March 2015 Book Salon:
The Death of Artemio Cruz
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This month we're reading The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes. Our faculty host is Zephyr Frank.
Listen to an interview with our Book Salon host.
"I chose this book because it has a great deal of meaning to me personally-- it was the first really great work of modern Latin American literature that I read as a student. I have used it in courses here at Stanford and each time I go back to teaching it I feel like I learn something new and gain new perspective on Mexican history and literature-- its just an inexhaustible source of interest."
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About this month's book selection
Artemio Cruz is a dying man who lies on his deathbed, recalling the shaping events of his life, from the Mexican Revolution through the development of the Party of the Institutional Revolution. Over the course of his life he was a soldier, politician, land baron, and newspaper magnate, whose corruption and power affected the ones who were kept loyal through money and power.
A haunting portrait of 20th century Mexico drawing a narrative parallel to the infamous film Citizen Kane, by Orson Welles. The Death of Artemio Cruz delivers a story filled with layers of memories, heroic campaigns, relentless drive from poverty to wealth, and a dawning realization of a failing body. Carlos Fuentes manipulates the ensuing kaleidoscope of images and illustrates a grim portrayal of modern Mexico. Read the novel that is widely considered a milestone in modern Latin American literature.
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