This is an excellent book about the art of writing. While the author has framed the book as a set of letters, I suspect it is really a collection of his self-analyses as a writer and the tools he uses to create his works. In fact, to me, his ideas read more like those of a literary critic than those of an actual novelist, although Llosa has written many.
As would certainly be expected in a work such as this, the writing is sharp, crystal clear, and unambiguous. I marked many passages for their memorable and succinct content. For example, "All stories are rooted in the lives of those who write them; experience is the source from which the fiction flows."
Another gem: "Good novels--great ones--never actually seem to tell us anything; rather, they make us live it and share in it by virtue of their persuasive powers."
The author, Mario Vargas Llosa, supports the traditional expectations in published works: content that communicates both feelings and comprehensible message and is not impeded by the writing techniques of the author.
In my Goodreads reviews this year I have been especially critical of authors who eschew quotation marks, who wander aimlessly and confusingly through their storylines, who ignore the conventions of grammar and writing mechanics, and who focus more time on trying (unsuccessfully) to impress readers with their composition skills than to communicate with readers through their content. Everything I read in this book by Vargas Llosa supports my laments. ( )

This was interesting, but uneven. Vargas Llosa presents a few essays (thinly disguised as letters to a probably non-existent addressee) in which he treats aspects of novel-construction. A few are quite boring, in particular the early ones dealing with selection of narrator and the difference between narrated time and narration time. But as the essays move on to more abstract features, such as levels of reality, he mixes in more interesting comments and introduces useful tools for analysis.

Every essay is peppered with examples from novels that Vargas Llosa liked that particular aspect of, so conceivably this book could be used as a source of recommendations. A comprehensive list of authors and works cited is included at the back; of these only three are women. Make of that what you will. ( )

This short book by Mario Vargas Llosa is in the form of letters to an aspiring novelist. It covers all the standard elements of a novel like narration, plot, time, and characters. In the course of it, Vargas Llosa illuminatingly discusses a number of his favorite novels, from 19th Century classics like Madame Bovary to contemporary Latin American novelists. ( )

Brieven over de kunst van de roman, prachtig geschreven natuurlijk. Inspirerend.

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