The link between Mario Vargas Llosa and the libraries It transcends his eagerness to discover stories from the world. In his youth, he toured the shelves of different ‘houses of knowledge’ to make a living at a stage in which his fortune was still meager, at least in economic terms.
The first library in which he worked was that of the National university of San Marcos. Later, he held work at the National Club of Lima, where he was in charge of signing the books newly incorporated into the collection, for two hours a day from Monday to Friday.
The initial link of Vargas Llosa with the books did not arise, of course, in the libraries where he worked. He learned to read at age five and, since then, has explored innumerable stories that expanded his world. Repeatedly, he said that learning to read was the most transcendental event of his life.
“(…) Extraordinary experiences, space trips, time trips, experiences in out of the ordinary, outstanding places. Destinations that were totally out of the reach of real experience, but, however, literature returned real,” said the author of ‘The city and dogs’.
Now, throughout his life he has accumulated thousands of books, distributed in libraries located in Madrid, Paris and Barranco (Lime); The latter is the main one. Knowing this, some questions arise naturally: how many books retain in their libraries? What valuable specimens shelters?
To clarify these doubts, it is pertinent to mention Ingrid Yrivarren, businesswoman and cultural promoter, also known for her career in television media in Peru and North America. Our compatriot published the book ‘Paradise of knowledge. 50 emblematic libraries of Peru ‘, where he reveals valuable information about the so -called’ houses of knowledge ‘of illustrious Peruvian writers and intellectuals.
In a department of the Lima district of Barranco, Mario Vargas Llosa spent his last days. He was not alone: in addition to the near presence of his family and friends, his books, those paper sentries that, always offered him alternate worlds, unanswered questions and lend certainties. Among those pages – where he discovered the art of thinking and the risk of imagining – he found company until the end.
The books were not dispersed by different environments of the house of Vargas Llosa, but rested on carefully distributed shelves, as if it were a university library or a cultural center. In the book ‘Paradise of knowledge. 50 emblematic libraries of Peru ‘, by Ingrid Yrivarren, photographs of the novelist’s library are presented, but, in addition, valuable data are offered that reveal the importance of this intimate space for the writer.
“The 15,000 volumes that make up its main library, located in its peaceful Casa de Barranco, in Lima, seem to the staging of an consummate passion. From it the beauty of a vast and select collection is made of a vast and select collection formed with dedication by the author himself, the spectacularity of a system ordered to the millimeter, and the emotion of entering the secret bibliography of one of the classics of world literature,” he said Yrivarren.
In dialogue with the author of the book mentioned above, the illustrious Peruvian writer said: “This library is endearing because it contains books that have accompanied me in much of life. I think that many of the most beloved titles, those who have had the greatest influence on my work and those who have marked my career as a reader are in this space. It is, therefore, a library made basically with love. ”
The books that rest in their library cover various fields of knowledge, such as history, politics, philosophy and religion. Those related to literature could not be missing in their strictest sense: novels, poems, criticism and essays. This last category occupies most of the space on the shelves.
Among the titles that are part of its ‘literary refuge’, Ingrid Yrivarren highlights a first edition of Madame Bovaryby Gustave Flaubert, bought in an antiquarian in Paris with the money from a literary prize. A first edition of The miserable onesby Victor Hugo, as well as various works by William Faulkner.
“Also shines in their shelves a set of books dedicated by iconic authors: García Márquez, Cortázar, Carpentier (…),” he added. Finally, it should be noted that the personal libraries of Mario Vargas Llosa in Paris and Madrid gather, together, approximately 15,000 books.
