Mario Vargas Llosa - by Gerald Martin (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Could any biographer have been better suited to this gargantuan undertaking?" -The New York Times, on Gerald Martin's Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life

The long-awaited first biography of Mario Vargas Llosa, Latin America's greatest contemporary writer, from acclaimed biographer Gerald Martin.

Book Synopsis

The long-awaited first biography of Mario Vargas Llosa, Latin America's greatest contemporary writer, from acclaimed biographer Gerald Martin.

Mario Vargas Llosa is often considered not only the greatest contemporary writer from his continent but the most influential intellectual in the entire Hispanic world. This is the first authoritative and comprehensive biography of the brilliant author of Conversation in the Cathedral, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, and The Feast of the Goat, a man who ran for the presidency of Peru in 1990 and in 2010 won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The long life of Vargas Llosa is one of variety and eccentricity. He has never stopped writing and traveling, and he has certainly never been far from political controversy. Handsome, elegant, and debonair, Vargas Llosa not only is a giant of social influence and literature but has been on a political journey that has taken him across the spectrum. But behind his compelling public story, his personal life is one of deep intrigue. This captivating biography will be the first to unveil the mystery surrounding the personal, literary, and political relationships between Vargas Llosa and the public, his family, and his contemporaries-confidantes and enemies alike-including Gabriel García Márquez.

With privileged access to Vargas Llosa's archives and papers, Gerald Martin brings meticulous research, scrupulous attention to detail, and narrative verve to bear on a life that has towered over global literature for decades.

Review Quotes

"Could any biographer have been better suited to this gargantuan undertaking? Absolutely not: Mr. Martin is the ideal man for the job. . . . An intensive, assured, penetratingly analytical book." --New York Times, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

"Nothing short of a revelation . . . Martin has understood, as far as it is possible for a biographer to understand, the motivations and experiences that have guided Gabo, and all of us who love the maestro's work are grateful for it . . . Extraordinary." --Los Angeles Times, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

"Terrific. . . . Crisp, clear, compelling. . . . A biography that is fresh and insightful." --USA Today, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

"A masterful, admiring (but far from fawning) biography. . . . A marvel of investigation, clarity and just plain sorting things out from the myths García Márquez has himself propagated." --San Francisco Chronicle, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

"Astonishing. Martin writes with a novelist's momentum. His descriptions of García Márquez's hometown, Aracataca, are atmospheric without being cloying; he conducts literary exegesis deftly, like a detective hunting for clues . . . García Márquez seems to be many different men, but his biographer handles the contradictions with finesse." --Publishers Weekly, starred review, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

"This well-researched, authorized biography offers a total immersion into the author's life and career . . . A brilliant and lasting biographical treatment." --Booklist, starred review, on GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: A LIFE

About the Author

Gerald Martin is Professor of Modern Languages Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh and a former president of the International Institute of Ibero-American Literature. His publications include Journeys Through the Labyrinth: Latin American Fiction in the Twentieth Century and Gabriel García Márquez: A Life. He has visited or resided in all the nations of Latin America, as well as France, Spain and the United States, and currently lives in Hampshire in the United Kingdom.