Product Description

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..

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11947 in Books
• Published on: 1991-09-01
• Original language: English
• 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

About the Author
Louis de Bernieres' first three novels are The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (Commonwealth Writers Prize, Best First Book Eurasia Region, 1991), Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord (Commonwealth Writers Prize, Best Book Eurasia Region, 1992), and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman. He was selected as one of the Granta twenty Best of Young British Novelists in 1993. Captain Corelli's Mandolin won the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Book, 1995. His most recent book is Birds Without Wings.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book - read it and be amazed
After reading this book I immediately passed it on to my best friend to whom I said "drop everything and read this book". I first read Louis de Bernieres's Captain Corelli and was completely drawn into his writing style having not encountered anything like it in previous books I'd read. Although slightly disappointed by the ending I persevered and bought this book which in my opinion knocks the socks off Corelli. "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts" (don't let the title throw you) is de Bernieres's first book and part of a trilogy - I am yet to read the other two, however, I have today ordered them.

You can read above the basis of the story however there is much more to it than that - the humour of the book and the magic that happens half way through were truly my favourite bits and balanced out the dark and sometimes disturbing chapters that focus on the corrupt side of the country's army. I would be the first to admit that this book may not suit everyone's tastes but I do suggest that you give it a go and buy this, the first book, at least and like me you might be more than pleasantly surprised - you might put down the finished book and think "that's one of the best things I've ever read".

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]

Good in places, but ultimately disappointing.
Having read Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I was looking forward to reading this the first of de Bernieres's novels.The book set in South America has a promising start, there are a host of colourful characters, exotic locations,and numerous plot lines involving, politics, corruption, sex, religion, violence,revolution and love,(so plenty to work with!). The trouble is de Bernieres is unable or unwilling to give any of the characters room to develop, so you end up with 20 or so people who seem to wander in and out of the book, some make it to the end, some get killed, some get forgotten along the way. Having said that, there is some very entertaining writing here, and if it had a stonger plot and the characters were more than just thumbnails, then this could have been a good book, as it is, it's just a good debut novel.