Returning as Shadows

by Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Ezra E. Fitz

In 1991, Paco Taibo II wrote The Shadow of a Shadow, a book about four men who meet to play dominos in a hotel bar in Mexico City. The time is 1922, and the men are a motley group—a poet who makes a living writing advertisements for patent medicine, a radical Chinese-Mexican union organizer, a lawyer who represents prostitutes, and a newspaper crime reporter who churns out pages of copy "like links of sausage in a chorizo factory." As the story builds, the crime novel becomes a tale of international intrigue.

Returning as Shadows revisits these men nearly twenty years later. Much has changed, in the world and for the four friends. War rages in Europe while the world waits for the in Europe while the world waits for the inevitable entry of the United States. German agents throng Mexico City, working to bring America's southern neighbor into the Axis.

And the four men? They've gone four different ways. Returning as Shadows goes back and forth between these men's lives, slowly drawing the threads back together. Surprises keep popping up. For example, Ernest Hemingway, having overindulged at his Cuban hacienda, is suddenly transported into a poker game with one of the characters.

The men are indeed shadows, their experiences dreamlike but bursting with meaning. Read, and see why Le Monde calls Taibo "one of the best narrative clowns of our time."

Genres: Fiction, Noir, Crime

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Paco Ignacio Taibo II, birth name Francisco Ignacio Taibo Mahojo, is a popular Mexican writer and novelist. He is the son of the late journalist Paco Ignacio Taibo I.

Reviews

[ΠανωςΚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο Ταϊμπο γράφει όπως τρώω: ατσούμπαλα, λαίμαργα. Περιφρονεί λογοτεχνικά είδη και κανόνες, που φυσικά κατέχει πάρα πολύ καλά, και τσαλαβουτά στις λέξεις όπως ένα γουρούνι στις λάσπες. Τα πάντα μπορούν να συμβούν κι όντως συμβαίνουν, η αχαλίνωτη φαντασία παρουσιάζεται ως πραγματικότητα και τα πραγματικά ιστορικά γεγονότα μοιάζουν με σενάρια αχαλίνωτης φαντασίας, με φόντο το Μεξικό κατά τη διάρκεια του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου και την παρουσία ναζιστικών ομάδων στη χώρα.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του Taibo υιού που διαβάζω. Εκ των υστέρων κρίνοντας, καθυστέρησα πολύ.
Μικρή η ζωή πολλά τα ενδιαφέροντα βιβλία.
Όταν μου το έδωσαν αγχώθηκα ελαφρώς επειδή ήταν η συνέχεια των "σκιών" και φοβήθηκα μήπως δεν μπω στο νόημα. Βέβαια, καλό θα είναι να ξεκινήσει κάποιος με τη σειρά αλλά και πάλι, οι ήρωες αυτο-συστήνονται καλά και γρήγορα, οπότε ο αναγνώστης δεν αντιμετωπίζει ιδιαίτερο πρόβλημα.
Στις πρώτες σελίδες, μη εξοικειωμένη με το ελαφρώς χαοτικό γράψιμο του συγγραφέα, αναγκάστηκα να γυρίσω και να ξαναδιαβάσω μερικές παραγράφους για να καταλάβω τί γίνεται. Το ίδιο έγινε και περίπου φτάνοντας στο 1/3 του βιβλίου αλλά αυτό δεν αποτελεί κατά κανένα τρόπο τροχοπέδη για ένα τόσο ωραίο και πλούσιο βιβλίο.
Εικόνες! Θαυμάσιες εικόνες, ζωντανές, που σε παρασύρουν στον κόσμο τους αβίαστα.
Χιούμορ που ξεπροβάλλει από τις γραμμές σαν μουτράκι σκανδαλιάρικου παιδιού.
Χαρακτήρες αξιαγάπητοι όσο και ιδιαίτεροι. 4 φίλοι που κουβαλούν με θλίψη τη νιότη που έχει φύγει αλλά διατηρούν αναλλοίωτη την αγάπη της φιλίας τους. Με την πρώτη ιστορία να διαδραματίζεται το 1922, τους ξαναβρίσκουμε 20 χρόνια μετά, μεσούντος του παγκοσμίου πολέμου. Φίλοι, μαζί και χώρια, που μάχονται ο καθένας από τη θέση του για ένα κοινό, όπως αποδεικνύεται, σκοπό. Σαφείς πολιτικές θέσεις και σχόλια, άφθονη δράση και μυστήριο. Μέσα από τις γραμμές, ιδιαίτερα προς το τέλος, πλανιέται η αίσθηση του τέλους, η αίσθηση ότι τίποτε πια δεν είναι το ίδιο, ότι η ιστορία δεν επαναλαμβάνεται και ότι το αναπόφευκτο πλησιάζει. Αυτή η στενάχωρη αίσθηση μου έμεινε στο τέλος, από ένα κατά τα άλλα θαυμάσιο βιβλίο.
Σχετικά δύσκολο στην ανάγνωση του, απαιτεί συγκέντρωση και ησυχία, για να γίνει ατμοσφαιρικό και να σε ρουφήξει στον κόσμο του.
Περιποιημένη, όπως πάντα, η έκδοση της Άγρας.
Εξαιρετική η μετάφραση από τα ισπανικά του Κρίτωνα Ηλιόπουλου.
Το εξώφυλλο είναι μια λεπτομέρεια από φωτογραφία του Αμερικανού David Alan Harvey.
Πάω να βρω και άλλα βιβλία του υιού ...

