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Carlos Fuentes

    November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012

    Carlos Fuentes was a towering figure in Latin American literature, renowned as a novelist and essayist whose work profoundly shaped the literary landscape of the Spanish-speaking world. He possessed a remarkable ability to weave intricate narratives that explored the complexities of Mexican identity, history, and social dynamics. Fuentes's prose is characterized by its intellectual rigor and stylistic elegance, offering readers deep insights into the human condition. His influential voice continues to resonate, cementing his legacy as one of the most significant literary minds of the 20th century.

    Carlos Fuentes
    This I Believe
    Terra nostra
    Adam in Eden
    Diary of Frida Kahlo
    Mexico: A higher vision
    The Campaign
    • 2021
    • 2016

      Nietzsche on His Balcony

      • 332 pages
      • 12 hours of reading
      3.6(62)Add rating

      On a hot, insomniac night at the Hotel Metropol, the novelist Carlos Fuentes steps onto his balcony only to find another man on the balcony next door. The other man asks for news of the social strife turning into revolution in the unnamed city below them. He reveals himself as the 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, permitted to revisit earth once a year for 24 hours based on his theory of eternal return. With tenderness and gallows humor, the novelist and the philosopher unflinchingly tell the story of the beginning of the revolution, its triumph, fanaticism, terror, and retrenchment: a story of love, friendship, family, commitment, passion, corruption, betrayal, violence, and hope.

      Nietzsche on His Balcony
    • 2013

      Adam in Eden

      • 201 pages
      • 8 hours of reading

      In this comic novel, Adam Gorozpe, a successful businessman in Mexico, faces turmoil as his wife falls for a violent security director. Amidst political intrigue, a charismatic Boy-God inspires chaos, leading Adam to confront threats to his life, marriage, and country. A humorous yet poignant tale of survival and redemption.

      Adam in Eden
    • 2010
    • 2009

      Happy Families

      Fiction

      • 352 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      3.2(38)Add rating

      Exploring the complexities of family dynamics, Carlos Fuentes presents a collection of vignettes that delve into isolation and connection within the Pagán family and beyond. Each story reveals profound emotional truths, such as a mother’s unwavering love for her estranged son and the unexpected reunion of old lovers, set against the backdrop of modern Mexico. The narratives highlight the interplay between contemporary life and mythic traditions, showcasing the diverse ways individuals seek love and redemption amidst their struggles.

      Happy Families
    • 2007

      The Old Gringo

      • 208 pages
      • 8 hours of reading
      3.6(2228)Add rating

      Set against the backdrop of revolutionary Mexico, the narrative follows Ambrose Bierce, an American writer and soldier, during his enigmatic final days. His interactions with General Tomas Arroyo and Pancho Villa's soldiers highlight the deep cultural tensions between the United States and Mexico. The novel explores the tragic history and complexities of these two intertwined cultures, ultimately illustrating how their differences and connections shape the fates of both Bierce and Arroyo.

      The Old Gringo
    • 2005

      This I Believe

      An A to Z of a Life

      • 352 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      3.9(63)Add rating

      "In this deeply personal book, the internationally renowned Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes steps back to survey the wellsprings of art and ideology, the events that have shaped our time, and his extraordinary life and fiercest passions." Arranged alphabetically from "Amore" to "Zurich," This I Believe takes us on an inner journey with a great writer. Fuentes ranges wide, from contradictions inherent in Latin American culture and politics to his long friendship with director Luis Bunuel. Along the way, we find reflections on the mixed curse and blessing of globalization; memories of a sexual initiation in Zurich; a fond tracing of a family tree heavy with poets, dreamers, and diplomats; evocations of the streets, cafes, and bedrooms of Washington, Paris, Santiago de Chile, Cambridge, Oaxaca, and New York; and a celebration of literary heroes including Balzac, Cervantes, Faulkner, Kafka, and Shakespeare.

      This I Believe
    • 2005

      Christopher Unborn

      • 531 pages
      • 19 hours of reading

      Conceived exactly nine months before the five-hundredth anniversary of Columbus's discovery of the New World, the narrator of Christopher Unborn spends the novel waiting to be born. But what kind of world will he be delivered into? "Makesicko City," as the punning narrator calls it, is not doing well in this alternate, worst-case-scenario 1992. Politicians are selling pieces of their country to the United States. A black, acid rain falls relentlessly, forewarning of the even worse ecological catastrophes to come. Gangs of children, confined to the slums, terrorize their wealthy neighbors. A great novel of ideas and a work of aesthetic boldness, Christopher Unborn is a unique, and quite funny, work from one of the twentieth century's most respected authors.

      Christopher Unborn
    • 2005

      The intimate life of artist Frida Kahlo is wonderfully revealed in the illustrated journal she kept during her last 10 years. This passionate and at times surprising record contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams; many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera, along with 70 mesmerising watercolour illustrations. The text entries in brightly coloured inks make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist's political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than thirty-five operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of eighteen.

      The diary of Frida Kahlo. An intimate self-portrait.
    • 2003

      Inez

      • 162 pages
      • 6 hours of reading
      3.3(23)Add rating

      The novel intertwines the passionate love story of Gabriel Atlan-Ferrara, a renowned conductor, and Inez Prada, a captivating Mexican singer, with a mystical tale of humanity's first romantic encounter. As Berlioz's music for The Damnation of Faust unites Gabriel and Inez, the ancient love of neh-el and ah-nel mirrors their own Faustian struggle between love and death. A mysterious crystal seal, central to Gabriel's obsession, connects these narratives, reflecting themes of love, longing, and the infinite nature of human connection.

      Inez