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The Uncomfortable Dead
“Great writers by definition are outriders, raiders of a sort, sweeping down from wilderness territories to disturb the peace, overrun the status quo and throw into question everything we know to be true. . . . On its face, the novel is a murder mystery, and at the book’s heart, always, is a deep love of Mexico and its people.” —Los Angeles Times
Subcomandante Marcos is a s...more
Subcomandante Marcos is a s...more
Paperback, 268 pages
Published
February 1st 2010
by Akashic Books
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There's only so much serial killing a man can take before he wants to switch to something less grim, and he falls smack into politics. Paco Ignacio Taibo is one of Mexico's most famous writers, and in The Uncomfortable Dead, he collaborates with another famous Mexican, Insurgent Subcomandante Marcos, to produce one of the most satisfying books I've read in a while. The two authors write alternate chapters, and who would have thought that the Zapatista leader had such a deft touch, such a feeling...more
Skip to the second half of following review for my take on The Uncomfortable Dead, if you're so inclined.
Call of the grisly
http://www.sfbg.com/2010/08/10/call-g...
Paco Ignacio Taibo II constructs a guide to corruption in Mexico City Noir
08.10.10 - 5:04 pm | Ben Terrall
LIT With volumes devoted to numerous U.S. cities and quite a few foreign capitals, it sometimes seems as if Akashic Books' expanding line of noir story anthologies will wind up covering virtually every major metropolis on earth. Be...more
Call of the grisly
http://www.sfbg.com/2010/08/10/call-g...
Paco Ignacio Taibo II constructs a guide to corruption in Mexico City Noir
08.10.10 - 5:04 pm | Ben Terrall
LIT With volumes devoted to numerous U.S. cities and quite a few foreign capitals, it sometimes seems as if Akashic Books' expanding line of noir story anthologies will wind up covering virtually every major metropolis on earth. Be...more
You have to be really knowledgeable about contemporary Mexican politics and recent history in order to get much out of the book. I ended up taking a lot of research detours in order to understand what was going on, since this is a political thriller as much as a standard detective story. It was worth the effort. The main detective character has the requisite d level of cynicism that i am accustomed to reading about in a mystery novel, and it was fun to read about him. And the descriptions of Mex...more
i picked up this book because i had heard many good things about it. and, i thought it would be neat to read marcos, i was thinking that it would political but not necessarily overtly.
i was wrong.
and i didnt like the style or the writing really. i made it about four chapters into the book and decided not to finish it, the switching was doing it for me and i didnt really have a great hold on the story.
at first i really liked the way marcos was writing, but quickly it became tedious. i understand...more
i was wrong.
and i didnt like the style or the writing really. i made it about four chapters into the book and decided not to finish it, the switching was doing it for me and i didnt really have a great hold on the story.
at first i really liked the way marcos was writing, but quickly it became tedious. i understand...more
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Ωραία ιστορία. Απλή η γραφή του Μάρκος, αλλά όμορφη, φυσικά δεν είναι συγγραφέας για να γράψει τρομερά, αλλά γράφει με χαρακτηριστική απλότητα, το οποίο έχει και αυτό τη γοητεία του. Το ενδιαφέρον είναι το πως γράφτηκε αυτό το βιβλίο, η διαδικασία του.
En pocas palabras en esta novela el grandioso detective Hector Belascoarán se encuentra con Elías de la comisión de investigación del EZLN para buscar al mal y al malo, en el camino surgen varias complicaciones, misterios y preguntas...Muy buena novela, aunque en algunas partes sentí que forzaban mucho la historia, nada que no pueda resolver la habilidosa pluma de Taibo.
Not a beginner’s book. I recommend it only if you understand Spanish enough to get the double talk and some slang. If you are from Mexico, you will enjoy it very much.
Paco Ignancio is a great Mexican writer. I am reading one book Angel of History, and the Italian writer used some of Paco's insights to write the portion of the novel that takes place in Mexico.
Paco Ignancio is a great Mexican writer. I am reading one book Angel of History, and the Italian writer used some of Paco's insights to write the portion of the novel that takes place in Mexico.
i read alot of reviews from people on here that said this book was shit. i kind of liked it and i haven't been able to read a fiction book in a real long time. i think the only reason i could read it was because it didn't seem entirely made up. marcos' portion of the book talked about zapatistas, chiapas, etc. so it just seemed sort of like a longwinded, chopped up communique (the ones where he talks about don durito). i couldn't really get into the other guy's intersecting story but... other th...more
This has to be one of the most underrated novels of the last twenty years. El Sup is an amazing author. Although, heavily influenced by Cervantes, he doesn't try to copy him, but rather emulate him. The latter is much more noble.
