Hailed as a masterpiece since its publication in 1962, "The Death of Artemio Cruz" is Carlos Fuentes's haunting voyage into the soul of modern Mexi...
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Mar 26, 2010
Alejandro
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I had to read a book for my high school World Literature class and chose to read this book in particular because it seemed to be interesting. I did not know what to expect from this book because it caught me by surprise. The book starts off with a surprise in use of explicitness , the author Carlos Fuentes use rich imagery and other techniques to catch a reader and keep them focused and reading wanting to read on; though the novel is not simple it helps open up your imagination and think about w
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Sep 30, 2008
brian
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carlos fuentes is another one of those latin american writers that makes me hate myself. beyond his tremendous skill as a novelist, he's good looking, well dressed (the world was just cooler when novelists and film directors wore suits), worldly, dashing, daring, and claims to have slept with jean seberg and jeanne moreau. the bastard.
and then i came across an article he had written (first three paragraphs below) and now hate him as the series mentioned would probably be my favorite More...
and then i came across an article he had written (first three paragraphs below) and now hate him as the series mentioned would probably be my favorite More...
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May 25, 2009
Amy
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This is my second venture into Fuentes, the first being "The Crystal Frontier." While "Crystal" was seemingly a bunch of short stories and "Artemio" is written as diary entries, I thought there was a definite connection in their forms. In "Crystal" the short stories often feature a lot of the same characters and all work together to paint a picture of existence on the literal and figurative "border." "Artemio" sometimes feels like disjo
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Dec 16, 2009
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes is a novel about 20th century Mexico, portrayed through the life of Artemio Cruz, a young soldier in the Mexican Revolution who becomes a wealthy and corrupt landowner. The novel recounts the events of Cruz’s life from his deathbed as his family tries to persuade him to reveal the location of his will. My favorite aspect of The Death of Artemio Cruz is the way that Fuentes describes the corruption of Mexico during the 20th century. With each page, I
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Oct 21, 2010
Joselito
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Seventy-one-year-old Artemio Cruz is dying. He is a very rich and powerful man, made ruthless, godless and corrupt by his hard childhood and his soldiering during the Mexican revolution during which he had cheated death several times and had done, and suffered, betrayals. After the revolution, through corrupt wheeling and dealing and use of force for self-aggrandizement he became extremely rich. He now owns vast tracks of land, companies, a newspaper and, by himself, he is a major political play
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Apr 03, 2010
Smatarese
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A tale of Mexico’s experience during the 20th century, Carlos Fuentes’s novel The Death of Artemio Cruz tells the fictional life story of Artemio Cruz from his humbling beginnings to the his status as powerful owner of Mexican newspapers and power broker of the Mexican economy. The tale, which begins with Artemio Cruz lying on his deathbed in a hospital in Mexico and ends with his actual death in the same hospital room, narrates Artemio’s life and times through flashbacks—narrated by Artemio hi
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Dec 16, 2009
Vicky
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La muerte de Artemio Cruz es una novela cautivadora que cuenta la vida y los recuerdos de Artemio Cruz en su lecho de muerto. Me encantó el lenguaje de esta novela, lo cual ilumina los pensamientos críticos y secos de Artemio Cruz. El vagar entre lo presente y el pasado se hace de una manera verdaderamente fascinante, y me parece que es bastante fisiológicamente preciso. Las memorias, los cuales son provocados por olores o palabras u observaciones, nos enseñan la vida vergonzosa y corr
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Nov 03, 2009
Jon
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Esta novela me hace recordar de lugares en Mexico donde he estado y personajes mexicanos que he conocido. Por ejemplo, el autor describe la Casa de Azulejos Sanborns en la ciudad de Mexico. La persona de Artemio Cruz, de varias edades, me hace pensar de companeros estudiantiles, de jovenes tantos serios como vacilones, de comerciantes y gerentes de negocios, y de un profesor sabio que tenia hace anos. Me gustaria saber si Carlos Slim a veces piensa como Artemio Cruz, aunque Slim esta viviendo
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Apr 23, 2011
Kristel
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I read a translation by Alfred Mac Adam. This is the story of Artemio Cruz. The reader is introduced to Artemio as he lays dying. The story is told in a series of stream of conscious technique. Artemio takes us back in his life but not in chronological order and then back to the sick room where he is surrounded by his wife, daughter, granddaughter, the priest and Padilla. The author is really telling the story of Mexico through the life of Artemio. Artemio Cruz is not a real person but the revol
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Jun 20, 2011
David
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Artemio Cruz is a man whose impending death compels him to look back over the span of his life to re-live its peak experiences. In a real sense Cruz was more than a man living in Mexico during a time of revolution: he is a microcosm of Mexico itself. I deeply respect and admire the inventive, narrative technique, which in some respects is revolutionary. The switch of narrative voice in its person is daring and works brilliantly to make the narrative come alive. The story line becomes personal an
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Dec 17, 2009
Jason
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Fuentes sums up the Mexican reality in the monumental "Chingar" Chapter. If you can read in Spanish, you must read this book in the original language. Something is lost in translation when you read about F*#K for a dozen pages or so. A thought provoking book that should be studied along with the Mexican Revolution and Post-Revolutionary Mexico for adequate historical context.
