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Mario Vargas Llosa has died
- wslh 1y agohttps://archive.is/O9z7U https://archive.is/O9z7U
- treetalker 1y agoI can recommend his Los cachorros (The Cubs).
- forinti 1y agoI've read many of his books and I could certainly recommend all of them. He was an extraordinary writer.
- Mainan_Tagonist 1y agoI acquired that one in Argentina last year, will probably read it next week. I only ever read Lituma en Los Andes and El Sueño del Celta, they were nice enough.
- flobosg 1y agoMy mind was blown when I read it as a teenager.
- agigao 1y agoThe War of the End of the World, unfortunately the only book I read, but it left a lasting impression. Rest in peace.
- alanvillalobos 1y agoProbably my favorite author of fiction. The feast of the goat (la fiesta del chivo) is at the top of my list if you have not read him.
- svara 1y agoI agree, and I agree with that recommendation. It's the first one of his books that I read and I remember being completely in awe at his ability to write a novel as if he had a machine that allowed him to look into the minds of anyone at any time or place and then document what he saw. That novel is about a totalitarian system, that of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, and it's eerie how I started seeing the little details of human behavior that enable it in the story elsewhere later as well.
- hybrid_study 1y ago"La Fiesta del Chivo" brilliantly captures the vibrant essence of Dominican mannerisms and the melodic rhythm of the Spanish accent, instantly transporting me back to the DR. Beyond its rich cultural portrayal, the novel masterfully unfolds its gripping subject matter with unforgettable power. Que en paz descanze.
- ErneX 1y ago*descanse
- hybrid_study 1y agozhank you
- nomdep 1y agoHe was a hugely talented writer, but I hate all his books because of how depressing they are.
- DeathArrow 1y agoOne of my favorite authors and one of the best novelists of all times. I am grateful he existed and that he wrote so much amazing books. I am sad that he's gone. May he rest in peace!
- brunorsini 1y agoHe once punched Gabriel García Márquez. I remember learning about this while reading Vargas Llosa as an adolescent, still sounds hard to believe: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/03/06/when-mario-vargas-llosa-punched-gabriel-garcia-marquez https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/03/06/when-mario-va...
- solarexplorer 1y agoMore details here: https://archive.ph/vabvA https://archive.ph/vabvA (Spanish)
- moomin 1y agoConversation in the Cathedral absolutely blew my mind when I first read it. Honestly, just the first section would have made a great book all on its own.
- codingbot3000 1y agomuy triste :(
- l3x 1y agoRecent article on him in the London Review of Books, exploring his rightward turn as he grew older: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n05/tony-wood/why-did-he-turn https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n05/tony-wood/why-did-he...
- briandear 1y agoFairly biased article: “In 2018, he celebrated Lula’s imprisonment in Brazil on dubious corruption charges, and the following year exulted in the right-wing coup that deposed Evo Morales in Bolivia. Since then he has voiced his support for far-right candidates such as José Antonio Kast in Chile and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil…” “Dubious” charges against Lula? — He was convicted of accepting a seaside apartment as a bribe for helping the OAS construction company get lucrative deals with state oil firm Petrobras. Did Lula not do that? The claim is that Lula was targeted to keep him out of the election. Seems exactly the motivation for the various charges against Trump. Are charges dubious only when the right does that against the left? Marine Le Pen is another recent example of “dubious” charges being ok as long as it’s only going left against right. Also Bolsonaro was termed “far right,” but Lula not called “far left?” Does anyone actually do any neutral reporting or analysis? It seems that anyone to the right of JFK is “far right” while anyone to the left of Marx is “left leaning.” More importantly, does anyone care any more? Seems like tribalism has gotten much worse over the past few years. The truth is, in the example of Lula is that is is/was very corrupt, but that he’s a leftist seems to excuse that.
- noobr 1y agoLula "far left" lol I wish...
- ggus 1y agoBolsonaro termed "far right" seems to be on the mark though. The guy praises military dictatorship, with many military figures in his government. He targeted the press and judiciary as enemies of the nation, and so on. Lula hasn't nationalized industries, hasn't seized wealth, or even tried to, so "far left" doesn't seem to be as fitting. Where are the burnt churches? Now, about corruption, I'm pretty sure neither shine, but that's Brazil for you. Wasn't the Bolsonaro family found to have bought around 50 properties in cash? Smells about as corrupt as the other side, sadly.
- culebron21 1y agoRead him while learning Spanish. Conversación en la Catedral is very saddening, but left long lasting impressions and made me a hint to read on history of South America.
- toomuchtodo 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Vargas_Llosa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Vargas_Llosa
- dhosek 1y agoI realized last night that I’ve never read anything by him in translation (there was one book in English—A Writer’s Reality—which was in English, but that book was based on lectures given in English and there is no Spanish original. As my ex-wife often says, “No good reason to read the translation if you can read the original.” La Fiesta de la Chivo influenced the form of the novel I’m currently querying (which, despite having had three excerpts published as short stories, appears destined to be yet another trunked work). The biggest challenge I found reading Vargas Llosa is that section and chapter breaks tend to be infrequent giving fewer opportunities to pause while reading.
- JadeNB 1y ago> The biggest challenge I found reading Vargas Llosa is that section and chapter breaks tend to be infrequent giving fewer opportunities to pause while reading. I don't mean to be snarky, but, seriously, can't you just pause whenever you want? I understand that the lack of breaks mean that the book doesn't define natural points to pause, but it still seems that one can impose such breaks oneself.
- solarexplorer 1y agoYes, in theory you can pause at any point, but in practice it is not that easy to stop. I remember not hearing the boarding call and losing a flight while reading La fiesta del chivo…
- froidpink 1y agothat good eh
- dhosek 1y agoI prefer to pause reading at chapter breaks or, if necessary section breaks. Of course, with some authors you may be looking for paragraph breaks (and in the case of Proust, even those might be dozens of pages apart). Natural breaks in the narrative just make the most sense for stopping off and resuming a read.
- bbqfog 1y agoThe War of The End of The World is one of the best books I’ve ever read: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_End_of_the_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_End_of_the_Wo...
- outside1234 1y agoFor folks reading in Spanish here, what is his most accessible work? (I am a ~B2 in Spanish and have wanted to read a novel of his for a while.)
- seizethecheese 1y agoI found his memoir much more readable in Spanish than his fiction.
- icar 1y ago[flagged]
- m0llusk 1y agoBut first a Communist revolutionary. Interesting and also kind of unfortunate that those who seek fundamental change in political formulations seem frequently to thrash about like this. Moderate incrementalism doesn't get as much attention or press but seems a highly competitive alternative.
- diego_sandoval 1y agoHe was never an outright fascist. The closest that he was to it was when he was young and supported the Cuban Revolution, which he later regretted. After that, he was a classic liberal through the last 50 years of his life.
- urda 1y agoGift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/books/review/mario-vargas-llosa-appraisal.html?unlocked_article_code=1._k4.ZprM.qZMOw7of11_6 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/books/review/mario-vargas...
- jpfdez 1y ago“Four, said the Jaguar”
- snvzz 1y agoLa ciudad y los perros sure is a great, if messed up, book.