Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa in 2005
Born	Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa March 28, 1936 (1936-03-28) (age 72) Arequipa, Peru
Nationality	Peruvian, Spanish
Spouse(s)	Julia Urquidi (1955–1964) Patricia Llosa (1965–)
Children	Álvaro Vargas Llosa Gonzalo Vargas Llosa Morgana Vargas Llosa
Relative(s)	Ernesto Vargas Maldonado Dora Llosa Ureta
Official website http://www.mvargasllosa.com

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, and essayist. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and world-wide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom.^[1] Picture of Mario Vargas Llosa. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the cactus genus, see Oreocereus. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Álvaro Vargas Llosa (born 1966, Peru) is a writer. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Vargas Llosa rose to fame in the 1960s with novels such as The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros, 1963/1966^[2]), The Green House (La casa verde, 1965/1968), and the monumental Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en la catedral, 1969/1975). He continues to write prolifically across an array of literary genres, including literary criticism and journalism. His novels include comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels, and political thrillers. Several, such as Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (1973/1978) and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977/1982), have been adapted as feature films. Mario Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian writer who is one of Latin Americas leading novelists and essayists. ... The Green House (La casa verde) is a 1966 novel by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. ... A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or content. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, originally written in Spanish as La tía Julia y el escribidor. ...

Many of Vargas Llosa's works are influenced by the writer's perception of Peruvian society and his own experiences as a native Peruvian. Increasingly, however, he has expanded his range, and tackled themes that arise from other parts of the world. Another change over the course of his career has been a shift from a style and approach associated with literary modernism, to a sometimes playful postmodernism.

Like many Latin American authors, Vargas Llosa has been politically active throughout his career; over the course of his life, he has gradually moved from the political left towards the right. While he initially supported the Cuban revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, Vargas Llosa later became disenchanted. He ran for the Peruvian presidency in 1990 with the center-right Frente Democrático (FREDEMO) coalition, advocating neoliberal reforms. He has subsequently supported moderate conservative candidates. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... “Right wing” redirects here. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by encouraging free...

Early life and family

Mario Vargas Llosa was born to a middle-class family of mestizo descent^[3] on March 28, 1936, in the Peruvian provincial city of Arequipa.^[4] He was the only child of Ernesto Vargas Maldonado and Dora Llosa Ureta, who separated a few months before his birth.^[4] Shortly after Mario's birth, his father revealed that he was having an affair with a German woman; consequently, Mario has two younger half-brothers: Enrique and Ernesto Vargas.^[5] Mestizo is a Spanish term that was formerly used in the Spanish Empire to designate people of mixed European (Spaniard) and Amerindian ancestry living in the region of Latin America. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the cactus genus, see Oreocereus. ...

Vargas Llosa lived with his maternal family in Arequipa until a year after his parents' divorce, when his maternal grandfather was named honorary consul for Peru in Bolivia.^[4] With his mother and her family, Vargas Llosa then moved to Cochabamba, Bolivia, where he spent the early years of his childhood.^[4] His maternal family, the Llosas, were sustained by his grandfather, who managed a cotton farm.^[6] As a child, Vargas Llosa was led to believe that his father had died—his mother and her family did not want to explain that his parents had separated.^[7] During the government of Peruvian President José Bustamante y Rivero, Vargas Llosa's maternal grandfather obtained a diplomatic post in the Peruvian coastal city of Piura and the entire family returned to Peru.^[7] While in Piura, Vargas Llosa attended elementary school at the religious academy Colegio Salesiano.^[8] In 1946, at the age of ten, he moved to Lima and met his father for the first time.^[8] His parents re-established their relationship and lived in Magdalena del Mar, a middle-class Lima suburb, during his teenage years.^[9] While in Lima, he studied at the Colegio La Salle, a Christian middle school, from 1947 to 1949.^[10] A consulate (or consular office) is a form of diplomatic mission in charge of matters related to individual people and businesses, in other words issues outside inter-governmental diplomacy. ... The centre of Cochabamba Ayacucho Avenue Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. ... José Luis Bustamante y Rivero (15 January 1894 - 11 January 1989) was President of Peru from 1945 to 1948. ... Piura: Plaza de Armas Piura is a city in northwestern Peru. ... For other uses, see Lima (disambiguation). ... Magdalena del Mar, commonly known simply as Magdalena, is a seaside district of the Lima Province in Peru and one of the districts that comprise the city of Lima. ...

