It was announced today that Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa has won the Nobel Prize in literature. I am not familiar with this author (nor have I been with any laureate since 2003 when J.M. Coetzee was awarded - what kind of reader am I?!) but NPR says he's a "phenomenal" choice:
"What makes him significant, though, is not this backbone of steel or his shape-shifting political ideas - he was once a supporter of Castro, later a disillusioned communist, later still a center-left candidate - but the restless, searching way in which he has crabwalked across history and genres."In the words of Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize in literature is awarded to the author, from any country, who has written "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction". Rather than be upset that I have never heard of Vargas Llosa I am going to celebrate it. That's the thing about Nobel laureates in literature; it's basically pointing out a fantastic author to the whole world, whether we have heard of him or not.
CNN tells me Vargas Llosa teaches at Princeton and his best-known novels are The Green House and The War of the End of the World.
Also, here is a lovely review Vargas Llosa did with the Paris Review that everyone who is interested in learning more about this Nobel laureate should read.
Brenna, I have only read Vargas Llosa's novel, "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter," and it was delightful. I have heard truly wonderful things about his "The War of the End of the World" though. It is supposed to be truly magnificent, and I should certainly make a point of reading it sometime soon. Have a great day. Cheers! Chris
ReplyDeleteChris, That is good to know! I am going to track down one of his books sooner rather than later and it's nice to get a recommendation from someone who is familiar with him. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point about celebrating the author even if you didn't already know of him, because now we have a new author to check out :)
ReplyDeleteAlso I can't quite put my finger on why but that picture of him makes me laugh. Something about his extremely unamused expression.
I am unaware of his work as well. I was hoping for Haruki Murakami to be awarded it finally, but I think he's become "too famous" for the award. Though I applaud them for finally picking someone from outside Europe for once (especially after the "Europe is the center of the literary world" controversy a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about not having known the previous award winners in literature. It seems lately the committee tries to pick relatively obscure authors that few people have heard about.
Red, You're right about the photo! He looks quite grumpy... for lack of a better word.
ReplyDeletetediousandbrief, It is nice to have someone outside of Europe and you're probably right, they have been picking more obscure authors lately which, after considering, isn't really a bad thing.
I hadn't heard of Llosa until last Saturday when The Feast of the Goat caught my eye in a book shop. The fact it was translated by Edith Grossman (queen of Spanish translation) sealed the deal and I bought a copy. It was such a nice surprise to see him win the Nobel this morning. I'm hoping the book is as good as everyone says it is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I responded to your comment on my journal, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad thing to pick more obscure authors, but it would be nice to have some more famous authors noted for their contributions. I think I may have heard of only three or so out of the past 15-20 recipients....or possibly its a sign that I need to read more broadly...
farmlane, What perfect timing to pick up that book! I look forward to your thoughts.
ReplyDeletetediousandbrief, That's the thing, with so much world literature I just read a little tiny piece of the pie. It's no wonder I haven't heard of the laureates for the last few years - I only read about 5 or 6 translated novels a year, let alone the ones that haven't been translated to English.
Never heard of him either - but he looks grumpy :-)
ReplyDeleteStill, I'm officially intrigued, especially with NPR's summation.
Kerry, As am I!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I had not heard of him either and totally agree with your sentiments. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know some really good writing, and I will be looking him up too :)
ReplyDeleteMel, Me too! I think I'm going to look into the two titles recommended by other bloggers above.
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