The erstwhile Marxist-turned-free-marketeer wrote historical novels, semi-autobiographical comedies, murder mysteries, political essays and plays.

Mr. Vargas Llosa, who ran for Peru’s presidency in 1990 and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010, transformed episodes from his personal life into books that reverberated far beyond the borders of his native country.

Mario Vargas Llosa, who has died at the age of 89 in his native Peru, was a towering figure in Latin American literature and culture who rarely shied away from controversy.