When Vargas Llosa was fourteen, his father sent him to the Leoncio Prado Military Academy in Lima.^[11] A year before his graduation, Vargas Llosa began working as an amateur journalist for local newspapers.^[12] He withdrew from the military academy and finished his studies in Piura, where he worked for the local newspaper, La Industria, and witnessed the theatrical performance of his first dramatic work, La huida del Inca.^[13]

In 1953, during the government of Manuel A. Odría, Vargas Llosa enrolled in Lima's National University of San Marcos to study law and literature.^[14] He married Julia Urquidi, his maternal uncle's sister-in-law, in 1955 at the age of 19; she was 13 years older.^[12] Vargas Llosa began his literary career in earnest in 1957 with the publication of his first short stories, "The Leaders" ("Los jefes") and "The Grandfather" ("El abuelo"), while working for two Peruvian newspapers.^[15] Upon his graduation from the National University of San Marcos in 1958, he received a scholarship to study at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.^[16] In 1960, after his scholarship in Madrid had expired, Vargas Llosa moved to France under the impression that he would receive a scholarship to study there; however, upon arriving in Paris, he learned that his scholarship request was denied.^[17] Despite Mario and Julia's unexpected financial status, the couple decided to remain in Paris where he began to write prolifically.^[17] Their marriage lasted only a few more years, ending in divorce in 1964.^[18] A year later, Vargas Llosa married his first cousin, Patricia Llosa,^[18] with whom he had three children: Álvaro Vargas Llosa (born 1966), a writer and editor; Gonzalo (born 1967), a businessman; and Morgana (born 1974), a photographer. Manuel Apolinario Odría Amoretti (November 26, 1897–February 18, 1974) was the President of Peru from 1948 to 1956. ... National University of San Marcos or University of Saint Mark [1] (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), or simply San Marcos) is a public university in Lima, Peru. ... UCM redirects here. ... Álvaro Vargas Llosa (born 1966, Peru) is a writer. ...

Writing career

Beginning and first major works

Vargas Llosa's first novel, The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros), was published in 1963. The book is set among a community of cadets in a Lima military school, and the plot is based on the author's own experiences at Lima's Leoncio Prado Military Academy.^[19] This early piece gained wide public attention and immediate success.^[20] Its vitality and adept use of sophisticated literary techniques immediately impressed critics,^[21] and it won the Premio de la Crítica Española award.^[20] Nevertheless, its sharp criticism of the Peruvian military establishment led to controversy in Peru. Several Peruvian generals attacked the novel, claiming that it was the work of a "degenerate mind" and stating that Vargas Llosa was "paid by Ecuador" to undermine the prestige of the Peruvian Army.^[20] Mario Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian writer who is one of Latin Americas leading novelists and essayists. ...

In 1965, Vargas Llosa followed The Time of the Hero with The Green House (La casa verde), about a brothel called "The Green House" and how its quasi-mythical presence affects the lives of the characters. The main plot follows Bonifacia, a girl who is about to receive the vows of the church, and her transformation into la Selvatica, the best-known prostitute of "The Green House". The novel immediately received an enthusiastic critical reception, confirming Vargas Llosa as an important voice of Latin American narrative.^[22] The Green House won the first edition of the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize in 1967, contending with works by veteran Uruguayan writer Juan Carlos Onetti and by Gabriel García Márquez.^[23] This novel alone accumulated enough awards to place the author among the leading figures of the Latin American Boom.^[24] Some critics still consider The Green House to be Vargas Llosa's finest and most important achievement.^[24] Indeed, Latin American literary critic Gerald Martin suggests that The Green House is "one of the greatest novels to have emerged from Latin America".^[24] The Green House (La casa verde) is a 1966 novel by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. ... The Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize (Spanish: Premio internacional de novela Rómulo Gallegos) was created on 6 August 1964 by a presidential decree enacted by Venezuelan President Raúl Leoni, in honour of the Venezuelan writer and politician Rómulo Gallegos The declared purpose of the prize is... Juan Carlos Onetti, born July 1, 1909 in Montevideo, Uruguay - died May 30, 1994 in Madrid, Spain, was a novelist and short-story writer. ... Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez, also known as Gabo (born March 6, 1927[1] in Aracataca, Colombia) is a Colombian novelist, journalist, editor, publisher, political activist, and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Vargas Llosa's third novel, Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en la catedral), was published in 1969, when he was 33. This ambitious narrative is the story of Santiago Zavala, the son of a minister, and Ambrosio, his chauffeur.^[25] A random meeting at a dog pound leads the pair to a riveting conversation at a nearby bar known as "The Cathedral".^[26] During the encounter, Zavala searches for the truth about his father's role in the murder of a notorious Peruvian underworld figure, shedding light on the workings of a dictatorship along the way. Unfortunately for Zavala, his quest results in a dead end with no answers and no sign of a better future.^[27] The novel attacks the dictatorial government of Odría by showing how a dictatorship controls and destroys lives.^[20] The persistent theme of hopelessness makes Conversation in the Cathedral Vargas Llosa's most bitter novel.^[27] Animal shelters or (dog) pounds are either governmental or private organizations that provide temporary homes for stray or surrendered pet animals, most often dogs and cats, until the animal is reclaimed by the owner, adopted to a new owner, placed with another organization, or euthanized. ...

