A Fish in the Water
Encyclopedia
A Fish in the Water, originally published as El pez en el agua in 1993, is the memoir of Peru
vian writer Mario Vargas Llosa
. It covers two main periods of his life: the first comprising the years between 1946 and 1958, describes his childhood and the beginning of his writing career in Europe. The second period covers his political involvement in later years culminating with his defeat against Alberto Fujimori
in the Peruvian presidential elections.
. Along these memories, Vargas Llosa talks about many important experiences for him, like the event when he knew his father who he believed death, when he became supporter of the Peruvian football club Universitario de Deportes
, his first job in the newspaper La Cronica, and others. He also refers the facts related to his political activity, like his participation in the opposite movement to the Peruvian president Alan Garcia in 1987, and his campaign as candidate to the presidency of Peru in 1990. One of the curiosities this work revealed about the writer, was the event when he played in the junior team of Universitario de Deportes
.
.
In an interview with Clifford Landers (Albuquerque, 5 November 1994), translator Helen Lane
mentions that she originally translated the title as "A Fish in Water, without the article, and it was changed to A Fish in the Water, thereby losing the parallelism with the English idiom, 'a fish out of water'."
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian writer Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
. It covers two main periods of his life: the first comprising the years between 1946 and 1958, describes his childhood and the beginning of his writing career in Europe. The second period covers his political involvement in later years culminating with his defeat against Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
in the Peruvian presidential elections.
Contents
The book is divided in twenty chapters in which the writer intersperses his narration with topics about his early life and the events related to his political activity in PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Along these memories, Vargas Llosa talks about many important experiences for him, like the event when he knew his father who he believed death, when he became supporter of the Peruvian football club Universitario de Deportes
Universitario de Deportes
Club Universitario de Deportes, also known as Universitario, or more popularly as [La] "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. It is the most successful football club in Peru. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of...
, his first job in the newspaper La Cronica, and others. He also refers the facts related to his political activity, like his participation in the opposite movement to the Peruvian president Alan Garcia in 1987, and his campaign as candidate to the presidency of Peru in 1990. One of the curiosities this work revealed about the writer, was the event when he played in the junior team of Universitario de Deportes
Universitario de Deportes
Club Universitario de Deportes, also known as Universitario, or more popularly as [La] "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. It is the most successful football club in Peru. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of...
.
Critics
A controversial section of the book contains harsh criticism of fellow Peruvian intellectuals who at some point had a difference of opinion, mostly political in nature, with Mr. Vargas, for instance the aggression against then dying writer Julio Ramón RibeyroJulio Ramón Ribeyro
Julio Ramón Ribeyro Zúñiga was a Peruvian writer best known for his short stories. He was also successful in other genres: novel, essay, theater, diary and aphorism. In the year of his death, he was awarded the US$100,000 Premio Juan Rulfo de literatura latinoamericana y del Caribe...
.
In an interview with Clifford Landers (Albuquerque, 5 November 1994), translator Helen Lane
Helen Lane
This article is about the translator. For the cancer patient and originator of the HeLa cell line, see Henrietta Lacks.Helen Lane was a renowned translator of Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian language literary works into English...
mentions that she originally translated the title as "A Fish in Water, without the article, and it was changed to A Fish in the Water, thereby losing the parallelism with the English idiom, 'a fish out of water'."