Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977) by Mario Vargas Llosa is a semi-autobiographical novel blending romance, satire, and metafiction. Set in 1950s Lima, it follows 18-year-old Mario, an aspiring writer working at a radio station, as he falls in love with his divorced, 32-year-old aunt-by-marriage, Julia—a scandal that fuels gossip and family outrage. Interwoven with their illicit affair are chapters from the increasingly unhinged radio soap operas penned by Pedro Camacho, the station’s eccentric Bolivian scriptwriter, whose melodramatic plots begin to mirror and distort reality.
Vargas Llosa’s playful structure and sharp humor critique Peruvian society, media sensationalism, and the creative process itself. A joyful, chaotic ode to youthful rebellion and storytelling’s power.
