Mario Vargas Llosa – The Language Of Passion

First of all, don’t get turned off by the title. The Language of Passion it’s not another book about love. And this is not a novel either. Llosa is a guy who was always keen to make his political and social opinions public. This book is a collection of essays and editorials – grouped under the title ‘selected commentary’ – which appeared in El Pais (and a few other affiliated publications) during the nineties and, as himself notes in the opening page, covers a broad range of topics. So he’s not only dwelling with political issues – undoubtedly his favorite – but also with social, moral, religious, historical, economical or geographical ones.

Each piece was written in a different country and city, as a reflection of his thoughts on a given subject, into which he, apparently just stumbled at that time. They don’t look like newspaper articles, but rather like small pieces of literature. Maybe that’s the trick, to take the reader onto a journey he/she usually only experiences while reading an entire novel.

For people used to his books this will definitely show a completely different face of the author. He’s a witty, smart, feet on the ground person, unlike the characters in his books and his reasoning is always straightforward, whether or not the public is willing to agree with him. As a politician, to be fair we should better call him an ex-politician, the way of exposing sickness, crime, discrimination, hatred, stupidity, prejudice, falsity will always be picturesque and easy to follow. At the same time, as a gifted writer he can transcend his own inner feelings of happiness, sorrow, sympathy or pity into stories that reach a wide public, as the audience of a big newspaper is. Therefore, if you are interested in seeing how this famous writer actually thinks outside his fiction books, this collection is definitely a nice experience.