Mario Vargas Llosa books in order
Peruvian, Spanish and Dominican novelist and writer
- Lived
- 1936–2025
- Country
- Spain
- Books
- 37
Mario Vargas Llosa published 25 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 7 non-fiction books, 1 play and 2 other books, beginning with The Time of the Hero (1963). The best-known is The Feast of the Goat (2000).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Mario Vargas Llosa
Start here
The Feast of the Goat
Mario Vargas Llosa's most-read book.
Shortest way in
The Bad Girl
One of the most-read, at about 386 pages.
Standalone novels in order
The Time of the Hero (1963)
The Green House (1966)
The Dogs (1967)
Conversation in The Cathedral (1969)
Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (1973)
The Perpetual Orgy (1975)
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977)
The War of the End of the World (1982)
The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta (1984)
Who Killed Palomino Molero? (1986)
The Storyteller (1987)
In Praise of the Stepmother (1988)
La Verdad De Las Mentiras (1990)
A Writer's Reality (1991)
Death in the Andes (Feb 1993)
The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto (1997)
The Feast of the Goat (2000)
The Way to Paradise (2003)
The Bad Girl (2006)
El Hablador (2008)
The Dream of the Celt (2010)
The Discreet Hero (2013)
The Neighborhood (2016)
Harsh Times (2019)
Call of the Tribe (2023)
Novellas in order
Letters to a Young Novelist (1997)
Short story collections in order
The Cubs and Other Stories (1989)
Non-fiction in order
Making Waves (1983)
A Fish in the Water (1993)
La Utopía Arcaica (1996)
The Language of Passion (2001)
The Temptation of the Impossible (2004)
Touchstones (2007)
Sables Y Utopías (2009)
Plays in order
El Loco De Los Balcones (1993)
Other books in order
FIESTA DEL CHIVO, LA (Spanish Edition) (2010)
Elogio De La Educación (2015)
Film and TV adaptations
- The City and the Dogs (1985)Film · from The Time of the Hero
- Los Cachorros (1973)Film · from The Dogs
- Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (1999)Film · from Captain Pantoja and the Special Service
- Tune in Tomorrow (1990)Film · from Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
- The Feast of the Goat (2005)Film · from The Feast of the Goat
- Travesuras de la niña mala (2022)TV · from The Bad Girl
About Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist, and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a more substantial international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. In 2010, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Mario Vargas Llosa FAQ
- How many books has Mario Vargas Llosa written?
- Mario Vargas Llosa published 25 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 7 non-fiction books, 1 play and 2 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Mario Vargas Llosa's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Feast of the Goat.
- What is Mario Vargas Llosa's last book?
- Call of the Tribe (2023).
- What is Mario Vargas Llosa's most famous book?
- The Feast of the Goat (2000) is Mario Vargas Llosa's most widely read book.
- Which Mario Vargas Llosa books have been adapted?
- 6 books have been adapted for film or TV, including The Time of the Hero (as The City and the Dogs, film, 1985), The Dogs (as Los Cachorros, film, 1973), Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (as Captain Pantoja and the Special Services, film, 1999) and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (as Tune in Tomorrow, film, 1990).
Authors like Mario Vargas Llosa
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.