{"product_id":"granta-36-vargas-llosa-for-president-by-mario-vargas-llosa-and-contributors","title":"'Granta 36: Vargas Llosa for President' by Mario Vargas Llosa and contributors","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-16\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-16\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-16\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-104\" data-turn=\"assistant\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\" class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"df75a3d6-e83c-4b01-8873-7dfb8180253d\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-6-thinking\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-start=\"80\" data-end=\"653\"\u003eIn 1990, Mario Vargas Llosa temporarily exchanged the novel for the machinery of electoral politics, standing for the presidency of Peru during a period of hyperinflation, political violence and institutional collapse.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"80\" data-end=\"653\"\u003eThis issue of \u003cem data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"321\"\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e assembles a close-range account of that campaign: Vargas Llosa’s own reflections sit beside reports from his son Álvaro, his political consultant Mark Malloch Brown and others who watched a celebrated novelist discover that public argument and political power obey entirely different grammars. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"655\" data-end=\"1217\"\u003eVargas Llosa writes with the narrative command of a novelist but also the wounded certainty of a candidate who believed coherent liberal principles could survive contact with patronage, spectacle, fear and the compromises demanded by coalition-building. His eventual defeat by Alberto Fujimori hangs over the issue, making it a study in how democratic politics selects not merely between ideas but between stories, personalities and competing versions of reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1219\" data-end=\"1787\"\u003eAlongside the political dossier are contributions from writers including Martin Amis, Graham Swift, George Steiner and David Grossman. The issue therefore works both as a historical record of a consequential Peruvian election and as a distinctly \u003cem data-start=\"1465\" data-end=\"1473\"\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e-like collision of reportage, memoir, photography and literary writing. For readers interested in the vanity of public intellectuals, the theatre of elections, Latin American politics or what happens when a writer attempts to govern the world he has previously only described. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1219\" data-end=\"1787\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"1814\" data-end=\"1822\"\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e 36, Summer 1991. Penguin paperback. Light rubbing, handling marks and edge wear; mild corner creasing. Internally clean and firmly bound.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45860513480787,"sku":null,"price":16.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Yourparagraphtext-2026-07-24T145030.706.png?v=1784868703","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/granta-36-vargas-llosa-for-president-by-mario-vargas-llosa-and-contributors","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}