Παραθέτω ένα αντιπροσωπευτικό απόσπασμα από διάλογο :
Υποθέτω πως έχετε κάποια πληροφόρηση για την καταγωγή του ναζισμού. Είναι ένα ιδιόμορφο πολιτικό κίνημα. Οι μαρξιστές του έχουμε δώσει πολύ ασαφείς ορισμούς. Βάρβαρος καπιταλισμός; Λούμπεν καπιταλισμός; Ιμπεριαλισμός, σύμφωνα με τον λενινιστικό ορισμό, αλλά σε τρομώδες παραλήρημα; Συμμαχία του υποπρολεταριάτου με τη βιομηχανική αριστοκρατία που χρησιμοποιεί μάγους δημαγωγούς για μεσολαβητές; Ο ναζισμός μαζεύει όλη την κοινωνική σκουριά, τα σκουπίδια που βγαίνουν από το βυθό της θάλασσας ύστερα από την καταιγίδα : κοινωνικά απόβλητα, φανατικούς οπορτουνιστές, θύματα από το ντελίριο της μεγαλομανίας, δήμιους, σαδιστές, διανοητικά διεστραμμένους, δραπέτες των παραδοσιακών κομμάτων, λούμπεν διανοούμενους, και προπαντός μαζεύει αρρωστημένους εθνικιστές, ρατσιστές και κάθε λογής παραλλαγή του εσωτερισμού που γεννά μια κοινωνία, η οποία δεκαπέντε χρόνια τώρα βρίσκεται σε καλπάζουσα κρίση, κυριευμένη από φοβίες. (σελ. 101)
..... Εμείς τα βλέπαμε και μας έπιαναν τα γέλια. Ήταν σαν να ανακαλύπτεις ότι η σύζυγος του υπουργού τον κερατώνει, ενώ εκείνος πλαγιάζει με τον αρχιθαλαμηπόλο. Όμως δεν ήταν καθόλου για γέλια. Φτιαχνόταν ένα κίνημα που συγκέντρωνε κυνηγούς των σφραγίδων του Σολομώντα, γραφειοκράτες με μισθούς υποτιμημένους από τον πληθωρισμό, εξερευνητές της χαμένης Ατλαντίδας, αναγεννημένους Τεύτονες ιππότες, αναγνώστες ρουνικών, ανάπηρους πολέμου που έβλεπαν τη σύνταξη τους να εξατμίζεται μέσα από τα χέρια τους, οπαδούς μιας ηλίθιας φυλετικής καθαρότητας σε μια από τις κοινωνίες του πλανήτη με τις περισσότερες επιμιξίες' φουρνάρηδες που μισούσαν τους τραπεζίτες' θεωρητικούς μιας κοσμογονίας που βασίζεται στον πάγο, που απειλούσαν τους επιστήμονες να τους στείλουν να ζητιανεύουν όταν θα έπαιρναν την εξουσία, φανατικούς κάθε λογής ρατσισμού και κοινωνικού αποκλεισμού, νταβατζήδες σαν τον Χορστ Βέσσελ, οπαδούς της ευθανασίας, αυτοκρατορικούς αστρολόγους, Θιβετιανούς αποκρυφιστές που μάντευαν τον αριθμό των βουλευτών που θα είχαν οι εθνικοσοσιαλιστές στις προσεχείς εκλογές, μάγους της οπερέτας σαν τον Χανούσσεν, που πρόβλεψαν την πυρπόληση του Ράιχσταγκ γιατί είχαν διασυνδέσεις με τις συμμορίες του Γκαίμπελς. Κι όλα αυτά σε συνδυασμό με την άψογη οργάνωση, την τεχνική, την υποταγή στην τρέλα των στρατιωτικών και των βιομηχάνων. Και προπαντός σε συνδυασμό με την αποτυχία της επανάστασης. (σελ. 102)