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May 16, 2010
JabBeRwoCkY
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Aug 04, 2011
Geo
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not something to read without time to concentrate. Between flashbacks, changes in settings and changes in narrators, all without warning or pause, it is extremely difficult to follow. The main character is on his deathbed in a hospital. He has many flashbacks but he also is listening to many conversations he had recorded during his lifetime of political, military and business dealings. you never know if you are listening to his recordings or being given a true flashback. oftentimes, a dialo
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Nov 12, 2009
Azucena
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I had to read this book for my world lit. class. I found this book interesting and touching as well.Because of the way Carlos expresses the feelings Artemio is getting while he is dying it reminded me when i was in the hospital thinking i was going to leave this world.Artemio the main character is a man who wants power,women and richness although he forgot to add happiness and when he is bed he seems to wanting to go back and change some things.Overall richness and power does not equal happiness
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Jan 29, 2012
Frank
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Non conoscevo Carlos Fuentes, su di lui avevo letto recentemente un articolo nel Quaderno di Josè Saramago e mi sono reso conto che è ritenuto uno dei grandi del novecento dell'area centro-sudamericana.
In questo libro il racconto di un uomo, della sua vita e dei suoi pensieri sul letto di morte, costituiscono il pretesto per un'opera decisamente più ambiziosa: ripercorrere la storia del Messico a partire dalla seconda metà dell'ottocento.
Non solo: qui Fuentes fa più di una semplice cr More...
In questo libro il racconto di un uomo, della sua vita e dei suoi pensieri sul letto di morte, costituiscono il pretesto per un'opera decisamente più ambiziosa: ripercorrere la storia del Messico a partire dalla seconda metà dell'ottocento.
Non solo: qui Fuentes fa più di una semplice cr More...
Aug 23, 2010
Dusty
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The Great Mexican Novel? The Great Novel of the Latin American "Boom" Generation? However you describe La muerte de Artemio Cruz's greatness, you'll need a capital G.
The book, which is generally regarded as Carlos Fuentes's best -- I'll resist endorsing that statement now, for I haven't read any other of his fictional works, but I acknowledge it'd be hard to beat -- tells the sinister, obfuscated story of the failure of the Mexican Revolution by way of the sinister, obfusca More...
The book, which is generally regarded as Carlos Fuentes's best -- I'll resist endorsing that statement now, for I haven't read any other of his fictional works, but I acknowledge it'd be hard to beat -- tells the sinister, obfuscated story of the failure of the Mexican Revolution by way of the sinister, obfusca More...
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Jul 18, 2010
Marie
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I really enjoyed this book..both as a story of one man's life- and small brief moments that shaped it, and as a reflection of the formation of modern Mexico- based on personalities, and business interests.The way the book is written can be hard to get in at first, and I actually found it easier to consider it written as if it were a movie- often skipping from scene to scene with little transition. Although once I got used to this style it was easier to read through the book and enjoy it. The las
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Dec 21, 2007
Patrick
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The Death of Artemio Cruz is considered Carlos Fuentes’ masterpiece. It is the third book of his that I’ve read, the other two being The Crystal Frontier and The Years With Lara Diaz. The common theme in these three books would be the broad scope in which Fuentes creates his stories, which aren’t just about characters, but about countries. The Crystal Frontier examines the interconnectivity of America and Mexico. The Years With Lara Diaz is closer to The Death of Artemio Cruz in that it specific
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Jul 05, 2010
Lisette
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Read it for a class on El Boom literature and fell in love with it. Then the class (a tiny one of 8 grad students majoring in English) was treated to a special surprise. Our prof knew Fuentes (and Luisa Valenzuela) and arranged for us lowly grad students to have dinner with these two brilliant novelists and talk books! So we did. The book's seamless blending of times, characters and ideas is profound which makes The Death of Artemio Cruz a masterpiece of magical realism.
