# Is "The Way to Paradise" by Mario Vargas Llosa a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) is identified by: First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003, stating 'First edition' on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (ISBN 0374228035), 373 pages. First edition in English of El paraíso en la otra esquina (Spanish original, 2003).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003, stating 'First edition' on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (ISBN 0374228035), 373 pages
- The first-state dust jacket was designed by Kathleen DiGrado and carries jacket art reproducing a detail from Paul Gauguin's 'Manao tupapau (The Spirit of the Dead Watching)', 1892; a first-printing jacket retains the FSG printed price at the top of the front flap (an unclipped flap is preferred, though clipping alone does not disqualify a first)
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mario Vargas Llosa |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003, stating 'First… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003, stating 'First edition' on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (ISBN 0374228035), 373 pages. The first-state dust jacket was designed by Kathleen DiGrado and carries jacket art reproducing a detail from Paul Gauguin's 'Manao tupapau (The Spirit of the Dead Watching)', 1892; a first-printing jacket retains the FSG printed price at the top of the front flap (an unclipped flap is preferred, though clipping alone does not disqualify a first).

## Is this the true first?
First edition in English of El paraíso en la otra esquina (Spanish original, 2003). The FSG hardcover is the first appearance in English; the Faber and Faber UK edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book club edition affects the first-printing identification; confirm the stated 'First edition' line on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Way to Paradise* by Mario Vargas Llosa a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-way-to-paradise
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.