The Death of Artemio Cruz (FSG Classics)

I've read much by other reviewers on this book and a lot seems to focus on it's changes of person, tense and sense. I enjoyed the book immensely, not just for what it is but also for what it represents and also for the debate that it always raises.I have no problem with the change in viewpoint - from 'I' to 'You' to 'He' - in fact I really enjoyed this chimerical form of being able to say 'look, this is a different viewpoint'. I found this to be really Joycean - or possibly even more like Joyce's compatriot Beckett. I love that sense of dislocation whereby you have to read the novel like stream of consciousness. But Fuentes is neither Joyce nor Beckett (maybe more Beckett-like as he is really trying to make people think without resorting to the tell-mode).There are so many debates within this book. Debates about 'the revolution', debate between young and old Mexico without even going into the narrative that makes up this book.Fuentes is a master of conveying things without the reader being aware that he is being worked on. I would sincerely urge those that failed to make it with this book to give it another try, to loosen up your mind and let the book flow over you. It is an excellent piece of work and probably the best example I have read of new Latin American magical.Please read the book. Apart from Pedro Paramo it is probably the most enjoyable book I have read from Mexico and certainly the deepest within the new Latin American mystical realism group. Onward to Arltt.

A classic of it's time which had passed me by, until now. If you enjoy suth American authors, you should enjoy this.

I found this a difficult book to get into so maybe it is a matter of mood. Strong literature. MagG

An ageing and ill-at-heart Cruz lies bedridden, surrounded by his family and business associates. They hanker for his will and disclosure on how he plans to divide his large business interests/estate, while the hero himself is content to reflect on his life gone by (while also having a joke at his brethren's expense).Cruz is a newspaper magnate and political powerhouse who has risen from nothing to become a one-man industry. Needless to say he hasn't always abided by the rules along the way, and it is the dirt and filth that he has been privy to that drives the tale. Fuentes divides the book into periods of time, each one instrumental in shaping the Cruz we have lying in bed. Jumping from the Mexican civil war, to the closing of a business deal, to the dangerous machinations of politics, Fuentes is able (as many others have pointed out) to tell the tale of modern Mexico through the eyes of a single man. Towards the end of each chapter the action returns back to the present day Cruz and his battle with a decaying body. These are not as exciting or as necessary as the "action" but they do allow Fuentes to showcase another style of writing.Like many key novels of the Latin American Boom, modernism is evident. There are multiple narrators (with very often little to discern between the competing voices) and at times this multiplicity also cuts across two or three time periods within the space of a few lines. The text is not linear and as a result what you read later will change what you read 200 pages prior - thus I can only imagine that this book is an even richer read second time around. You do find yourself carrying around six or seven different versions of Cruz at various points in his life. All of the differing versions of Cruz are fluid creations, as you never know what new information Fuentes will deliver you next. To those who fear the above makes The Death Of Artemio Cruz seem a difficult read, I would say to still pick it up. While it is true that this book is not a conventional "easy" read, Fuentes has an eminently readable style that rewards the reader.In times of death it is human nature to look at the good a person has done and to offer a degree of solace to the suffering - unfortunately Cruz is a thoroughly detestable character and at no point did he have my sympathy. He did, however, have my respect. Single-minded to a fault, he offered himself as a modern study, warts and all, without hesitation or disgrace. If Fuentes did indeed wish Cruz to be emblematic of Mexico, then it seems the author had conflicting views - proud of what it is but disgusted at the means necessary to get there. It is an incredible piece of work and is deservedly considered a key work in Central/South American literature.

I enjoyed learning about Mexican history through the retelling of Artemio's life, but found the narrative style unnecessarily obtuse and the protagonist (and other characters) deeply unsympathetic although this lessened through the book. It is a well written story, and compelling despite this though.