[David Eugenio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que libro acabo de leer, tiene una excelente historia adaptada en la segunda guerra mundial con personajes como Hitler, Hemingway, el poeta que escribía novelas pornográficas, el chino que no era chino porque había nacido en Sonora, personajes como José Revueltas en la trama y la novela tiene un toque comunista muy interesante. La influencia de la espía Kruger aquí en México que fue amante de Miguel Alemán, la revista Timón de Vasconcelos, el periodo presidencial de Ávila Camacho. Lo recomiendo mucho leer.

[José · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertida novela detectivesca sobre un reportero y un agente secreto investigando las acciones del Tercer Reich en el México de los años 40. Como es propio del estilo de Taibo II, comienza con lazos sueltos que poco a poco van cobrando forma aunque sea a la fuerza (la intromisión de Hemingway, por ejemplo, que hasta el autor señala lo excesivamente causal que resulta ser) o que no todo al final encaje. El retrato de México de la época es increíble, en especial la pequeña mirada dentro del mundo gubernamental de la nación azteca en la época.

Mi principal crítica es que ni El Poeta ni Pioquinto dejaron una impresión suficientemente fuerte para distinguirse uno del otro más allá del trabajo y las características físicas. Lo cuál es una pena, por los brillantes personajes secundarios que van apareciendo como, por ejemplo, Tomás Wong, quien fácilmente pudo ser protagonista de su propio libro, o un divertido retrato de Ernest Hemingway.

Lo otro es el abuso de Deus Ex Machina, como es el personaje de Veronique, que sólo parece existir para guiar la trama cuando se tranca pero difícilmente es el único ejemplo. El final tampoco llegó al desenlace que uno quisiera, pero eso no es sorpresa. Después de todo, rara vez los detectives cambian al mundo. Parafraseando un clásico del cine: "Forget it, Jake. It's Mexico City."

En manos de un escritor menos capaz sin duda el libro sería un desastre pero Taibo II es una genialidad en la escritura. "Retornamos como sombras" no es su mejor libro (mi favorito es "A 4 manos") pero sin duda es una experiencia divertida, memorable y entretenida a pesar de sus fallas.

