people as well as the corrupt hierarchy. In this book he expands much on the theme that run through his first book, that of incompetent rulers and the chain of command. The corrupt military and police forces and the “blind eye” turned to illegal activities in an attempt to boost the nation’s economy when, in fact, it was bleeding it dry.
Where this book differs from the previous one is the acknowledgement of that corruption and the president’s ineffectual attempts to stamp it out. He looks at the national debt through the eyes of the rulers and the almost impossible task of running a country without succumbing to some form of bribery. The USA and the UK are not let off lightly either although he does cover his tracks with his humour, thinly veiled in most cases.

It’s this blend of razor-sharp wit that makes de Bernieres books such an engrossing read. I’ve run out of suitable adjectives to do justice to his humour, he penetrates deep into the human mind to express the camaraderie and raillery between friends. In this book the banter between Vivo and his policeman friend Ramon is so skilfully mastered you can feel the love between them. This is in direct contrast to the previous book when the humour was satirical in nature.

This time he saves it for the villains of the piece, although the wicked side to his nature cannot help but make caricatures of some of his characters. Once again the reader is treated to such diverse characters as lovable rogues, whores with hearts of gold and females of Amazonian proportions.
In Dionisio he has produced one of his best characters, a philosopher who makes fun of his own profession, a reluctant hero with feet of clay (don’t you just hate perfect heroes?) and a warm and sensitive lover. He can be a bit pompous at times but that is offset by his humility when he comes to doubt himself, as all real heroes do eventually.

As usual de Bernieres mixes magic with down –to-earth common sense but it’s those flights of fancy that captivate me and keep me reading long after I should have put the book down for a break. Once again he uses animals as a source of imagery and although readers may scoff at giant “Gatos”, cats or jaguars in English, still I can’t fail to be impressed by the concept.
For those who have read the first book then the inclusion of characters from that spellbinding read will be delighted to meet them again. To new readers they will come as pure delight.

Summary.
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No, this book didn’t disappoint me; in fact it both complemented the first and in some ways surpassed it. Despite the humour it’s not a book for the faint-hearted, there is pain and physical torture, (often very graphic), mental anguish and the feeling that sometimes there is no solution to life’s problems.
Once again de Bernieres casts an ironic eye on the perfidious nature of those in power, aptly summed up in the epilogue.
This is a book for readers’ who like their reading matter to mean something without wading through pages of political debates. Sharp, funny and sometimes exuberant it will leave you wanting more and more is what you’ll get if you continue to read to his books.
I highly recommend it and wish I could give it six stars, discovering this author is one of the best things that has happened to me in years, I only hope he will stick to what he does best, to present difficult topics with an eye to the ridiculous, it’s the only way that works for me.
On that note I’ll leave with the final words from the book, “You are all locos,” he said.

The Mundane, but necessary.
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I cannot lie, I didn’t buy this from a bookstore or online, once again I ordered it from my local library and I have the last one in this particular series on order. This is a Vintage paperback priced at £6.99 and although the publication date is 1998 it’s still selling at Amazon for the same price. New and used are cheaper but I’d rather wait until I have sufficient funds to buy this and the next book, I own the first one and want to add the others to my library. Watch this space for my next review and thanks for reading.


©Lisa Fuller January 2006.

Summary: An excellent book in it's own right.