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tales based on Mayan myths, tr G Alter-Gilbert ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A surreal journey into the soul of Guatemala
"The Mirror of Lida Sal," by Miguel Angel Asturias, is a noteworthy piece of 20th century fiction by a giant of Guatemalan literature. Subtitled "Tales Based on Mayan Myths and Guatemalan Legends," this volume has been translated into English by Gilbert Alter-Gilbert.

In this book, Asturias draws upon Central American history and culture to create several fascinating short pieces. His style (as I read it through Alter-Gilbert's translation) is psychedelic and florid; Asturias mixes realistic and fantastic elements throughout the book. The result is comparable to a prose version of the paintings of Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

I don't find all of the stories in "The Mirror of Lida Sal" to be equally effective. At times, Asturias' indulgence in ornate wordplay seems to overwhelm plot and characterization. But this is still a richly rewarding volume for the attentive reader. Some of the major themes of the book include magic, transformation, and cultural hybridization.

The best pieces in the book include the title story, which tells of a working class mulatta's attempt to ensnare the man of her desire; "Anteater Juan," a bizarre fantasy; and "Legend of the Silent Bell," a story of religious fanaticism and trans-Atlantic intrigue in colonial Central America. Miguel Angel Asturias is one of the most important figures in Latin American literature, and "The Mirror of Lida Sal" is definitely worth gazing into. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner! Nobel Prize for Literature. Guatemalan diplomat andwriter Miguel Angel Asturias (1899-1974) began this award-winning work whilestill a law student. It is a story of ruthless dictator and his schemes to disposeof a political adversary in an unnamed Latin American country usuallyidentified as Guatemala. The book has been acclaimed for portraying both atotalitarian government and its damaging psychological effects. Drawing fromhis experiences as a journalist writing under repressive conditions, Asturiasemploys such literary devices as satire to convey the government'stransgressions and surrealistic dream sequences to demonstrate the policestate's impact on the individual psyche. Asturias's stance against all forms ofinjustice in Guatemala caused critics to view the author as a compassionatespokesperson for the oppressed. "My work," Asturias promised when heaccepted the Nobel Prize, "will continue to reflect the voice of the people,gathering their myths and popular beliefs and at the same time seeking to givebirth to a universal consciousness of Latin American problems." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Difficult and Disorienting
The President is a series of stories connected with the mystery of the murder of a government official, "the man with the little mule," on the steps of a Cathedral.The narrative is interspersed with poem-like and song-like passages in which the same or similar motifs -- songbirds and certain noises -- are oft repeated.As the murder is "solved," characters have weird adventures which are sometimes narrated in the style of fairy tales.

That the mostly dissociative and nauseating narrative style (it involves much confusion, random interludes of obsessive, repetitive onomatopoeia and verse, and deeply affective scenes of brutality and torture) accurately reflects the lived reality under certain Latin American regimes is not questioned here.Yet, I fear that the thoroughly disorienting experience of reading The President will alienate all but the most interested and motivated readers.

Did I actually managed to purchase it?
If I did purchase this book, then I never received it. I remember I did, and I payed and everything but I never got it. Because I was extreamly busy at that time I just decided to forget about it, but I never got it. I ended up traveling to Guatemala and whent to the most bizarre bookshop to find it and now I have my copy but not through amazon. Hahhaha, I thought I had purchased it through ebay which made me not use ebay anymore, so I'm going to start thinking agan about amazon.

great book! best read in Spanish if you have the oportunity
I have read this book in spanish and in english, and like the author, Im Guatemalan too, soo I've seen the places he describes and I know the historical events behind this book, so my advice to you is to read it, you will love it, even if it is difficult to read sometimes, its worth the effort, but if you want to fully absorb the book, investigate the XX century guatemalan history, that will help you read this book in an easier way.
By the way in spanish the book's name is "El Senor Presidente" wich means "Mr. President", not "The President".