1970s and the "discovery of humor"

In 1971, Vargas Llosa published García Márquez: Story of a Deicide (García Márquez: historia de un deicidio) as his doctoral thesis for the University of London. His thesis was later published as a book.^[28] Although Vargas Llosa wrote this book-length study about his then friend, Nobel prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, they have not spoken to each other in more than 30 years. In 1976, Vargas Llosa punched García Márquez in the face in Mexico City at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, ending the friendship.^[29] Neither writer has publicly stated the underlying reasons for the quarrel.^[30] A photograph of García Márquez sporting a black eye was published in 2007, reigniting public interest in the feud.^[31] Despite the decades of silence, In 2007, Vargas Llosa agreed to allow part of his book to be used as the introduction to a 40th-anniversary edition of García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was re-released in Spain and throughout Latin America that year.^[32] Website http://www. ... René-François-Armand Prudhomme (1839–1907), a French poet and essayist, was the first person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901, in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is the premier opera house of Mexico City. ... One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish: ) is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that was first published in Spanish in 1967 (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana), with an English translation by Gregory Rabassa released in 1970 (New York: Harper and Row). ...

Following the monumental work Conversation in the Cathedral, Vargas Llosa's output shifted away from more serious themes such as politics and problems with society. Latin American literary scholar Raymond L. Williams describes this phase in his writing career as "the discovery of humor".^[33] His first attempt at a satirical novel was Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (Pantaleón y las visitadoras), published in 1973.^[34] This short, comic novel offers vignettes of dialogues and documents about the Peruvian armed forces and a corps of prostitutes assigned to visit military outposts in remote jungle areas.^[35] These plot elements are similar to Vargas Llosa's earlier novel The Green House; it is just that the form has changed. As such, Captain Pantoja and the Special Service is essentially a parody of both The Green House and the literary approach that novel represents.^[35] Vargas Llosa's motivation to write the novel came from actually witnessing prostitutes being hired by the Peruvian Army and brought to serve soldiers in the jungle.^[36] In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ...

From 1974 to 1987, Vargas Llosa focused on his writing, but also took the time to pursue other endeavors.^[37] In 1975, he co-directed a motion-picture adaptation of his novel, Captain Pantoja and the Secret Service.^[37] Following that unsuccessful production, he was elected President of the International PEN, a worldwide association of writers.^[37] During this time, Vargas Llosa constantly travelled to speak at conferences organized by internationally renowned institutions, such as the University of Jerusalem and the University of Cambridge.^[38] Logo of International PEN International PEN, the worldwide association of writers, was founded in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere; to emphasise the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding and world culture; to fight for freedom of expression; and to act as... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ...

In 1977, Vargas Llosa published Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (La tía Julia y el escribidor), based in part on his marriage to his first wife, Julia Urquidi, to whom he dedicated the novel.^[39] She later wrote a memoir, Lo que Varguitas no dijo (What Little Vargas Didn't Say), in which she gives her personal account of their relationship. She states that Vargas Llosa's account exaggerates many negative points in their courtship and marriage while minimizing her role of assisting his literary career.^[40] Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is considered one of the most striking examples of how the language and imagery of popular culture can be used in literature.^[41] The novel was adapted in 1990 into a Hollywood feature film, Tune in Tomorrow. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, originally written in Spanish as La tía Julia y el escribidor. ... Tune in Tomorrow is a film directed by Jon Amiel released in 1990 starring Barbara Hershey. ...