This was an interesting, but somewhat difficult book to read. The book was written with "four hands", meaning that Marcos wrote the even numbered chapters, and Taibo wrote the odd ones. So the voice changes drastically from chapter to chapter. Subtly mixed into the story are some of the ways of the autonomous collective democracies in the EZLN-controlled municipalities, which is interesting.
I preferred the Marcos sections over the Taibo sections.
Very interesting murder mystery co-written by Subcamandante Marcos. Had to pick it up when I saw it on the shelf. Both writers are fairly good and have (among other thigns) a keen sense of humor and good political sense. But without knowing a good deal about mexican politics, it wont make much sense. Plus, I was dissapointed that it became a conspiracy... not suprised (or doubtful that it IS a conspiracy), but not what I'd want out of a detective novel
I love love love Paco Taibo. His sections are wonderful and dark and grim and bleakly funny. Commandante Marcos, on the other hand, speaks about himself in the third person and, if I may be so bold with a political hero, is a bit annoying. Yet still, his sections are fascinating in the mix of real life and propaganda and ruminations they bring together. I quite enjoyed it in its entirety, though I was always happy to get back to Belascoarán.
So far so awesome. I'm on chapter one and El Marcos has a very different writing style, but it's interesting and informative. I am already learning more about the Zapatistas!
It had a good ending. I wonder how many people, after reading this book, start leaving messages on answering machines that start with "Hey, this is Jesus Maria Alvarado..."
It had a good ending. I wonder how many people, after reading this book, start leaving messages on answering machines that start with "Hey, this is Jesus Maria Alvarado..."
i was really looking forward to reading this ever since i first heard these two teamed up to write a novel -- and it did not disappoint! totally wacky, anti-neoliberal, fighting on behalf of "the screwed" mystery novel. lots of twists and turns, a little confusing at times (in a good way), and really fun to read...and you still learn something about mexican politics and history.
loved it. two different perspectives on one diverse country. two authors seamlessly communicating with one another. one of the only "detective stories" i've ever really liked. however, i must admit i have a soft spot for anything that can transport me to mexico so easily. in any case, it's a fun, fast read that i highly recommend to anyone who loves mexico like i do.
The masked face of the Chiapas/Zapatista rebellion and Mexico's finest left wing, no just finest, crime novelist team up for alternating chapters of an eternally optimistic leftist detective and a Zapatista detective in the city for the first time investigating the same crime. An excellent tale of political struggle, and poltical violence.
If you're interested in Mexico, it is worth getting through a convoluted plot in order to get a view of Mexico through the lens of a great detective fiction writer and Subcomandante Marcos. The result is funnier than I would've imagined, and gets to the heart of the challenges the Mexican poor face as they tangle with the political world.
May 07, 2007
Phil
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
I wouldn't, I'd recommend Marcos' other writings.
Expected to really like this book, and just didn't. I couldn't even finish it. I was unimpressed by Taibo (of whose work I had been previously ignorant), and while a novel by four hands sounds good in theory, the execution for me wasn't there. A far cry from the revolutionary insight and wit of much of Marcos' other work.
Whoa, this book was awesome and so much better than I expected it to be. Very well written and humorous. I especially like that Subcomandante Marcos and detective fiction writer, Carlos Taibo II, never met but wrote the book together, each one writing the alternate chapter.
Jun 27, 2007
Denise
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
pulp mystery fans
A very interesting mystery. I knew absolutely nothing about the "Ugly War" or the Zapatista movement in Mexico. Not only a great mystery with 2 different narrators, but a great social studies lesson. The language is hysterical.
and not that fictional
written by subcomandante marcos y paco ignacio taibo II
written by subcomandante marcos y paco ignacio taibo II
Me gustó.
Jun 10, 2013
Jennifer Kaiser
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
central-south-america
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Subcomandante Marcos (date of birth unknown) is the spokesperson for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a Mexican rebel movement. In January 1994, he led an army of Mayan farmers into the eastern parts of the Mexican state of Chiapas in protest of the Mexican government's treatment of indigenous peoples.
Marcos is an author, political poet, adroit humorist, and outspoken opponent of...more
More about Subcomandante Marcos...
Marcos is an author, political poet, adroit humorist, and outspoken opponent of...more
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