Vargas Llosa sums up so very much of the colonial experience. This is an author you can hand a single sheet of paper to and he can still somehow describe in detail a whole decade and three nations on the same. Hand him pages upon pages and . . . yeah. Read it. (less) This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A remarkable thought-provoking epic based on Brazil's War of Canudos from 1893 to 1897 following the over throw of the monarchy in 1889. An itinerant preacher known as "The Counselor" and his followers founded a Catholic commune they called "Bello Monte" on a tract known as Canudos. Fears of local land owners led to a series of military attacks on the village, the first three of which the villagers defeated. The fourth expedition, however, successfully encircled the village and bombarded it rel ...more A remarkable thought-provoking epic based on Brazil's War of Canudos from 1893 to 1897 following the over throw of the monarchy in 1889. An itinerant preacher known as "The Counselor" and his followers founded a Catholic commune they called "Bello Monte" on a tract known as Canudos. Fears of local land owners led to a series of military attacks on the village, the first three of which the villagers defeated. The fourth expedition, however, successfully encircled the village and bombarded it relentlessly. Atrocities followed leaving anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 dead. The body of the Counselor, who died of