Later novels

Vargas Llosa's fourth major novel, The War of the End of the World (La guerra del fin del mundo), was published in 1981 and was his first attempt at a historical novel.^[42] This work initiated a radical change in Vargas Llosa's style towards themes such as messianism and irrational human behaviour.^[43] It recreates the War of Canudos, an incident in 19th-century Brazil in which an armed millenarian cult held off a siege by the national army for months.^[44] As in Vargas Llosa's earliest work, this novel carries a sober and serious theme, and its tone is dark.^[44] Vargas Llosa's bold exploration of humanity's propensity to idealize violence, and his account of a man-made catastrophe brought on by fanaticism, earned the novel substantial recognition.^[45] Because of book's ambition and execution, critics have argued that this is one of Vargas Llosa's greatest literary pieces.^[45] Even though the novel has been acclaimed in Brazil, it was initially poorly received because a foreigner was writing about a Brazilian theme.^[46] The book was also criticized as revolutionary and anti-socialist.^[47] Vargas Llosa claims that this book is his favorite and was his most difficult accomplishment.^[47] A historical novel a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Map of Northern Bahia, showing the location of Canudos The War of Canudos was a conflict between the state of Brazil and a group of some 30,000 settlers who had founded their own community in the northeastern state of Bahia, named Canudos. ... Millenarianism or millenarism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society after which all things will be changed in a positive (or sometimes negative or ambiguous) direction. ...

After completing The War of the End of the World, Vargas Llosa began to write novels that were significantly shorter than many of his earlier books. In 1983, he finished The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta (Historia de Mayta, 1984).^[42] The novel focuses on a leftist insurrection that took place on May 29, 1962 in the Andean city of Jauja.^[42] Later the same year, during the Sendero Luminoso uprising, Vargas Llosa was asked by the Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde Terry to join the Investigatory Commission, a task force to inquire into the horrific massacre of eight journalists at the hands of the villagers of Uchuraccay.^[48] The Commission's main purpose was to investigate the murders in order to provide information regarding the incident to the public.^[49] Following his involvement with the Investigatory Commission, Vargas Llosa published a series of articles to defend his position in the affair.^[49] In 1986, he completed his next novel, Who Killed Palomino Molero (¿Quién mató a Palomino Molero?), which he began writing shortly after the end of the Uchuraccay investigation.^[49] Though the plot of this mystery novel is similar to the tragic events at Uchuraccay, literary critic Roy Boland points out that it was not an attempt to reconstruct the murders, but rather a "literary exorcism" of Vargas Llosa's own experiences during the commission.^[50] The experience also inspired one of Vargas Llosa's later novels, Death in the Andes (Lituma en los Andes), originally published in 1993 in Barcelona.^[51] is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the mountain system in South America. ... Jauja is a town of 25,000 people in central Peru, capital of a province with a population of 105,000. ... Shining Paths Flag Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla organization in Peru; it calls itself the Communist Party of Peru (Partido Comunista del Perú). ... Fernando Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was President of Peru for two terms (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). ... “Mystery” redirects here. ...

It would be almost 20 years before Vargas Llosa wrote another major work: The Feast of the Goat (La fiesta del chivo), a political thriller, was published in 2000 (and in English in 2001). According to Williams, it is Vargas Llosa's most complete and most ambitious novel since The War of the End of the World.^[52] Based on the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, who governed the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961, the novel has three main strands: one concerns Urania Cabral, the daughter of a former politician and Trujillo loyalist, who returns for the first time since leaving the Dominican Republic after Trujillo's assassination 30 years earlier; the second concentrates on the assassination itself, the conspirators who carry it out, and its consequences; and the third and final strand deals with Trujillo himself in scenes from the end of his regime.^[52] The book quickly received positive reviews in Spain and Latin America,^[53] and has had a significant impact in Latin America, being regarded as one of Vargas Llosa's best works.^[52] The Feast of the Goat (Spanish title: La Fiesta del Chivo) (1996) is a novel by the Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa. ... A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. ... Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891–May 30, 1961) ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. ...

In 2006, Vargas Llosa wrote The Bad Girl (Travesuras de la niña mala), which journalist Kathryn Harrison approvingly argues is a rewrite (rather than simply a recycling) of the French modernist Gustave Flaubert's classic novel Madame Bovary (1856).^[54] In Vargas Llosa's version, the plot relates the decades-long obsession of its narrator, a Peruvian expatriate, with a woman with whom he first fell in love when both were teenagers. Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert (December 12, 1821 – May 8, 1880) was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. ... For the films, see Madame Bovary (film). ...