[Panagiotis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ο Paco Taibo Ignacio II είναι μια ιδιαίτερη περίπτωση. Δαιδαλώδης μπλέκει είδη(αστυνομικό, ιστορικό, κοινωνικό, κατασκοπευτικό, πολιτικό) και στυλ γραφής (Από την τριτοπρόσωπη, αντικειμενική αφήγηση, τον εξομολογητικό τόνο και τις διάσπαρτες ημερολογιακές σημειώσεις μέχρι τον εσκεμμένο θρυμματισμό της πλοκής και τη θεαματική πολυδιάσπαση του μύθου) δημιουργεί έναν λαβύρινθο που σε καλεί να χαθείς μέσα του.
Το «Και σαν σκιές επιστρέφουμε» δεν διαθέτει ωστόσο τις ευκολίες της αστυνομικής ιστορίας. Σε συνεπαίρνει, όχι για να μάθεις τη λύση του αρχικού αινίγματος, όχι για να πληροφορηθείς τον άγνωστο ένοχο, ούτε για να παρακολουθήσεις τις περιπέτειες του ριψοκίνδυνου ντετέκτιβ που δεν διστάζει να συγκρουστεί με τις δυνάμεις του κακού. Είναι ένα δύσκολο μυθιστόρημα. Δεκάδες χαρακτήρες μάς πλησιάζουν αργά αργά και μας συστήνονται μέσα από μια εξαιρετικά πολύπλοκη μορφική σύνθεση. Πρόχειρες σημειώσεις, ημερολογιακές, καταγραφές, πραγματικά πρόσωπα, ιστορικά γεγονότα, φανταστικά συμβάντα, επινοημένοι χαρακτήρες, απίθανες περιπέτειες, απίστευτες συμπτώσεις, λυρικές περιγραφές, παραληρηματικές εξομολογήσεις - τα πάντα περιπλέκονται με έναν ακατανόητο και ωστόσο γοητευτικό τρόπο. Και ενώ ο αναγνώστης παλεύει να καταλάβει τι συμβαίνει, μέσα από το αξεδιάλυτο κουβάρι αρχίζουν σιγά σιγά να διαγράφονται οι μορφές των πρωταγωνιστών.
Η προσπάθεια του αναγνώστη προκειμένου να το παρακολουθήσει τον ανταμοίβει στο πολλαπλάσιο. Διότι το μυθιστόρημα κατορθώνει εν τέλει το ύψιστο: να αποτυπώσει στη διαταραγμένη του δομή τη διαταραχή της ανεξέλεγκτης βίας που μάστιζε την ανθρωπότητα στα μέσα του 20ού αιώνα - και εξακολουθεί να την μαστίζει. Εξαιρετικά απολαυστικό.

[Lua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este fue uno de mis primeros libros de adolescente. Aunque no me volvió aficionada a este tipo de novelas; resultó ser toda una utopía el leerlo.

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 5 out of 5]

review of
Paco Ignacio Taibo II's Returning as Shadows
- by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - July 31, 2016

This bk is SUBSTANTIAL, therefore, my REAL REVIEW is also SUBSTANTIAL. What follows is just the beginning of that. For the FULL THING go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

This is only the 2nd bk by Taibo that I've read & once again I'm very impressed. For my review of Return to the Same City go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/... . Most (or all?) of the odd-numbered chapters are titled "Interruptions and Invasions" & at 1st it wasn't clear to me whose voice they were written in, where they writing from, & what the significance of the numbering of the paragraphs was:

"4. A corollary (though this is not what's interesting): Fascism is filled to no end with eagles, bronze statues, plaques, and the rest of this sort of paraphernalia; its caustic symbols fill our eyes, its torchlit parades and militarized children burn our pupils. But the truly important thing here is that this plaque was invariably cleaned every morning with a buffer and, sometimes, with polish. The buffer was a "Limcream" bran, while the polish bore no mark." - p 3

The story gradually revealed itself w/ an incredible command of writerly skill. It's a bizarre one but it's even got some 'facts' mixed in w/ its 'fiction' - in fact, the 'facts' are the main well-spring. Were nazis killing the indigenous people of Chiapas in 1941?

