In Memoriam: Mario Vargas Llosa

The passing of Llosa marks the passing of one of South America's best novelists. As someone not aligned with the global left, Llosa will never garner the acclaim of some of his South American contemporaries, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Pablo Neruda, however I have found his works to be more influential in my own life. What follows is a quick overview of four of his works that I have especially enjoyed and a plea to pick one of them up in his memory.

I would argue his masterpiece and one almost Dostoevskian is The War at the End of the World. In plot terms, the novel depicts the journey of a Brazilian army towards Canudos, a Christian-socialist commune home to criminals, slaves, and the poor. In grander terms, the novel draws forth the ideas of what it means to be a follower of Christ and society, to follow one's passion, and to understand what the Christian mission might be received in the modern world. Although dense, it is this novel that got me hooked on Llosa's writing and remains one of my five-star novels.

The second work I read and one that likewise looks at politics and society is The Feast of the Goat. Here, Llosa looks at the relationship of power, society, and the individual through the eyes of a woman reflecting on her time growing up in the Dominican Republic of Rafael Trujillo. This work moves quickly and powerfully, its writing is superb and catapulted Llosa to the Nobel Prize in Literature. Its sometimes brutal depiction of the horrors of the regime may form a bar for entry-readers to Llosa's canon, however its structure forms a wonderful entry point.

Llosa's Conversation in The Cathedral is rooted in his youth in Peru. This examination of Peruvian society during the dictatorship of Odria is complex and varied - with multiple characters, plot points, intersections, and interactions. Through it all, Llosa provides a view of the humanity affected by the corruption of the regime. The complexity of the text and the references can make it a difficult work for those unfamiliar with the history, but its pathos makes the work worth it as it builds.

My most recent read from Llosa's oeuvre is 1993's Death in the Andes. The novel examines the impact of The Shining Path rebel organization, native religion, police, and love amidst the poor and corrupt society in rural Peru. I found this work a more difficult read than the first two - largely because of its historical footing - however the mystery is resolved in a way that promotes its themes and introspection.

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