The Storyteller (Vargas Llosa novel)

The Storyteller
First edition
AuthorMario Vargas Llosa
Original titleEl hablador
TranslatorHelen Lane
LanguageSpanish
PublisherSeix Barral
Publication date
1987
Publication placePeru
Published in English
1989
Media typePrint

The Storyteller (Spanish: El Hablador) is a novel by Peruvian author and Literature Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. The story tells of Saúl Zuratas, a university student who leaves civilization and becomes a "storyteller" for the Machiguenga Native Americans. The novel thematizes the Westernization of indigenous peoples through missions and through anthropological studies, and questions the perceived notion that indigenous cultures are set in stone.