Letters to a Young Novelist

Winner of the nobel prize in literaturemario vargas llosa condenses a lifetime of writing, reading, and thought into an essential manual for aspiring writers. drawing on the stories and novels of writers from around the globe-borges, bierce, céline, cortázar, faulkner, kafka, robbe-grillet-he lays bare the inner workings of fiction, all the while urging young novelists not to lose touch with the elemental urge to create. conversational, eloquent, and effortlessly erudite, this little book is destined to be read and re-read by young writers, old writers, would-be writers, and all those with a stake in the world of letters. review “a fascinating commentary...distills [great works] brilliantly, revealing an architecture to their greatness.” ―the washington post book world“ought to be dubbed the world's cheapest mfa...not just a book for writers, but one for readers, too...and for those who want to do more than read, [it] will instruct, illuminate, and most important, inspire.” ―st. petersburg times“[this book] will make you, if not a novelist, at least a subtler taster of novels.” ―san antonio express“less a collection of dictums on the craft of the novel than a tribute to its formal complexities and potential through his admiring comments on works by the likes of flaubert and cervantes.” ―the new york times book review mario vargas llosa is peru's foremost author and the winner of the 2010 nobel prize in literature. in 1994 he was awarded the cervantes prize, the spanish-speaking world's most distinguished literary honor, and in 1995 he won the jerusalem prize. his many distinguished works includethe storyteller,thefeast of the goat,aunt julia and the scriptwriter,death in the andes, inpraise of the stepmother,the bad girl,conversation in the cathedral, theway to paradise, andthe war of the end of the world. he lives in london.natasha wimmer is a translator who has worked on roberto bolaño’s2666, for which she was awarded the pen translation prize in 2009, andthe savage detectives. she lives in new york.