""They're not Castilians, and they're not the ranchers. So who are they?" asked Múgica, gently pressing the issue. "You're trying to take other indigenous communities upon yourselves. If you are Tzotziles, then you're taking on Choles. Who, then, are the instigators, the ones causing the problem?"

"The envoy shook its collective head. Didn't the general understand anything?

""They're of the cross. The ones doing the killing are of the cross."" - p 22

The broken cross as it turns out. Sometimes it seems like using nazis as the bad guys is too easy but we're not talking Dean Koontz here. This is profound literature. It might seem predictable & easy too to have the nazis be disrespectful & destructive of nature but ain't that the way of things?:

"They were fast hikers, but they scorned the jungle: they didn't bury their shit, they hacked at young shrubs for no reason, they shot birds and jackrabbits for sport, and they stripped the bark from trees." - p 27

If there's a system to the numbering in the "Interruptions and Invasions" sections I never found it. I interpret it as something to make the reader feel as if we're stumbling across fragments following a logic we're never to know. Chapter 13 on p 32 begins w/ "10":

"10. Writing a novel is fundamentally and act of shamelessness. Combing one's hair is also an act of shamelessness, if only because you're trying to cover up deep scars with a thick head of hair. But this is only a minor act, whereas writing is something much more grave. It's a masking of reality, an obscuring of fears, a reinvention of things said and, ultimately, of those who said them."

Does that make this particular narrator the author of the bk? If so, as we discover who this person is, there's significance to be read into it.. While chapter 13 ends on the number 11, chapter 15 begins w/ 16 & ends w/ 17 while chapter 17 goes from 6 to 7.

"7. What do I see through the Galileico telescope fitted with 300X Zeiss lenses which they let me keep in my cell?" - p 38

At 1st I thought this particular narrator was in jail. Then an insane asylum became more likely:

"10. Casavieja relates films to me. He understands that the iron seclusion of prison deprives a man of his most important approximation of reality: the dark theater and its magical silver screen. He's told me, with a surgeon's detail, if two films that I can only describe as being superficial and nearly illiterate: the final two films of Veronica Lake.

"He also knows that I like the novels of Hammett, and so he narrates the film versions of The Glass Key and, above all, I Married a Witch." - p 46

I have a modest collection of at least 7 movies based on Hammett stories & characters wch includes The Glass Key, wch is the title of a Hammett novel. But I Married a Witch? I don't find that title in any of the novels or in the The Continental Op or The Big Knockover short story collections, the only 2 I have. SO, I look up "I Married a Witch" & discover that it was directed by René Clair & stars Veronica Lake & not written by Hammett so I misunderstood that Hammett had anything to do w/ it.

Alas, Lake only made it to 50 yrs old before her alcoholism caught up to her & killed her. I've never pd any attn to her until Taibo got me interested. Her last 2 movies were Footsteps in the Snow (1966) & Flesh Feast (1970). I cd easily fall in love w/ her but she's been dead for 43 yrs so I don't think it'll work out too well.

By p 56, "Interruptions and Invasions" has reached 1. Is the chronology jumping around? Apparently not, b/c p 66 also begins w/ 1. One might think that there's in-fighting on p 63 but it's, shucks, all in fun:

""Strange, dark, and certainly winding is the proletariat's path. You who are a populist romantic liberal and even a bit of a libertarian . . . you have to prefer the straight and narrow, right?"

""If it weren't for the fact that I like how you write, Pepe, I'd tell you to go fuck yourself. Listening to you makes me think that maybe Marxism is a step backwards in terms of political thought, a breakdown of intelligence."

""I'd better go before you decide to take your ribbons back.""

Typewriter ribbons, ie. The person sponging the ribbons is named Revueltas:

"Revueltas was a tragic figure; he came from a family of geniuses who had all died young. Manterola remembered Silvestre the musician and especially Fermin the painter, one of Mexico's greatest muralists" - p 63

For a tiny bit more about Silvestre see this webpage of mine: http://idioideo.pleintekst.nl/mmm058.... .

