Mario Vargas Llosa: Nobel Prize

[TotallyOz]

The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/books/08nobel.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Has anyone read any of his books? I'd be curious to know what others think before I order a few of them to test. Thanks.

[MsGuy]

Oz, my local Books-A-Million, the only bookstore within driving distance of my hometown, doesn't stock many translations of the writings of obsure Latin American authors, so I can't offer any personal opinion about Mr. Llosa, but here's the NYTimes take on your guy. It's more about the man than his work but maybe it will be of some help.

[numerito]

Oh, my dear Oz, too bad your Spanish is rusty Far from being an "obscure Latin American writer", Vargas Llosa is one of the most impressive of the lot. His works go from funny (Pantaleón y las visitadoras), to boring (Conversación en la catedral), historical (La fiesta del chivo, or El paraíso en la otra esquina), moving (Los cachorros) or erotic (Elogio de la madrastra). Most of them fantastic reads. The Nobel comes a as a well deserved recognition.

[TotallyOz]

One of my favorite authors is Gabriel García Márquez. My favorites are One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. I read all of his work when I was an undergrad and loved each piece. It was like reading a chapter took me out of my room and into his world.

I hear lots of comparisons between Marquez and Llosa. Is that because they are both Spanish writers? Or, are their works similar in style?