Product Description

From the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. A first novel that sparkles with wit and imagination, populated by a host of colourful, loveable and sometimes even magical characters, read by Richard Griffiths

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13971 in Books
• Published on: 1991-09-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
With The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts Louis de Bernières's sardonic pen has concocted a spicy olla podrida of a novel, set in a fictitious Latin American country, with all the tragedy, ribaldry and humour Bernières can muster from a debauched military, a clueless oligarchy and an unconventional band of guerrillas. There's a plague of laughing, a flood of magical cats and a torture-happy colonel. The cities, villages, politics and discourse are an inspired amalgam of Latin Americana, but the comedy, horror, adventure and vibrant individuals are pure de Bernières. This masterpiece, the first of a trilogy, is followed by Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman. --James Barry

Synopsis
When the spoilt and haughty Dona Constanza tries to divert a river to fill her swimming pool, she starts a running battle with the locals. The skirmishes are so severe that the Government dispatches a squadron of soldiers led by the fat, brutal and stupid Figueras to deal with them. Despite visiting plagues of laughing fits and giant cats upon the troops, the villagers know that to escape the cruel and unusual tortures planned for them, they must run. Thus they plan to head for the mountains and start a new and convivial civilisation.

About the Author
Louis de Bernieres is most famous for Captain Corelli's Mandolin which is consistently at the top of all bestseller charts - and has been for three years. The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman were his first three novels. He lives in London.

Richard Griffiths is highly respected for his work in theatre, television and film. His film credits range from CHARIOTS OF FIRE, to GOLDENEYE; he has recently completed a very successful run of KATHERINE HOWARD in Chichester, and is renowned for his portrayal of Henry Crabb in BBC TV's PIE IN THE SKY.

Customer Reviews

At odds
I guess I'm gonna get crucified here but I did not particularly enjoy this book. I read Corelli from this author first of all, and it was my sheer enjoyment of that book that lead me to buy two more of his books immediately. I wish I'd bought only one (or better, borrowed it). I found this book (and Senor Vivo) over-written and contrived. Sure, I understood the black humour and the biting satire - but it was kinda like being browbeaten with it - in the tactless style of a typical Hollywood movie, rather than being seductively left to draw my own conclusions, like many a French movie. Yes I laughed out loud at some passages. But, whereas the exquisite prose in Corelli simply wafted me from page to page, irresistibly, I found The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts hard going, and it was only applied discipline that made me finish it.

Neisseria's notable triumph!
In this opening salvo of a trilogy on Colombian society and politics, de Bernieres demonstrates his outstanding abilities. His descriptive powers are vivid, often chilling, in conveying what humans are capable of perpetrating on one another. He produces characters that prance over the pages in a tantalising dance, challenging you to predict their next outrage or fallacy. The story is intricately woven through a loom of surprises, tragedies, and disasters. There are light moments, but they leave you wondering what depth of misfortune is likely to follow. Lest this analysis leave you feeling the book is depressing, take heart. The author portrays solemn realism, but swifts and butterflies of hope and satisfaction will reward the reader, even if their passage seems evanescent.

The "war" is more than simply the manifestations of one man's loins. Don Emmanuel is but one soldier in a wider context. De Bernieres is here campaigning for a broader sense of justice than this semi-imaginary society has been experiencing. What is the justice in a village gathering to defend a local, perhaps the last, virgin from salacious soldiers, only to have a grenade slaughtering the inhabitants. The army, supposedly called up to defend the nation, proves its most rapacious element. How to halt their depredations becomes the focus of this intricately woven tale. In one deliciously described sally, the village uses a local, well, "experienced", young women to visit the army's camp with her charms - and infections, such as neisseria [google it!].

This thinly disguised tale of modern Columbia's stresses depicts a society topped by an oligarchy of vested interests. "Right" and "Left" are but easily swopped labels by elements that have no essential differences. The "natural rulers" are buttressed by a compliant church, which is far more concerned with its own interests than that of the resident peasantry. This agrarian foundation of the country, who have little enough for themselves, occupy remote villages while underpinning the urban society. They are ready victims, easily manipulated or simply ignored. Their attackers are many and defenders few - yet it is typical of de Bernieres' sense of irony that among their champions stands an Army General.

That de Bernieres has copped many awards is adequate testimony to his prowess. He entertains and informs with equal verve. A dash of fantasy added to this story brings home the fact that "religion" is a term requiring expanded definition. The new definition would encompass human feelings more intimately than our present models. Death, never welcome, becomes something less than absolute in this author's hands. If the images he depicts are but our memories of lost loved ones, perhaps we should spend more time celebrating them. These and other questions permeate this book while prompting us to confront and judge our own values. If that's de Bernieres' intent, he's succeeded admirably. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

A dark satire on S American literature and history
Something that offends no one cannot have achieved greatness. Greatness is not popular. Captain Correlli is popular. I am not surprised that several Captain Correlli readers have not enjoyed this book. Three Tenors listeners are often not going to enjoy a complete opera. Don Emmanuel is not popular, it is a great work of literature. This is where the author found his voice, and like all first times the fresh voice is freshest here, the new ideas are newest here.

This book is also very funny and compelling. If you have read Marquez and/or Vargas Llosa, and loved them, you will be in sympathy with the author's satirical take on magical realism and the horrors of life in South America. But without that background, the satire may be lost on you. The humour is very dark, and one cannot help but feel that if translated into Spanish it would probably be burnt in the streets from Bogota to Buenos Aires. That's the kind of humour I like, but I'm definitely not carrying it in my luggage.