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.