El Presidente
I thought The President by Miguel Angel Asturias was a beautiful work, but better read in its original language. The English translation was at some times difficult to read and didn't make sense, it was done without care or consideration to the moral the work was trying to portray. The pages where filled with powerful images and symbols Asturias himself could have witnessed. You could tell the author knew what he was talking about and felt passionate about what he wrote, that passion drove the story on and really showed accurately the political oppression the poor where shown at that time. The characters were dynamic, intense and could have represented easily some political figures of the time. He described each and every character as being guilty of something and didn't shine a godly light on anyone, even the victims of the government. He didn't romanticize the world of fear and constant oppression he strove to show, but presented it plainly as what it was. This is a moving read and I would recommend it to anyone. But you have to be prepared to stick with it because I found the way it is writtensomewhat different from more common novels. It would be best if read in Spanish because then you wouldn't have to deal with the poorly done translation. I had read some information on Asturias and that really gives new insight into the work. Being able to understand the parallels between the life the author lead and the difficulties he went through gave deeper meaning to what happened to the characters.

No joke.
Enormously important book which rightly got the Nobel Prize for Literature.It could also have gotten it for human rights.Sadly meaningful in 2005 also.I don't understand, however, why people keep using "magic realism" or "surrealism" to describe it.Fantasy?No. ... Read more

Product Description
El interes de Miguel angel Asturias encuentra su transposicion literaria en LEYENDAS de GUATEMALA cronica de prodigios fantasticos en la que las leyendas miticas del pueblo maya-quiche se funden con las tradiciones del pasado colonial guatemalteco y las ciudades indigenas de Tikal y Copan se aunan con Santiago y Antigua, fundadas por los espanoles. La batalla entre los espiritus de la tierra y los espiritus divinos es narrada por la prosa evocadora y exuberante del Premio Nobel de Literatura de 1967, colmada de imagenes deslumbrantes. Otras obras de Miguel angel Asturias en esta coleccion: El Senor Presidente ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Este libro cuenta una historia que se sigue repitiendo
Yo lei este libro como parte del curriculum de una estudiante de primaria en mi querida Guatemala en los anos 70's.En ese entonces no me identifique tanto con las atrocidades que ese libro discute por mi corta edad y la inocencia de una infancia que deseo que mis hijos tengan.Ahora tengo deseos de leer esta obra maestra de nuevo, en Ingles, para darme cuenta si la magica forma de escribir de Miguel Angel Asturias se pierde en la traduccion.

una obra maestra
este libro es una obra maestra de la literatura, es lirico, por la forma de expresion de sus personajes, es coloquial en sus expresiones, es de alcance enorme en su tematica. un dictador que tiene control absoluto sobretodo y todos y utiliza el mejor servicio de inteligencia del mundo:el miedode las personas que las hace delatar hasta lo mas minimo de sus vecinos,amigos o familiares.. es tambien una historia de amor, de un amor especial,lirico onirico frustrante, que termina mal. es tambien la historia de ungeneral cobarde que huye de la muerte dejando a su hija, solo para darsecuenta de que ha estado muerto todos estos anos al estar al servicio dequienes explotan al pueblo. es la historia de una madre que ve morir a suhijo en sus brazos y no puede hacer nada, solamente perder la razon, puescuando la cordura es tan irreal solo la sinrazon nos queda como alternativaviable para seguir vivos. esta novelatambien esta llena deexperimentacion con el lenguaje a un nivel y con una altura excepcional, senota que el escritor trabajo arduamente en su obra, mas de 10 anos paraterminarla y utilizo elementos de faulkner y de joyce, bastante bien usadosy pertinentes en esta novela. creo que el abrio la puerta de las letraslatinoamericanas para la experimentacion y el avance.

no me basto condecir que este libro es excelente tuve que explicar porque es excelentepara que no pase desapercibido y se pierda como joya en latormenta....

LUIS MENDEZ

crazzyteacher@hotmail.com

Miguel Angel Asturias es grande!
Libro que lanzó a la fama Miguel Angel Asturias ganando el premio nobel de literatura en 1967. Señor Presidente retrata la epoca del dictador guatemalteco Estrada Cabrera,y denúncia las atrocidades cometidas por losque estaban en el poder.Realmente muy impresionante. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Brochure for Guatemala
Asturias writes like no one I have ever read before, but what irked me was the constant dependency on the back of the book for keys as to what anything meant.Much of it comes from the legends of the Mayan culturewhich I'm sure most people don't know concisely enough to know parts of theMayan "bible." For the more patient reader, it is an amazing setof tales, but without the critical edition, I think one might becomedevoured by the profundity it entails, and comprehend only the title.Fromwhat I read however, I realized that we are dealing with an unorthodoxwriter, a shaman with words, and the predecessor of Marquez.

