Mario Vargas Llosa is awarded the Francisco Umbral Award

The novel “Tiempos recios” (Hard Times) has been selected as the book of the year 2019. Author Mario Vargas Llosa has been awarded with the Francisco Umbral Book Award of 2019 for his novel, Tiempos recios, (Hard Times).

The jury panel has announced today that with his latest novel Vargas Llosa “is coming back to one of the scenarios he knows very well and feels more comfortable,” re-visiting previous lines of works such as La fiesta del Chivo (The Goat’s Party). 

“He is in tune with this work, it has the same premise and follows the path of historical investigation alternating between private and public life,” has stated Manuel Llorente, President of the jury panel, also joined by Carlos Aganzo, Deputy Director of the Fundación Vocento; Juan Cruz, Board Member of El País; César Antonio Molina, writer and former Secretary of Culture; Fernando R. LaFuente, from Occidente Magazine, and Professors from the UCM, Fanny Rubio and Santos Sanz de Villanueva.  On his part, Mario Vargas Llosa has declared feeling “happy and moved” when he heard the news of the award and for “Francico Umbral’s affection.”

Read more: EL PAÍS

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