Dec 02, 2011
Bev
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This probably deserves 5 stars as I believe it is an important piece of literature. I am glad I read it but I must say that I was as lost in my reading as I have ever been. I would have benifitted by having a group to read it with and discuss it to keep me on track. I also know very little about Mexican history so following the historical plot was difficult. I might read it again to help pick up on the bits I couldn't keep up with.
Dec 09, 2008
Heather
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Proceed with caution as this book is both hard to follow and has content that is difficult. However, I rate this book high because of it's unique and novel form which includes a first person narrative, a second person narrative, and a third person narrative. Can you figure out who is talking in each narrative? Plan to read something light and happy after reading this. :-)
Jul 29, 2011
David
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This was the first Fuentes book I ever read and he hooked me. I am now buying and reading all the rest. He is one of the great writers of the 21st century and totally overshadowed by Garcia Marquez and Vargas Llossa.
This book is the story of Artemio Cruz as he reflects upon his life from the Mexican Revolution. He made it rich and did dubvious things to gain power. He seems to have no regrets but I won't give the story away.
Written in the early 1960s, Fuentes uses early More...
This book is the story of Artemio Cruz as he reflects upon his life from the Mexican Revolution. He made it rich and did dubvious things to gain power. He seems to have no regrets but I won't give the story away.
Written in the early 1960s, Fuentes uses early More...
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Oct 29, 2011
Melanie
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This is the type of book that every writer should aspire to write. There is not enough space here to adequately describe the pure genius of this book. The only advice I would add here is that this is a book that you should learn Spanish just so you can read - it's not the same in English, in the translation you loose many of the literary merits.
Oct 18, 2011
Becky
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There are pros and cons to my annual read-a-book-in-Spanish self-imposed requirement.
Pros:
1. I feel oh-so-cultured and smart.
2. My Spanish is back to near-fluent levels by the second half of the book.
Cons:
1. I have basically no idea what happened in the first half of the book.
2. It takes freaking forever.
Based on what I actually understood, this is a pretty darn good novel about Mexico and an old dude named Artemio. However, shifting pe More...
Pros:
1. I feel oh-so-cultured and smart.
2. My Spanish is back to near-fluent levels by the second half of the book.
Cons:
1. I have basically no idea what happened in the first half of the book.
2. It takes freaking forever.
Based on what I actually understood, this is a pretty darn good novel about Mexico and an old dude named Artemio. However, shifting pe More...
Apr 01, 2010
Fuentes's acclaimed novel about modern Mexico opens with Cruz on his deathbed, and plunges us into his thoughts as he segues from the past to his increasingly disoriented present. Satirical and experimental, this novel introduced us to Fuentes' enormous talent as a writer and helped to define the genre of Magical Realism.
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Jul 17, 2011
Annfairfaxbaker
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Currently reading in Spanish, and probably will be for the next year, unless I give up. I like it, but it's confusing even in English, let alone Spanish. Excellent portrait of the last century in Mexican life and politics. Very cynical, also at times poetic. No magical realism,, which suits me.
Jun 04, 2009
Catherine
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Love the narrative fluctuation in this book- changes between first, second and third person narration are thoughtful and effective. Good model for writers who want to learn how/ when/ why to use different narrative viewpoints. Also, a good plot- could be cliche but isn't.
Nov 27, 2011
Lindsey
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Really good book, but challenging at times. It was sometimes hard to tell when the action was taking place, but really, that was intentional. I think the author's idea was to show how difficult it can be to tell when you are when you're slipping between this world and the next. The idea of the book and its execution were both excellent, and Fuentes's prose was just beautiful.
Apr 29, 2009
Anne
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This was one of those books that you appreciate more in retrospect. Reading it was difficult because Fuentes provides only snippets of information in non-chronological order. I think the whole point is that it's like an impressionistic painting, where it looks crude up close, but then when you can step back you realize it's a masterpiece.
Mar 08, 2011
Greg
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Had to read this book for a college course. Not a bad book and the way the narrative winds through is kind of interesting. if you like historical fiction and want to learn a little about the mexican revolution then give this one a read.
