THE NEIGHBORHOOD defies easy categorization. Author Mario Vargas Llosa, who has distinguished himself by winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, has been writing for six decades, incorporating personal and historical events into well over 40 works of fiction. His more recent novels have contained elements of the postmodernist movement, and, indeed, his latest uses an occasionally light and humorous tone to explore political machinations and corruption, among other things. The result --- translated by Edith Grossman, no stranger to accolades herself --- deserves a slow and careful read for maximum enjoyment and appreciation.

The book is set in Lima, Peru, in the 1990s during the controversial presidency of Alberto Fujimori. This hardly seems random, given that Llosa was defeated by Fujimori in the 1990 Peruvian presidential election. The story centers on two wealthy couples. Enrique “Quique” Cárdenas is a successful engineer with his own firm. He is deeply and totally in love with his beautiful and glamorous wife, Marisa. Enrique’s best and lifelong friend, Luciano Casabellas, is married to Chabela. What neither Enrique nor Luciano knows is that their spouses are engaging in a torrid affair.

"One can almost hear Mario Vargas Llosa’s voice --- smooth, quiet, understated --- while reading his prose. Not one word is wasted."

As the two ladies begin their explorations of each other, Enrique receives a visit from Rolando Garro, the slimy editor of Exposed, a weekly tabloid newspaper that is dedicated to publishing compromising photographs of the rich and famous. Garro has some extremely graphic photos of Enrique that were taken during an orgy arranged by an enigmatic businessman who had approached Enrique about a project but then abruptly disappeared. The images are almost two years old but are scandalous, to say the least. Garro leaves the copies with Enrique but returns within a day or two, when he makes his intentions clear. Garro proposes that Enrique financially invest heavily in Exposed. If Enrique refuses, the photographs will be published. Enrique rejects the bribe and throws Garro out of his office.

Garro makes good on his threat the following day, prompting legal action from Enrique through Luciano. Garro’s mutilated body is found shortly thereafter, and of course Enrique is suspected of the murder. He is innocent and manages to extricate himself from the charges, but the state demands that a murderer is brought to trial. It finds one. An unlikely savior comes to the aid of the person falsely accused. But will the truth be revealed in time? And what sort of trouble is Enrique in at home? What is going on with the affair between Marisa and Chabela? These questions are raised and ultimately answered, with surprises abounding.

One can almost hear Mario Vargas Llosa’s voice --- smooth, quiet, understated --- while reading his prose. Not one word is wasted. Even at his advanced age, Llosa continues to experiment with the novel’s structure. Indeed, a chapter near the end of THE NEIGHBORHOOD entitled “The Whirlpool” assails the reader without warning, breaking a number of rules even as it works perfectly to advance and in some cases resolve the many subtle story threads that are woven into the plot. One final note: Llosa may well be the master of literary erotica. Just saying.