Harsh Times cover art

Harsh Times

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Harsh Times

By: Mario Vargas Llosa, Adrian Nathan West
Narrated by: Ian Guerra
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

Guatemala, 1954. A CIA-supported military coup topples the government. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changed the development of Latin America: that those in power encouraged the spread of Soviet communism in the Americas.

Mario Vargas Llosa has written a drama on a world stage, in which some persecutors end up as victims of the very plot they helped construct. Ironic and sensual, provocative and redemptive, Harsh Times is a story of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today.

©2021 Faber & Faber (P)2021 Faber & Faber
Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Political Fiction Biography Witty Espionage Latin American

Listeners also enjoyed...

1916 cover art
The Salamander cover art
Proteus cover art
The Assassins cover art
The New Reform Quartet cover art
The Lion's Den cover art
World’s End cover art
The Ringmaster cover art
The Mystic Masseur cover art
The Manchurian Candidate cover art
Swann's Way cover art
We cover art
The Yacoubian Building cover art
Traitor's Gate cover art
The German Half-Bloods cover art
The Son and Heir cover art
All stars
Most relevant
I found the reading of the story soporific, dull. I am sure it is a good story but I kept having to recap to try and workout what was going on! Stopped half way through. First time I have done this with a book.

Frustrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I love Mario Vargas Llosa usually but in this book the political climate is harsh. I had to be in the right mood to listen it was a little too bloodthirsty for me. Well written and a bit raw.

Banana Republic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.