Here he makes this announcement on the back page. The novel will be on sale this Thursday: “Now I want to write about Sartre, who was my teacher in my youth. This will be the last thing I do.”
This interview reflects responses from the Nobel Prize winner gathered through a survey. The survey transcription, paired with his answers, offers diverse explanations of facets of a work that marked his long life as a novelist. She confesses to tearful moments alone in Madrid while writing about one of the book’s real characters.
He wrote a Peruvian inspired tale resembling a Don Quixote figure who pursues a quest for knowledge through science, music, and discovery. Is this a fitting lens for the human journeys depicted in the novel?
Toño Azpilcueta does not drift into fantasy for adventure; he follows a steadfast belief in the unifying power of Creole music. Still, there is room for a human dimension in the stories, and this aligns closely with the author’s portrayal of the character and his arc.
The book also pauses to describe a quiet dream of a country where music and the Peruvian waltz unify attitudes and citizens. This sense of joy through music mirrors patriotism in the narrator. Do you feel a personal connection to this portrayal of Peru’s history and its music?
Yes. Music and the Peruvian waltz served as a bridge to the author’s origins, shaping attitudes and social harmony. The joyous music reflects the patriotism the narrator honors, and the author identifies with the character, sharing love, pride, and even utopian dreams.
Some readers note the line about silence and its humor in Aunt Julia and the author. In this interview, does the radio soap opera and Lima’s nostalgic energy appear in the novel as well?
Radio, novels, and those memories of Peru continually surface in the writer’s mind. The title is a collaboration with Maribel Luque from the agency Carmen Balcells, and the chosen title aims to capture patriotic undertones that resonate in Peru. The phrase carries a nuance understood in a particular region, leading the author to rely on his editor and agent while favoring this choice.
As you write, do future projects and dreams join the process, alongside the styles you previously explored?
Characters come to life, dictating their perspectives as they emerge. The author follows their leads, selecting ideas that feel especially meaningful. This work carries many early memories of Peru, from landscapes and music to the people who populate those memories. Puerto Eten stands out as a place he recalls from childhood.
Creole music shapes the atmosphere of this book. When did it become the defining sound of the narrative?
Creole music became the book’s voice. While writing, the author listened to songs from youth, letting them guide mood and memory. This leads to a novel that feels especially personal and musical, inviting readers to share in these imagined conversations about Toño Azpilcueta and his world.
Alonso Cueto’s idea that the writer uncovers keys to a harmonious society comes into play. Is there a Peruvian utopia informing your view of the country through music?
As the story develops, ideas evolve into a blend of compassion and unease with fading utopias. The author’s sense of Peru mixes hope with a critical awareness of its past and present, expressed through music and memory.
The book follows a journey with the author’s children, who confront the grim realities of a dumpsite described in the narrative. How did this vision influence the final writing of the work?
A northern Peruvian road trip proved essential. Childhood memories of dunes and waves resurfaced, and the journey helped the author reconnect with places and people that shape the story. Seeing the dump’s harsh reality sharpened the sense of Peruvian life and its everyday truth, making the voyage both personal and narratively meaningful.
Garbage and rats emerge as stark symbols within the book, counterpointing music. Was this opposition always present, or did the trip reveal it?
The storyteller threaded harsh memories with vivid ideas. An image of a child found in a whimsical moment became a device to question belonging, birth, and what is left behind. The author used that moment to probe the moral texture of his characters and the world they inhabit.
The cajoneros have roots in Peru and were recently embraced in Spain by King Felipe VI. What do you think of a ruler who champions this symbol in your book?
King Felipe VI is admired for highlighting Peruvian craftsmanship and music. His support for cajoneros helps shine a light on Peruvian cultural talent, adding depth to the story’s appreciation of music and tradition.
Cecilia Barraza and Chabuca Granda appear as real figures among the novel’s characters. Do you see the boundary between fiction and reality blurring? Is reality itself a form of fiction in your view?
Chabuca Granda is a universal presence who brought Peruvian music to the world. Cecilia Barraza embodies a distinctive voice in performance. The author recalls how he first encountered them and the emotional impact those memories had as he wrote. He also recalls listening in Madrid, crying at moments, and cherishing those real-life inspirations. These figures anchor the narrative without losing their artistic truth and remain essential to the book.
I dedicated my silence to him
Vargas Llosa, the enduring writer
alfaguara
236 pages | 19.85 euros
My father’s life is an endless journey
From Lima, Patricia and Mario’s youngest daughter recalls the way the family supported him as his work traveled across landscapes that would later shape his final novel, I dedicated my silence to him. The author’s children joined him on field trips, providing companionship and perspective as the family traced Peruvian places that fed the narrative.
Álvaro, Gonzalo, and Morgana traveled with their father to the Peruvian highlands, sometimes accompanying him on fieldwork as he sought settings for his stories. His wife Patricia joined these explorations as well. The author’s lifelong curiosity about music guided the project and shaped a lifetime of fiction anchored in childhood memories of Peru. Morgana’s memories of the shoots and locations helped locate spaces that could place Lalo Molfino, the book’s protagonist, in a world of rough realities. The trips were practical and artistic, a way to capture the texture of Peruvian life for the novel.
The search for a music-centered novel culminated in a work that honors a childhood passion. Morgana observed as her father sketched scenes and mapped places in Peru, Palestine, and Congo, collecting material to breathe life into his fiction. Some places were invented, but the journey found real anchors that grounded the narrative in a recognizable geography.
The family traveled by road, with the artist keen to experience travel firsthand and to note details that would later inform the writing. Álvaro and Gonzalo continued to accompany him on these expeditions, and Álvaro later served as the chief photographer for the book’s production. The family’s shared excursions created a rich, personal archive that fed the story’s sense of place.
Ultimately, the trip referenced the land of Puerto Eten, where the protagonist’s origins lie, highlighting the terrain that underpins the novel. Morgana notes the dump near Puerto Eten as a symbolic focal point, a testament to the world that shaped her father’s fiction and its most stubborn truths. This work honors Peru’s human geography, the music that animates it, and the enduring heroism of its people, all woven into a musical narrative.