Mario Vargas Llosa Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Plays

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian and Spanish published author. In addition to being an author, he is an essayist, a journalist, college professor, politician, and a Nobel Prize laureate. He is very well known for being one of the top writers to come from his generation and Latin America. He has been regarded as having a large global audience and international impact. He received the Nobel Prize for his work in literature in 2010.

Born on March 28, 1936 in Peru, Llosa would go on to become one of the definitive authors to come out of South America for his time. His first novel to be published was titled The Green House, which debuted in 1965. He would go on to come out with several more novels. These include The Time of the Hero, Conversation in the Cathedral, and more.

In the sixties, he gained traction for his literary career. Subsequently, Vargas Llosa has been able to cast his net across a wide array of genres in the literary world. From historical novels to comedies, murder mysteries, and even political thrillers, he has composed stories that capture the imagination of readers. In addition to writing books, he has also composed essays that have been widely read in the form of critical works on authors’ books and opinion pieces published in the newspapers.

Some of his works were even adapted to become movies. These were his novels Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, which was published in 1978, and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, which came out in 1982.

Much of his writing has been inspired by his own life as a native as a Peru and observing the nuances of Peruvian society. He has also moved beyond this examination of just one country and has been able to include a range of themes that deal with other areas of the globe. His essays in particular have often included his criticism and thoughts on the subject of nationalism and how it exists in different areas around the world. He has also been noted to shift from literary modernism to postmodernism, often with a playful nature.

Vargas Llosa has said that an author’s job is to consider their moral obligation and not just their artistic obligation to write about what they believe and defend it with commitment and rigor. The writer considers the position of being an author to have responsibility to participate in the debate on civics and more, and that literature can become impoverished if separated from people, society, and life.

It is perhaps not that surprising that the Latin American author did branch outside of literature into politics as he had been politically active for quite some time. At first, he supported Fidel Castro’s Cuban government but later fell out of this affinity, becoming disillusioned with the policies in part thanks to a 1971 imprisonment of Hubert Padilla, a poet.

Llosa would become a contender in 1990 to become the president of Peru. He would run for the position but would lose to Alberto Fujimori. True to his artistic nature, he decided to put down much of the experience into works for A Fish in the Water, his memoir that was published in 1994.

Vargas has written several nonfiction novels as well as plays and even a novella. His plays include the 1990 Three Plays and Mistress of Desires, published in 2017. He has a collection of stories, called The Cubs and Other Stories, which was published in 1967. His novella The Children’s Boat was made available to readers in 2019.

The Green House is the debut fictional novel from author Mario Vargas Llosa. It was published for the first time in 1965. If you are looking for a classic novel to read, this is a great choice.

This early story from Llosa is set in a town in Peru, located somewhere between the jungle and the desert. This town does not have an overly busy culture, so the residents frequently find themselves bored. The lack of things to do means that lust is a frequent source of breaking up the boredom.

Don Anselmo is a main character in this novel that is more than he seems. While his charming personality wins over the people of the town, this stranger to the area also has another agenda. The man in the black coat constructs a brothel on the town’s edges, all while continuing to win over the locals.

Little does he know that the ‘Green House’, as the brothel is called, may put into motion a series of events that may have far-reaching consequences. The house is able to bring together interesting parts of society. The people being involved are sometimes corrupt and sometimes pure and innocent of heart.

For example, there is the Bonificia. This is an Indian girl who is very young and was given a chance to have a good life when given salvation thanks to some nuns. However, it all gets traded in when she becomes a prostitute and is seemingly down the wrong path. Meanwhile, there’s Father Garcia, a good man that is doing his best to lead and protect his church.

Then there are four close friends who are coming for the thrill of it and also to escape into a new place with new appeals. With the good versus bad theme playing out, Green House is playing home to decidedly difference forces. This is a place somewhere between lawlessness and civilization, and its inability to draw lines clearly between these two themes may end up being its undoing. What will happen? Pick up this book to find out!

Conversation in the Cathedral is a 1975 novel from Vargas Llosa that deals with the quest of identity, corruption, and more in Peru in the fifties.

Manual A. Odria is the dictator in power in Peru at this time. When Ambrosia and Santiago talk over beer, they discuss the details of their lives. The town’s been consumed with frustration over its slow erosion, and the two’s lives are being filled with torment because of this. A unique novel that delves into themes of personal freedom, politics, and identity, this story is a discussion about power and the effects it can have. Check it out for yourself and see!