Povestasul

Povestaşul asks why people tell tales. It asks what fiction means to a writer. The man who tells the story recalls an old friend. They knew each other at university. A culture in the Amazon draws this friend to it.

The book shifts between these memories and a strange teller’s tales. Who this teller is remains a mystery. His tales keep a small group’s shared past alive. The group lives in Peru’s jungle. His tales also help its people stay united. The two strands meet as the novel unfolds.

Mario Vargas Llosa shows how fiction serves different ways of life. This novel suits readers who like books about memory and culture. It also suits those drawn to the art of telling tales.

Humanitas put out this Romanian edition in 2011. This third edition has 220 pages.