The Time of the Hero

Style and Technique

«The Time of the Hero» impresses with its multilayered structure and bold experimentation with narrative forms. Vargas Llosa masterfully weaves together the voices of different characters, creating a polyphony of the cadets’ inner worlds, where each voice is a separate note in the anxious symphony of growing up. The language is expressive, filled with vivid dialogues and sharp, sometimes coarse intonations, emphasizing the brutality and alienation of the military environment. The author uses stream of consciousness, internal monologues, and sudden shifts from one character to another, creating a sense of chaos and tension, as if the reader is wandering the labyrinth of the barracks. Metaphors and symbols—the city as a trap, the dogs as embodiments of instinct—permeate the novel, giving it philosophical depth. The structure is nonlinear: memories, fragments of past and present intertwine like threads in a complex tapestry, revealing the tragedy of growing up and the loss of innocence. Vargas Llosa’s command of language is virtuoso; his style is both harsh and poetic, and every literary device serves to reveal the inner world of the characters and the merciless atmosphere of the closed military academy.