Later life and political involvement

Vargas Llosa 1990 election poster

Like many other Latin American intellectuals, Vargas Llosa was initially a supporter of the Cuban revolutionary government of Fidel Castro.^[22] He studied Marxism in depth as a university student and was later persuaded by communist ideals after the success of the Cuban Revolution.^[55] Gradually, Vargas Llosa came to believe that Cuban socialism was incompatible with what he considered to be general liberties and freedoms.^[56] The official rupture between the writer and the policies of the Cuban government occurred with the so-called Padilla Affair, when Fidel Castro imprisoned the poet Herberto Padilla. Vargas Llosa, along with other intellectuals of the time, wrote to Castro protesting against the Cuban political system and the imprisonment of the artist.^[57] Vargas Llosa has identified himself with neoliberalism rather than extreme left-wing political ideologies ever since.^[58] Since he relinquished his earlier leftism, he has opposed both left- and right-wing authoritarian regimes.^[59] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Belligerents 26th of July Movement Cuba Commanders Fidel Castro Che Guevara Raul Castro Fulgencio Batista The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batistas regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements within the country. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... For the school of international relations, see Neoliberalism in international relations. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ...

With his appointment to the Investigatory Commission in 1983 he experienced what literary critic Jean Franco calls "the most uncomfortable event in [his] political career".^[51] Unfortunately for Vargas Llosa, his involvement with the Investigatory Commission led to immediate negative reactions and defamation from the Peruvian press; many suggested that the massacre was a conspiracy to keep the journalists from reporting the presence of government paramilitary forces in Uchuraccay.^[49] The commission concluded that it was the indigenous villagers who had been responsible for the killings; for Vargas Llosa the incident showed "how vulnerable democracy is in Latin America and how easily it dies under dictatorships of the right and left".^[60] These conclusions, and Vargas Llosa personally, came under intense criticism: anthropologist Enrique Mayer, for instance, accused him of "paternalism",^[61] while fellow anthropologist Carlos Iván Degregori criticized him for his ignorance of the Andean world.^[62] Vargas Llosa was accused of actively colluding in a government cover-up of army involvement in the massacre.^[49] Latin American literature scholar Misha Kokotovic summarizes that the novelist was charged with seeing "indigenous cultures as a 'primitive' obstacle to the full realization of his Western model of modernity".^[63] Shocked both by the atrocity itself and then by the reaction his report had provoked, Vargas Llosa responded that his critics were apparently more concerned with his report than with the hundreds of peasants who would later die at the hands of the Sendero Luminoso guerrilla organization.^[64] Jean Franco is a British-born academic and literary critic known for her work on Latin American literature. ...

Vargas Llosa at the founding act of UPD, September 2007

Over the course of the decade, Vargas Llosa became known for his staunch neoliberal views. In 1987, he helped form and soon became a leader of the Movimiento Libertad.^[65] The following year his party entered a coalition with the parties of Peru's two principal conservative politicians at the time, ex-president Fernando Belaúnde Terry (of the Popular Action party) and Luis Bedoya Reyes (of the Partido Popular Cristiano), to form the tripartite center-right coalition known as Frente Democrático (FREDEMO).^[65] He ran for the presidency of Peru in 1990 as the candidate of the FREDEMO coalition. He proposed a drastic economic austerity program that frightened most of the country's poor; this program emphasized the need for privatization, a market economy, free trade, and most importantly, the dissemination of private property.^[66] During the campaign, his opponents read racy passages from his novels over the radio in an apparent attempt to shock voters.^{[citation needed]} Although he won the first round with 34% of the vote, Vargas Llosa was defeated by a then-unknown agricultural engineer, Alberto Fujimori, in the subsequent run-off.^[66] Vargas Llosa included an account of his run for the presidency in the memoir A Fish in the Water (El pez en el agua, 1993).^[67] Since his political defeat, he has focused mainly on his writing, with only an occasional political involvement.^[68] Union, Progress and Democracy (Spanish: , UPD or officially UPyD) is a Spanish political party founded in 2007 by former PSOE member Rosa Díez. ... The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by encouraging free... Liberty Movement (in Spanish: Movimiento Libertad), was a political party in Peru founded in 1987 by groups opposing the nationalization of the bank sector. ... Fernando Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was President of Peru for two terms (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian politician in the late 1960s. ... Democratic Front (in Spanish: Frente Democrático), was a political alliance in Peru founded in 1988 by Liberty Movement, Popular Action and Christian Peoples Party. ... Austerity is a term from economics that describes a policy where nations reduce living standards, curtail development projects, and generally shift the revenue stream out of the physical economy, in order to satisfy the demands of creditors. ... Alberto Kenya Fujimori (Spanish IPA: , Japanese IPA: ) (born in Lima, Peru on July 28, 1938), also known as Kenya Fujimori ) was President of Peru from July 28, 1990 to November 17, 2000. ...

