Born in Arequipa, Peru in 1936, Mario Vargas Llosa was a novelist, journalist, essayist, and politician. His novels covered a range of literary genres, from murder mysteries to historical novels to political thrillers and explored themes of power, political unrest, oppression, and nationalism.
Sadly, Vargas Llosa passed away this week at the age of 89 in Lima, Peru.
Vargas Llosa was one of the most influential and renowned Latin American authors of his generation and his work played a significant role in the Latin American literary boom that took place in the 1960s and 70s.
Vargas Llosa was outspoken and politically active and even ran for the Peruvian presidency in 1990. While he did not win the election, he has won many prestigious literary awards throughout his life.
He was awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1994, which recognizes the lifetime achievements of Spanish language authors. In 2010, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. A year later, in 2011, he was made a marquess by Spanish king Juan Carlos I.
To honor the legacy of such an important literary figure, we have put together this list of some of his most notable works. Join us in celebrating the life and works of Mario Vargas Llosa.
The Cubs and Other Stories
This collection is the only book of Mario Vargas Llosa's short fiction available in English. The stories in this volume explore male youth and machismo in Peru. The title story, “The Cubs”, describes the childhood and tragic coming of age of a boy named P.P Cuellar. The pieces in this book are innovative in both style and literary technique.
The War of the End of the World
Based on real events from Brazilian history, this book tells the story of Canudos, a commune buried in Brazil, populated by all kinds of social outcasts. Vargas Llosa narrates a fictionalized version of the clash between this society of revolutionary spirit and the Brazilian government. He gives voice to characters on every side of the conflict in this novel that Salman Rushdie called “as dark as spilled blood.”
The Time of the Hero
The debut novel from Mario Vargas Llosa, The Time of the Hero is a controversial book that details the brutal and tragic realities of the lives of cadets in a Peruvian military academy. It exposes the initiation rites and military codes which the cadets must endure, and the thefts, murders, and suicides which push the young men to their limits.
Letters to a Young Novelist
This book contains a collection of letters to a fictional aspiring novelist. Vargas Llosa condenses all of his experience with reading, writing, and philosophy into this manual for anyone who wishes to write. Drawing from works by international authors throughout time, this book contains all of the author's knowledge about fiction and urges young authors to continue to create.
The Neighborhood
In this political thriller set in 1990s Peru, two upper class Lima couples become engaged in a tangle of erotic adventure, blackmail, and death. The book draws readers into the corrupt government of Peru at the time and the dark workings of Lima's underworld. The Neighborhood is both a political commentary and an unpredictable crime thriller.
The Storyteller
When a Peruvian writer finds a photo of a tribal storyteller deep in the Amazon, he believes the man is his old school friend. This book follows the writer's imagined transformation of the storyteller from the modern man he knew to a member of a remote tribe. This beautifully shocking novel meditates on the meanings of identity, memory, and truth.
The Way to Paradise
This New York Times Notable Book tells the dual story of Flora Tristán, a 19th-century feminist and socialist pioneer, and her grandson, the iconic Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. The travels and passions of these two figures are told side by side as they both strive for greatness in the face of illness and death.
The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta
This novel tells the story of a Peruvian revolutionary and the failed revolution he tried to lead. Told from the point of view of an author trying to understand Alejandro Mayta's life, this book is at once a look inside the mind and beliefs of a revolutionary and an exploration of the history of radial politics in Latin America.
Who Killed Palomino Molero?
In this murder mystery detective novel, a young airman is found dead near his base and Lieutenant Silva and his assistant, Officer Lituma, step in to investigate the murder. Though they face the indifference of a corrupt system, Silva and Lituma are determined to unravel the mystery and find justice.
