Agua quemada is a collection of four novellas, originally published in 1981, about characters from the lowest to the highest echelons of society in Mexico City. They offer a fascinating insight into the development of Mexican society since the 1910 Revolution, tracking the rise of the new bourgeoisie and the political and social tensions and violence of the late sixties and early seventies. In one story a youth is torn between his drug-baron father and his grandfather who eas a hero un the 1910 Revolution; in another, a young man is recruited from his shanty town to become a fascist para-military thug.
The vivid immediacy of writing, peppered with street slang and repartee will engage students at all levels. These stories contain some of the liveliest writing by Mexico’s best known author.
The introduction, in English, surveys the life and work of Carlos Fuentes and offers substantial analyses of the stories and their historical background. The edition also contains has a vocabulary including many Mechanisms found in the text. Suggested essay titles and themes for discussion make this an ideal classroom text.
* Esta contraportada corresponde a la edición de 1995. La Enciclopedia de la literatura en México no se hace responsable de los contenidos y puntos de vista vertidos en ella.