Vargas Llosa has mainly lived in London since the 1990s,^[69] but spends roughly three months of the year in Peru.^[66] Vargas Llosa also acquired Spanish citizenship in 1993; he frequently visits Spain for various conferences and enjoys vacationing there.^[69] In 1994 he was elected a member of the Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy)^[69] and has been involved in the country's political arena. In February 2008 he stopped supporting the Partido Popular in favor of the recently created Union, Progress and Democracy, claiming that certain conservative views held by the former party are at odds with his classical liberal beliefs. His political ideologies appear in the book Política razonable, written with Fernando Savater, Rosa Díez, Álvaro Pombo, Albert Boadella and Carlos Martínez Gorriarán.^[70] He continues to write, both journalism and fiction, and to travel extensively. He has also taught as a visiting professor at a number of prominent universities.^[71] The Real Academia Española (Spanish for Royal Spanish Academy, RAE) is the institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. ... The Peoples Party (Spanish: Partido Popular, PP) is the largest right-wing political party in Spain. ... Union, Progress and Democracy (Spanish: , UPD or officially UPyD) is a Spanish political party founded in 2007 by former PSOE member Rosa Díez. ... Fernando Savater is a Spanish philosopher, born in San Sebastián in 1947. ... Rosa Díez González (born May 27, 1952) is a Spanish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. ...

Style

Plot, setting, and major themes

An English translation of The Feast of the Goat (2000) from 2001

Vargas Llosa's style encompasses historical material as well as his own personal experiences.^[72] For example, in his first novel, The Time of the Hero, his own experiences at the Leoncio Prado military school informed his depiction of the corrupt social institution which mocked the moral standards it was supposed to uphold.^[19] Furthermore, the corruption of the book's school is a reflection of the corruption of Peruvian society at the time the novel was written.^[21] Vargas Llosa frequently uses his writing to challenge the inadequacies of society, such as demoralization and oppression by those in political power towards those who challenge this power. One of the main themes he has explored in his writing is the individual's struggle for freedom within an oppressive reality.^[73] For example, his two-volume novel Conversation in the Cathedral is based on the tyrannical dictatorship of Peruvian President Manuel A. Odría.^[74] The protagonist, Santiago, rebels against the suffocating dictatorship by participating in the subversive activities of leftist political groups.^[75] In addition to themes such as corruption and oppression, Vargas Llosa's second novel, The Green House, explores "a denunciation of Peru's basic institutions", dealing with issues of abuse and exploitation of the workers in the brothel by corrupt military officers.^[33] The Feast of the Goat (Spanish title: La Fiesta del Chivo) (1996) is a novel by the Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa. ... Manuel Apolinario Odría Amoretti (November 26, 1897–February 18, 1974) was the President of Peru from 1948 to 1956. ...

Many of Vargas Llosa's earlier novels were set in Peru, while in more recent work he has expanded to other regions of Latin America, such as Brazil and the Dominican Republic.^[76] His responsibilities as a writer and lecturer have allowed him to travel frequently and led to settings for his novels in regions outside of Peru.^[37] The War of the End of the World was his first major work set outside Peru.^[20] Though the plot deals with historical events of the Canudos revolt against the Brazilian government, the novel is not based directly on historical fact; rather, its main inspiration is the non-fiction account of those events published by Brazilian writer Euclides da Cunha in 1902.^[44] The Feast of the Goat, based on the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, takes place in the Dominican Republic;^[52] in preparation for this novel, Vargas Llosa undertook a comprehensive study of Dominican history.^[77] The novel was characteristically realist, and Vargas Llosa underscores that he "respected the basic facts, [. . .] I have not exaggerated", but at the same time he points out "It's a novel, not a history book, so I took many, many liberties."^[78] Canudos was a town founded in the Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antonio Maciel, an itinerant preacher who had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited climes of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a band of loyal supporters. ... Caricature of Euclides da Cunha by Raul Pederneiras. ... Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891–May 30, 1961) ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. ... // Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society as they were. In the spirit of general realism, Realist authors opted for...

One of Vargas Llosa's more recent novels, The Way to Paradise (El paraíso en la otra esquina), is set largely in France and Tahiti.^[79] Based on the biography of former social reformer Flora Tristan, it demonstrates how Flora and Paul Gauguin were unable to find paradise, but were still able to inspire followers to keep working towards a socialist utopia.^[80] Unfortunately, Vargas Llosa was not as successful in transforming these historical figures into fiction. Some critics, such as Barbara Mujica, argue that The Way to Paradise lacks the "audacity, energy, political vision, and narrative genius" that was present in his previous works.^[81] Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of the French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. ... Flora Tristan, grandmother of Paul Gauguin Flora Tristan (born April 7, 1803 in Paris, France - died November 14, 1844 in Bordeaux, France) was a socialist writer and activist. ... Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a leading Post-Impressionist painter. ... For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ...

