Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025)

This is a joint guest post written by the staff of the Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division in memory of Mario Vargas Llosa.

The world lost a towering literary figure this week. Nobel-prize winning Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa passed away on April 13, 2025, at the age of 89. Widely known for his work in fiction, he was one of the most prominent members of Latin American Boom of the 1960s and 70s. His most well-known works include La Ciudad de los Perros (The Time of the Hero) (1963), La casa verde (The Green House) (1966), and La guerra del fin del mundo (The War of the End of the World) (1981). He also wrote short story collections, including Los jefes (The Leaders) (1959), and essays. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages, and in addition to the Nobel Prize, he has received numerous other awards such as the Leopoldo Alas Book Prize, the Ritz Paris Hemingway Award, the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize.

The mission of libraries is to preserve contributions to arts, culture, and history for future generations. The Library of Congress has achieved this goal with Mario Vargas Llosa. The Library holds a recording, Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa reads from his work and is interviewed by José Miguel Oviedo, of the author reading from his then unpublished manuscript of La tía Julia y el escribidor (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter), which at the time of the recording had a different title. Alongside this recording, we included a short biography that situates his work among the renown luminaries of the world. His range of writing itself is impressive – from historical novels and comedies to murder mysteries and literary criticism. As a true testament to his skill as a storyteller, several of his novels have been turned into films.

To learn more about publications by and about Vargas Llosa, you may wish to immerse yourself in the Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) annotated bibliography. An example is the entry for La tía Julia y el escribidor (1977): “A hilarious exercise of self-conscious intra-textuality in which the author exorcizes the demons of the writer. A study in the making of a writer…. Biographers may consider the work as the author’s sentimental education and rites of passage into the career of writer. A fascinating document, as well, of camp art and popular soaps or radio novels…. Fascinating also as satire and social commentary” [HLAS contributor Djelal Kadir]. The 1982 translation, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, is also described in HLAS: “‘Admirable’ translation by Helen Lane of this semi-autobiographical novel. According to Julie Jones, Vargas Llosa ‘justifies the incorporation of melodramatic material in serious literature by arguing that melodrama is real, is human’” [HLAS contributor Margaret Sayers Peden].

Vargas Llosa was featured at the Library of Congress in many ways throughout his lifetime:

• as part of the Great American Translators segment of the Behind the Book series in 2021: Great American Translators Edith Grossman and Mario Vargas Llosa
• as the subject of a 2017 episode on La Biblioteca podcast: Listening to Mario Vargas Llosa
  
• at the 2012 National Book Festival: Mario Vargas Llosa: 2012 National Book Festival

In 2016, the Library of Congress recognized Vargas Llosa as part of the Living Legends project, initiated in preparation for the bicentennial celebration of the Library of Congress in 2000. The program honored individuals who have made significant contributions to America’s diverse cultural, scientific, and social heritage. You can watch the presentation here: Mario Vargas Llosa: Living Legend Award Ceremony.

The Embassy of Peru has opened a book of condolences, which is available at its headquarters (1700 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036) for those who wish to express their condolences for this immeasurable loss. Que en paz descanse.