The book is a excelent review of investigation about "Men of
The book is a excelent review of investigation about "Men of maize". I'd apreciate if you could send me the address (email, phone, city etc.) of Gerald Martin. I want tocontact him because I'like to sendhim a article about Asturias book. Sincerly yours Dr. Oscar Vinueza.

A book every being should read...
Men of Maize is an incredible tale of Indian life in Latin America duringthe early twentieth century, woven poetically by Asturias.In six parts hesimultaneously creates and re-tells history, blurring the distinctionsbetween reality and myth.He interweaves the past, present and future,giving the background tale, then continuing on to show how that tale wouldbecome the folklore of the future.

In Maize,there is a strongundercurrent of the clash of cultures that fuels the fires of conflictbetween the Ladinos, Mestizos and Indians.The Indians see themselves asmade of maize, and to have their flesh and blood grown by foreigners forprofit is abhorrent to them.As they are evermore forced off their land toclear fields for the commercial maizegrowers they begin to rebel.It ishere that Asturias starts his novel, with an attack on Indian Chief GasparIlóm led by soldiers and maizegrowers.The death of Ilóm, one of themagical firefly wizards, wreaks a cycle of revenge that affects all whowere involved.A series of battles ensue, and tensions rise, giving way topermanent distrust and dislike between the two groups.Asturias then takesthe reader farther through time, showing how the past discords (and thelegends that arose from it) give hope and motivation to the generations ofthe future, as they struggle against the same forces their ancestorsstruggled with.He creates the tales of many different players indifferent periods of time, such as the great Chief Ilóm, the Indianpostman, and Goyo Yic, the blind Indian beggar.Asturias connects theseseemingly unrelated lives with a common theme: each man is graduallyalienated from a "progressing" society through losing his land,his woman, and eventually his own self.By this Asturias describes thereality for an indigenous person living in an ever-fluctuatingpost-colonial Latin America.

Crucial to understanding this clash ofcultures is understanding the Indian way of life.For the indigenous ofLatin America, the answer to everything lay in the every day activities andchoices of the people.The Maya are a highly ritualized culture, even thesmallest activity, such as eating or drinking, is governed by unwrittenrules.The clothes, the huipil, the essential food, maize, and the petatemat on which they sleep, each play their part in appeasing a higher power(by now syncretized into a Christian God).Asturias makes hundreds ofreferences to these daily activities and the beliefs they represent.Ofcentral importance is the maize, the crop of the Maya, their sustenance,and the basis for their existence.To interfere with the growing of themaize is to interfere with the very core of a Maya, himself being made ofmaize.Another recurring theme in this book is the importance of thenahual, or "soul double" that each person is assigned at birth. The nahuales take the form of animals, and those animals serve as aconnection for each person to the animal world, as aides and companions.

In a loose sense the novel does progress linearly through the years ofthe early 1900's, though the reader immediately feels a more cyclicalmotion of time.Often unsure of how much time has passed between stories,and whether the events being described are in "real" time ordream time, the reader is swirled into the reality of the tale.However,by the end of the book the reader, almost surprised, finds each story tiedto another in some form, with the final revelation of the identity of thebetrayess, María Tecún, completing all cycles.

Asturias' ability to writefrom the native perspective is amazing.He has succeeded in making thisnovel a mystical and magical experience for the reader.Through his poeticlanguage Asturias places the reader right in the heart of the forest, withmagical fireflies swarming about and rain pelting down on the dusty paths.He has masterfully recreated in writing the lack of acknowledgement of timethat is pervasive throughout Latin America. It is no easy feat to put inwriting la magia de lo real, or, the magic of reality, and Asturias hasdone it well.He has shared with the reader an existence contrary to"Western" consciousness, where no thing is governed by"Western" rules, yet this existence found itself trying toreconcile itself with the ever-"Westernizing" world.Throughfiction Asturias painst the picture of reality - the cruelty and tragedy ofthe idigenous struggle to survive in post-colonial Latin America.