Modernism and postmodernism

The works of Mario Vargas Llosa are viewed as both modernist and postmodernist novels.^[82] Though there is still much debate over the differences between modernist and postmodernist literature, literary scholar M. Keith Booker claims that the difficulty and technical complexity of Vargas Llosa's early works, such as The Green House and Conversation in the Cathedral, are clearly elements of the modern novel.^[24] Furthermore, these earlier novels all carry a certain seriousness of attitude—another important defining aspect of modernist art.^[82] By contrast, his later novels such as Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta, and The Storyteller (El hablador) appear to follow a postmodernist mode of writing.^[83] These novels have a much lighter, farcical, and comic tone, characteristics of postmodernism.^[35] Comparing two of Vargas Llosa's novels, The Green House and Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, Booker discusses the contrast between modernism and postmodernism found in the writer's works: while both novels explore the theme of prostitution as well as the workings of the Peruvian military, Booker points out that the former is gravely serious whereas the latter is ridiculously comic.^[35] This article focuses on the cultural movement labeled modernism or the modern movement. See also: Modernism (Roman Catholicism) or Modernist Christianity; Modernismo for specific art movement(s) in Spain and Catalonia. ... Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Look up farce in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Interlacing dialogues

Literary scholar M. Keith Booker argues that Vargas Llosa perfects the technique of interlacing dialogues in his novel The Green House.^[35] By combining two conversations that occur at different times, he creates the illusion of a flashback. Vargas Llosa also sometimes uses this technique as a means of shifting location by weaving together two concurrent conversations happening in different places.^[84] This technique is a staple of his repertoire, which he began using near the end of his first novel, The Time of the Hero.^[85] However, he does not use interlacing dialogues in the same way in all of his novels. For example, in The Green House the technique is used in a serious fashion to achieve a sober tone and to focus on the interrelatedness of important events separated in time or space.^[86] In contrast, Captain Pantoja and the Special Service employs this strategy for comic effects and uses simpler spatial shifts.^[87] This device is similar to both Virginia Woolf's mixing of different characters' soliloquies and Gustave Flaubert's counterpoint technique in which he blends together conversation with other events, such as speeches.^[84] In literature, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. ... For the American writer, see Virginia Euwer Wolff. ... For other uses, see Counterpoint (disambiguation). ...

Literary influences

Vargas Llosa's first literary influences were relatively obscure Peruvian writers such as Martín Adán, Carlos Oquendo de Amat, and César Moro.^[88] As a young writer, he looked to these revolutionary novelists in search of new narrative structures and techniques in order to delineate a more contemporary, multifaceted experience of urban Peru. He was looking for a style different from the traditional descriptions of land and rural life made famous by Peru's foremost novelist at the time, José María Arguedas.^[89] Vargas Llosa wrote of Arguedas's work that it was "an example of old-fashioned regionalism that had already exhausted its imaginary possibilities".^[88] Although he did not share Arguedas's passion for indigenous reality, Vargas Llosa admired and respected the novelist for his contributions to Peruvian literature.^[90] Indeed, he has published a book-length study on his work, La utopía arcaica (1996). Martín Adán (Lima, 1908 - 1985), pseudonym of Rafael de la Fuente Benavides, was a Peruvian poet whose body of work is notable for its hermeticism and metaphysical depth. ... José María Arguedas (18 January 1911 – 28 November 1969) was a Peruvian novelist (writing in Spanish) although he also wrote poetry in Quechua. ...

Rather than restrict himself to Peruvian literature, Vargas Llosa also looked abroad for literary inspiration. Two French figures, existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and novelist Gustave Flaubert, influenced both his technique and style.^[91] Sartre's influence is most prevalent in Vargas Llosa's extensive use of conversation.^[92] The epigraph of The Time of the Hero, his first novel, is also taken directly from Sartre's work.^[93] Flaubert's artistic independence—his novels' disregard of reality and morals—has always been admired by Vargas Llosa,^[94] who wrote a book-length study of Flaubert's aesthetics, The Perpetual Orgy.^[95] In his analysis of Flaubert, Vargas Llosa questions the revolutionary power of literature in a political setting;^[96] this is in contrast to his earlier view that "literature is an act of rebellion", thus marking a transition in Vargas Llosa's aesthetic beliefs.^[96] Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ... Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (pronounced: ), was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. ... Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert (December 12, 1821 – May 8, 1880) was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. ... Aesthetics is commonly perceived as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. ...

