Conversation in The Cathedral (original title: Conversación en La Catedral) is a 1969 novel by Spanish-Peruvian writer and essayist Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Gregory Rabassa.

One of Vargas Llosa's major works, it is a portrayal of Peru under the dictatorship of Manuel A. Odría in the 1950s, and deals with the lives of characters from different social strata.

[3] During the encounter Zavala tries to find the truth about his father's role in the murder of an infamous Peruvian cabaret singer, shedding light on the workings of a dictatorship along the way.

The protagonist of the novel, Santiago Zavala, is a student of the National University of San Marcos in Lima and an activist with the group Cahuide against the dictatorship of the government of Peru; Santiago is based on some real life experiences of Vargas Llosa, during his first years at University of San Marcos and as a member of the activist group Cahuide.

In the novel, the protagonist Santiago Zavala depicts a pessimistic view of Peruvian society during the 1950s, at the same time he is embracing the mediocrity.