The Birdcage Archives

Monday, 14 April 2025

Mario Vargas Llosa Dies Aged 89

Hello Gentle Reader,

It is difficult to imagine the Latin American Boom without the late Julio Cortázar, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Carlos Fuentes, or Mario Vargas Llosa. These vanguard writers followed Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, and Miguel Ángel Asturias, continuing to push and elevate the southern continent to forefront of literary ingenuity in addition to being unapologetically committed commentary on political issues of the time; and while Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” is considered a monumental text of the boom and a defining novel of magical realism, the contributions of Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa are no less remarkable or trifle. Mario Vargas Llosa is credit for bridging the initial critical assessment of the Latin American Boom with the ‘old world,’ literary establishment, with his critical assessment and study of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1971. Their short literary friendship, however, was short lived as they were engaged in a physical altercation by the mid 70’s. the cause of the feud remains unknown. As a writer Mario Vargas Llosa was unapologetically prolific, writing in a variety of genres and forms, which ranged from epic, to historical, to comedic, to murder mystery, to essays and criticism. Vargas Llosa’s debut novel “The Time of the Hero,” showcase the authors prodigal talents for experimentation and complex narratives, as the novel itself utilizes multiple narratives and points of views in a non-linear fashion detailing the cruelties of a military academy education, while providing an examination of issues regarding hierarchy, matters of masculinity as a social and common culture institution, and secrecy. “The Time of the Hero,” is viewed within the context as an examination and reflection of Peruvian society as a whole. Of course it was the novel “Conversations in the Cathedral,” which catapulted Mario Vargas Llosa to literary stardom. Once an again, Vargas Llosa blended and experimented with narrative and structure within the novel, cementing Mario Vargas Llosa as one of the defining figures of the Latin American Boom, and being considered one of the great innovators (and soon to be controversial) writers of his generation. In his younger years, as is typical fashion, Mario Vargas Llosa was politically motivated and outspoken often for left-wing and Marxist oriented causes, including being a supporter of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. However, Vargas Llosa became disenfranchised with these movements, souring on Castro, after the Padilla Affair. More interesting, however, Mario Vargas Llosa would later take a run for president, but was destroyed in the race and never ran for public office again. His later years of political engagement included more intense focus on supporting right-wing causes and movements, a far cry from his youthful political enthusiasm. Throughout his extraordinary life and career, Mario Vargas Llosa accumulated a reputation of being an unrelenting giant, a force of nature whose work had the conviction and confidence to achieve greatness, and by 2010 Mario Vargas Llosa receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Now dead at 89, Mario Vargas Llosa’s legacy both literary and politically are intertwined and create a controversial and at times difficult legacy to reconcile if not completely appreciate.

Regardless, Rest in Peace, Mario Vargas Llosa, who indeed lived a very eventful and adventurous life.

Thank you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
 
M. Mary

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