of stories" you can't help but nod your head in agreement and marvel at Vargas Llosa's deft skill in crafting such an impeccable novel. Having been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature one can only hope that this brings his works to a new generation of bibliophiles for he is, without a doubt, one of the finest wordsmiths that I have ever had the privilege of reading. (less) Toward the end of the story, the half-blind journalist says it the best, it is a tree of stories. The tale of the founding of Canudos by saints and killers and the poorest of the poor and their battles with the armies of the Brazilian Republic is an enormous story. So big and complex that of course the person standing right next to you has a different view, a different relationship with the truth. And the author does an amazing job of keeping all the spinning plates of his cast of thousands in t ...more Toward the end of the story, the half-blind journalist says it the best, it is a tree of stories. The tale of the founding of Canudos by saints and killers and the poorest of the poor and their battles with the armies of the Brazilian Republic is an enormous story. So big and complex that of course the person standing right next to you has a different view, a different relationship with the truth. And the author does an amazing job of keeping all the spinning