Can anyone recommend good Peruvian literature (in Spanish)?

April 5, 2004 8:36 PM

Can anyone recommend good Peruvian literature (in Spanish)?

See, I'm going to Peru in a few months and would like to read something that will familiarise me with Peruvian culture, give me some examples of specifically Peruvian idioms, and be an enjoyable read in its own right.

posted by nomis to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Well...there is Mario Vargas Llosa, a well-known writer in general who also ran for the Peruvian presidency in 1990. I'd recommend La tia Julia y el Escribidor as well as Los cuadernos de Don Rigoberto as they are both set in Lima. The latter book is full of idiomatic expressions.

One of my favorite poets, Cesar Vallejo, is also Peruvian. Vallejo's poetry is dark and beautiful, the output of a tormented mind. I'd say Vallejo is more Vallejo than he is Peruvian (which is why I love him so.)

Not sure if you're looking for something else. These two are classic.
posted by vacapinta at 9:40 PM on April 5, 2004

For something more contemporary than vacapinta´s excellent suggestions, anything by Alfredo Bryce Echeñique.
Oh, and avoid Puno like the plague. If you must go to Titicaca, stay at Copacabana, in Bolivia.
posted by signal at 5:41 AM on April 6, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks guys, I'll check 'em out.

If you must go to Titicaca...
Duly noted, although I'm going to be working in Amazonas, and don't know what opportunities I'll get for sightseeing.
posted by nomis at 11:57 PM on April 7, 2004