Vargas Llosa's Fiction & the Demons of Politics
by Sabine Kollmann
Much praised as a writer, but highly controversial as political commentator, Mario Vargas Llosa's fiction is often regarded as reflecting his notorious political development, from a left-wing to a (neo)-liberal position. This study makes a critical evaluation of the interrelations within his fictional and non-fictional work from the 1960s to the present day, revealing a surprising continuity in his fictional creation and in his ideas about literature. Politics being one of the most persistent demons which, according to his theory, provoke his creativity, the book offers a detailed reading of three political novels from different periods of his writing career. Conversacion en la catedral (1969), La guerra del fin del mundo (1981), and La fiesta del Chivo (2000) are analysed in relation to his works of literary theory, political commentary, memoirs, and other fictional texts.Despite considerable shifts in political and literary matters, Vargas Llosa's writings show a continuous and unchanged concern for two interrelated issues: the impact of political problems such as authoritarianism, corruption, ideology, and violence on the individual, and the question of literature and the role of writers and intellectuals in society.
Paperback
English
Brand New
Author Biography
The Author: Sabine Koellmann studied French, Spanish and History at the universities of Duesseldorf and Koeln. In 1995, she received her Ph.D. in Spanish from the university of Zuerich (Switzerland). She has published Literatur und Politik - Mario Vargas Llosa (1996), as well as articles and reviews on the Peruvian novelist.
Table of Contents
Contents: Narrative and historical reality - Truth and fiction - Narrative structure and meaning - Intellectuals and power - Writing and storytelling as anti-ideological practices - Exorcising one's demons: Vargas Llosa's doubles.
Review
This excellent work studies three of Vargas Llosa's most celebrated works - 'Conversacion en la catedral', 'La guerra del fin del mundo', and the most recent and highly acclaimed 'La fiesta del chivo'. [...] Throughout, Koellmann presents very valuable interpretations of man and work that demonstrate much careful reading. [...] This outstanding work has much to recommend it - the literary analysis of 'La fiesta del chivo' alone would make it worth buying. But in addition, through references to a wealth of other works, the reader understands that we cannot separate literature from politics in the case of Vargas Llosa, a man whose own life has taken turns worthy of the fiction he produces. (The British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain)
Review Quote
This excellent work studies three of Vargas Llosa's most celebrated works - 'Conversacin en la catedral', 'La guerra del fin del mundo', and the most recent and highly acclaimed 'La fiesta del chivo'. [...] Throughout, Kllmann presents very valuable interpretations of man and work that demonstrate much careful reading. [...] This outstanding work has much to recommend it - the literary analysis of 'La fiesta del chivo' alone would make it worth buying. But in addition, through references to a wealth of other works, the reader understands that we cannot separate literature from politics in the case of Vargas Llosa, a man whose own life has taken turns worthy of the fiction he produces. (The British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain)
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