The mirror of Guatemala
Some people said: Asturias is a writer. I say Asturias is an artist who paints the reality of a magic land: Guatemala. You could feel it. Sorry for my english, but I'm another "woman of maize". (Usually we dont speak english). ... Read more

Product Description
Gerald Martin, coordinador de este estudio, escribe en la introduccion: "Con este tomo se presenta la edicion critica de una de las novelas más dificiles y menos estudiadas, en terminos relativos, de America Latina. En este sentido se podra decir que es una de las ediciones criticas mas necesarias de la Colección Archivos". Los dos ensayos sobre la historia, genesis y trayectoria del texto los escribio Gerald Martin. En los analisis tematico, linguistico e ideologico de la obra participan Dante Liano, Arturo Arias, Martin Lienhard y Gordon Brotherston, entre otros. Complementa la edicion una extensa bibliografía y una cronologia del autor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good condition, quick shipping
The book arrived in good condition and was consistent with the advertised state.It took less than a week to arrive.

Mulata spectacular
No book compares to the Mulata. Not just in quality, though it's a wonderful book, or in prose style, though it's beautifully and psychedelically (yes) written, but in topic, which is as far out there yetas perfectly (il)logical as anything I've ever read. Based it seems onGuatemalan mythology, the plot follows a poor farmer (name forgotten by me)who starts out dissatisfied with his economic state and makes a deal withTazol, the corn-husk devil, an enigmatic being whose first request of himis that he go to market with his fly open to lead the town's women intotemptation (thus the title of the other translation, "the Mulata andMr. Fly"). He ends up divorcing his wife (in a sense; he turns herinto a kind of inanimate doll) and marrying a Mulata, who is doubly-sexedand indeterminately dangerous. The book continues to interact with moredemons, witches, beasts, gods, etc, etc. Pure loveliness. There is nonebetter. If someone would only translate "Leyendas de Guatemala"... the itch for more might be scratched, but as it is, this is your onlyoption. and a necessary one. ... Read more

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Published without a dj ... Read more

Product Description
Recibida desde su publicacion en 1946 como una obra maestra, El Senor Presidente<\I> inaugura en Latinoamerica un genero que muy pronto dejo abundante descendencia: la novela del dictador. Miguel angel Asturias logro una novela de prosa impecable, de ritmos y atmosferas poeticas, en la que relata el paulatino deterioro moral de un personaje complejo. ... Read more

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Con la coordinacion de Mario Roberto Morales, en esta edicion critica colaboran estudiosos de talla internacional como Martin Lienhard, Ana Merino e Isabel Arredondo. La intencion, como lo apunta Jean-Philippe Barnabe, otro de los colaboradores, no es recopilar la totalidad de los relatos breves de Asturias, sino mas bien destacar el caracter en cierto modo circular de su itinerario creativo, mostrando la insistencia con que esta (re)creacion generica llamada leyenda, que inaugura su produccion, vuelve a aparecer en los tramos finales de su carrera. ... Read more

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Miguel angel Asturias es uno de los mas notables escritores de America. Su novela El Senor Presidentefijo el arquetipo literario del dictador latinoamericano. Su Trilogia bananera narro los abusos del capital extranjero. Su vida incluye singulares paradojas. Genuina voz de su patria, vivio fuera de ella durante muchos anos. Tuvo en su tierra una posicion paternalista hacia el indio, y fue en Europa donde abrazo sus raices y tradujo el Popol Vuh. Gano el Premio Nobel de Literatura, maximo galardon de la cultura de Occidente, y a la vez, los mayas lo honraron como su vocero. Y sobre todo, para cantar al hombre de maiz, Asturias tomo el idioma del conquistador, lo hizo propio y lo devolvio sonoro, vital, enriquecido. ... Read more

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The Rizzoli Art Classics series brings you Piero della Francesca, Titian, Caravaggio, and Velázquez, all inbeautifully illustrated monographs, offering high-quality reproductions in compact, accessible volumes.These books feature a literary introduction by a renowned art historian, a thoroughly researched essay, and captions describing the artist's most famous canvases. A useful appendix section includes an extensive chronology of the artist's life and important historical events of his time; a compilation of writings by well-known historians, insight into each painter's stylistic development; a geographical table detailing the location of each painting in the book; and a concise bibliography with suggested further readings.With authoritative text by leading art historians, these lavishly illustrated editions provide fresh insight into the art and lives of some of the most fascinating artists in the history of painting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book!
I enjoyed this selection as well as my Titian book that came with it; Velazquez has long been one of my favorite artists so this book was a treat. ... Read more