Fish in the Water

In this literary memoir, the Nobel Prize-winning author and Peruvian politician shares "e;a convincing self-portrait . . . an often funny and cautionary tale"e; (Time). In 1990, Mario Vargas Llosa decided to run for the presidency of his native Peru. He campaigned on a platform of economic reform and stringent counterterrorism against the far-left gorilla group, Sendero Luminoso. His failed campaign against Alberto Fujimori generated international headlines, transforming the renowned author into a politician of world stature. A Fish in the Water is Vargas Llosa's personal account of his life as seen through the lens of his time as a candidate. He evokes the experiences that gave rise to his fiction, while in parallel he describes the social, literary, and political influences that led him to enter the political arena as a crusader for democracy and a free-market economy.