Talking Books with Mario Vargas Llosa

The essays included in Talking Books with Mario Vargas Llosa celebrate Mario Vargas Llosas visits to the City College of New York, the creation of the Cundefinedtedra Vargas Llosa in his honor, and the interests of the Peruvian author in reading and books. This volume contains previously unpublished material by Vargas Llosa himself, as well as by novelists and literary critics associated with the Cundefinedtedra.

This collection offers readers an opportunity to learn about Vargas Llosas body of work through multiple perspectives: his own and those of eminent fiction writers and important literary critics. The book offers significant analysis and rich conversation that bring to life many of the Nobel Laureates characters and provide insights into his writing process and imagination. As the last surviving member of the original group of writers of the Latin American Boom--which included Gabriel Garcundefineda Mundefinedrquez, Carlos Fuentes, and Julio Cortundefinedzar--Vargas Llosa endures as a literary icon because his fiction has remained fresh and innovative. His prolific works span many different themes and subgenres.

A combination of literary analyses and anecdotal contributions in this volume reveal the little-known human and intellectual dimensions of Vargas Llosa the writer and Vargas Llosa the man.

Raquel Chang-Rodrundefinedguez is distinguished professor of Hispanic literature and culture at the Graduate Center and the City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she codirects the Cundefinedtedra Mario Vargas Llosa. Carlos Riobundefined is a professor of Spanish and comparative literature at the City College of New York, where he codirects the Cundefinedtedra Mario Vargas Llosa, and is the executive officer of the PhD program in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures at CUNY’s Graduate Center.