Editing Mario Vargas Llosa (section)

===Beginning and first major works===
Vargas Llosa's first novel, ''[[The Time of the Hero]]'' (''{{lang|es|La ciudad y los perros}}''), was published in 1963. The book is set among a community of cadets in a Lima military school, and the plot is based on the author's own experiences at Lima's [[Leoncio Prado Military Academy]].<ref name="Kristal32">{{Harvnb|Kristal|1998|p=32}}</ref> This early piece gained wide public attention and immediate success.<ref name="Cevallos273">{{Harvnb|Cevallos|1991|p=273}}</ref> Its vitality and adept use of sophisticated literary techniques immediately impressed critics,<ref name="Kristal33">{{Harvnb|Kristal|1998|p=33}}</ref> and it won the ''[[Premio de la Crítica Española]]'' award.<ref name="Cevallos273" /> Nevertheless, its sharp criticism of the Peruvian military establishment led to controversy in Peru: several generals attacked the novel, claiming that it was the work of a "degenerate mind" and stating that Vargas Llosa was "paid by Ecuador" to undermine the prestige of the Peruvian Army.<ref name="Cevallos273" />

In 1965, Vargas Llosa published his second novel, ''[[The Green House]]'' (''{{lang|es|La casa verde}}''), about a brothel called "The Green House" and how its quasi-mythical presence affects the lives of the characters. The main plot follows Bonifacia, a girl who is about to receive the vows of the church and her transformation into ''{{lang|es|la Selvática}}'', the Green House's best-known [[Prostitution|prostitute]]. The novel was immediately acclaimed, confirming Vargas Llosa as an important voice of Latin American narrative.<ref name="Kristal xi"/> ''The Green House'' won the first edition of the [[Rómulo Gallegos Prize|Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize]] in 1967, contending with works by veteran Uruguayan writer [[Juan Carlos Onetti]] and by [[Gabriel García Márquez]].<ref name=GallegosPrize>{{Harvnb|Armas Marcelo|2002|p=102}}. See also {{citation|title=I Edition of the International Novel Prize Rómulo Gallegos|publisher=Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela Ministerio del Poder Popular para La Cultura|url=http://www.celarg.org.ve/Ingles/Premio%20Romulo%20Gallegos%201%20Edicion.htm|access-date=16 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716052005/http://www.celarg.org.ve/Ingles/Premio%20Romulo%20Gallegos%201%20Edicion.htm|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref> This novel, alone, accumulated enough awards to place the author among the leading figures of the [[Latin American Boom]].<ref name="Booker6" /> Some critics still consider ''The Green House'' to be Vargas Llosa's finest and most important achievement.<ref name="Booker6">{{Harvnb|Booker|1994|p=6}}</ref> Indeed, Latin American literary critic [[Gerald Martin]] suggests that ''The Green House'' is "one of the greatest novels to have emerged from Latin America".<ref name="Booker6" />

Vargas Llosa's third novel, ''[[Conversation in The Cathedral]]'' (''{{lang|es|Conversación en La Catedral}}''), was published in 1969, when he was 33. This ambitious narrative is the story of Santiago Zavala, the son of a government minister, and Ambrosio, his chauffeur.<ref>{{Harvnb| Kristal |1998|p=61}}</ref> A random meeting at a [[dog pound]] leads the pair to a riveting conversation at a nearby bar known as "The Cathedral".<ref>{{Harvnb|Castro-Klarén|1990|p=80}}</ref> During the encounter, Zavala searches for the truth about his father's role in the murder of a notorious Peruvian underworld figure, shedding light on the workings of a dictatorship along the way.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Da serra à costa O Peru e as obras de Mario Vargas Llosa de 1950 a 1960|author=Barroso Sacoman, Mateus|isbn=978-3-330-74802-6|edition=1. Auflage, neue Ausgabe|location=Saarbrücken|oclc=962093882|date = 13 October 2016}}</ref> Unfortunately for Zavala, his quest results in a dead end with no answers and no sign of a better future.<ref name="Castro106">{{Harvnb|Castro-Klarén|1990|p=106}}</ref> The novel attacks the dictatorial government of Odría by showing how a dictatorship controls and destroys lives.<ref name="Cevallos273" /> The persistent theme of hopelessness makes ''Conversation in The Cathedral'' Vargas Llosa's most bitter novel.<ref name="Castro106"/>

Vargas Llosa lectured on Spanish American Literature at [[King's College London]] from 1969 to 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2010/oct/TenthNobelPrizeWinner.aspx |title=Tenth Nobel Prize Winner |date=10 December 2010 |work=King's College London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080209/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2010/oct/TenthNobelPrizeWinner.aspx |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>