Mario Vargas Llosa Biography

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer and the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is well-known for his standing in the Latin American “boom” movement of writers. Apart from being a novelist, he is also a journalist, essayist, politician and college professor. He initially received worldwide attention during the 1960s, alongside the rising fame of other various “boom” writers, such as Gabriel García Márquez or Julio Cortázar. Several of his novels have been adapted into films. Generally, the narratives in his writings focus on Peruvian life, though his essays have spanned broader themes, related to issues felt elsewhere in the world. The political bent of his writings culminated in a bid for the Peruvian presidency in 1990, which was not successful. Vargas Llosa’s political outlook has transitioned over the years from far left to liberalism or neoliberalism in later years. His writing style has also evolved, with some critics describing earlier works as evidencing traces of literary modernism and later works as being decidedly postmodern. After his highly acclaimed work, ‘Conversation in the Cathedral’, Vargas Llosa’s work also shifted from solely centering on more serious themes, such as politics or social ills, to include humorous elements in addition to deeper themes