Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Peru
Mario Vargas Llosa is one of the most prominent writers from Latin America who also won the Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 2010. Llosa’s novels, essays and other writings have helped the readers understand the social and political landscape of Latin America during his time. His childhood shaped his opinions about life and he grew up to be one of the most vocal critics of the government when he was able to draw parallels between his authoritarian father and the dictatorial system. While his father sent him to Leoncio Prado Military Academy to stifle his literary ambitions, he not only rebelled against his father, but also ended up marrying his maternal uncle’s sister-in-law Julia Urquidi, who was eleven years older than him and divorced. He drew upon these experiences to write his novel, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (which was later adapted as a feature film in 1990).
In the latest novel, ‘The Neighbourhood’ (2018), Llosa explores the story of an influential industrialist, Enrique, who lives a colourful life. A series of salacious pictures end up putting him in the spot and after the mysterious murder of the editor of the magazine (which published his pictures), Rolando Garro, he becomes the prime suspect. While Llosa’s new book is nowhere close to the books which placed him the Nobel laureate league, it is an audacious book from an 81-year old writer.
For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/
The Envoy 