One of Vargas Llosa's favourite novelists, and arguably the most influential on his writing career, is the American William Faulkner.^[97] Vargas Llosa considers Faulkner "the writer who perfected the methods of the modern novel".^[98] Both writers' styles include intricate changes in time and narration.^[92][98] In The Time of the Hero, for example, aspects of Vargas Llosa's plot, his main character's development and his use of narrative time are influenced by his favourite Faulkner novel, Light in August.^[99] William Cuthbert Faulkner (born William Falkner), (September 25, 1897–July 6, 1962) was an American author. ... Cover. ...

In addition to the studis of Arguedas and Flaubert, Vargas Llosa has written literary criticisms of other authors that he has admired, such as Gabriel García Márquez, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, and Jean Paul Sartre.^[100] The main goals of his non-fiction works are to acknowledge the influence of these authors on his writing, and to recognize a connection between himself and the other writers;^[100] critic Sara Castro-Klarén argues that he offers little systematic analysis of these authors' literary techniques.^[100] In The Perpetual Orgy, for example, he discusses the relationship between his own aesthetics and Flaubert's, rather than focusing on Flaubert's alone.^[101] For other uses, see Camus. ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... Jean Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre (June 21, 1905–April 15, 1980) was a French existentialist philosopher, dramatist, novelist and critic. ...

Legacy

Mario Vargas Llosa's signature

Mario Vargas Llosa is considered a major Latin American writer,^[102] alongside other greats such as Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes.^[102] In his book The New Novel in Latin America (La Nueva Novela), Fuentes offers an in-depth literary criticism of the positive influence Vargas Llosa's work has had on Latin American literature.^[103] Indeed, for the literary critic Gerald Martin, writing in 1987, Vargas Llosa was "perhaps the most successful [. . . and] certainly the most controversial Latin American novelist of the past twenty-five years".^[104] Julio Cortázar (August 26, 1914 – February 12, 1984) was a Belgian-born Argentine intellectual and author of experimental novels and short stories. ... Borges redirects here. ... Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (born November 11, 1928) is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. ...

Most of Vargas Llosa's narratives have been translated into multiple languages, marking his international critical success.^[102] Vargas Llosa is also noted for his substantial contribution to journalism, an accomplishment characteristic of few other Latin American writers.^[105] He is recognized among those who have most consciously promoted literature in general, and more specifically the novel itself, as avenues for meaningful commentary about life.^[106] During his prolific career, he has written more than a dozen novels and many other books and stories, and, for decades, he has been a voice for Latin American literature.^[107] He has won numerous awards for his writing, from the 1959 Premio Leopoldo Alas and the 1962 Premio Biblioteca Breve to the 1993 Premio Planeta (for Death in the Andes) and the Jerusalem Prize in 1995.^[108] The most important distinction he has received is probably the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, usually considered the most important accolade in Spanish-language literature and awarded to authors whose "work has contributed to enrich, in a notable way, the literary patrimony of the Spanish language".^[109] The Premio Planeta is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the publisher Planeta to an original novel written in Spanish. ... The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose work has dealt with themes of human freedom, society, politics, and government. ... Premio Miguel de Cervantes (the Miguel de Cervantes Prize) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. ...

A number of Vargas Llosa's works have been adapted for the screen, including The Time of the Hero and Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (both by the distinguished Peruvian director Francisco Lombardi) and The Feast of the Goat (by Vargas Llosa's cousin, Luis Llosa).^[110] Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter was turned into the English-language film, Tune in Tomorrow. The Feast of the Goat has also been adapted as a theatrical play by Jorge Alí Triana, a Colombian playwright and director.^[111] Luis Llosa is a film director. ... Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, originally written in Spanish as La tía Julia y el escribidor. ... Tune in Tomorrow is a film directed by Jon Amiel released in 1990 starring Barbara Hershey. ...

List of selected works

Vargas Llosa's essays and journalism have been collected as Contra viento y marea, issued in three volumes (1983, 1986, and 1990). A selection has been edited by John King and translated and published as Making Waves. Mario Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian writer who is one of Latin Americas leading novelists and essayists. ... The Green House (La casa verde) is a 1966 novel by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. ... Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, originally written in Spanish as La tía Julia y el escribidor. ... Who Killed Palomino Molero? is a 1987 novel by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. ... The Feast of the Goat (Spanish title: La Fiesta del Chivo) (1996) is a novel by the Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa. ...

Notes