Bit by bit, the reader pieces together the plot & deduces who's who & what they're doing:

""Tomás was too much of an anarchist to ever sing on with the Communist party.""

[..]

""Verdugo disappeared. After the whole thing with his wife, he just up and vanished. Maybe five years ago."

""I read what you wrote about that. What a story."

""Verdugo was always close to tragedy. Flirting with it."

""But he's not in prison, is he?"

""Frankly, I don't know. One day I asked about him, and nobody knew anything. No word about prisons, about morgues, nothing."" - p 68

It's interesting to think that in today's world of rapid travel between very different environs that not only do diseases travel fast but so do immunities to them. It hasn;t always been this way:

"in the corner of the state of Chiapas and on the border of Guatemala, lies the region of Soconusco, isolated and unpopulated, devoid of roads and ports, forever condemned to be the periphery of the periphery.

"Here a simple virus, a flu, brought unknowingly by the conquistadors, devastated the indigenous population." - p 73

When it comes to some types of historical detail I assume that there's an attempt to have accurate background:

"Behind this miracle of coffee were thirty-two German plantations on which lived no more than three hundred German citizens and their families, the twenty-five haciendas, property of their Mexican partners, but above all the hundreds of ill-fated farmhands who lived in slavelike conditions and the thirty or forty thousand contract laborers paid in slave wages.

"The Mexican Revolution never reached this region, whose agrarian order remained intact. As far as ranch towns go, Tapachula was cosmopolitan, even European: the Castillian and French languages were used to transmit orders, originally in German, to workers who spoke the various Mayan dialects." - p 75

But let's not assume. Here's what a promotional website for one of the coffee companies of the region has to say for itself:

"It all began...

"...more than 60 years ago: In 1941 the late Don Juan C. Luttmann, an outstanding coffee producer and promoter of Mexican coffees, founded the coffee exporting company Exportadora de Café California in Tapachula, Chiapas, one of Mexico's leading coffee regions close to the Guatemalan border. Now, in their third generation, the Luttmann family's dedication to coffee has not wavered. Being a reliable partner to both farmers and roasters is still one of the most important aspects of their company's philosophy.

"In 1993 Neumann Gruppe, Germany, and the Luttmann family decided to combine their know-how, creating one of today's largest green coffee exporting companies in Mexico.

"Being a part of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, Exportadora de Café California has benefited over the years from the expertise of the world's leading green coffee service group. The combination of a traditional and reliable business with modern risk management makes our company unique in the Mexican coffee sector.

"Exportadora de Café California plays a central part in the Mexican coffee export business with a market share of around 20%. At the same time the company is a main supplier to the local industry." - http://www.eccmexico.com/aboutus/history

&, gosh, there's no mention of slave labor or any connection between the German families & naziism. Another website does little more than describe the coffee:

"Located in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Turquesa, which is located in the southernmost part of the Chiapas coast extending south from the Ulapa River to the Suchiate River. The dry mill is located in the town of Tapachula, Chiapas, “between the waters.” In native Aztec Nahuatl and Tapachula it’s “between the waters” due to the area’s persistent flooding.

"This is one of those coffees that doesn’t necessarily bowl you over, but just because of that can be enjoyed without burning out on it. The prep is outstanding, and the flavor leans a little more toward nutty than our organic option which is a bit more chocolate. It’s a subtle, balanced coffee you can drink all day." - http://www.cafemuertos.com/mexico-tap...

Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about Tapachula:

"About eighteen percent of the working population works in agriculture and livestock. About twenty three percent of these workers are not paid a salary." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapachula

Of course, I deliberately picked that tiny excerpt from a much longer & more balanced entry just to show something relevant to the plot of this bk & to hint at the possibility that some outrages might be intrinsic to the economic system even to this day. An article from "Counterpunch - The Fearless Voice of the American Left Since 1993" gets into substantial detail about more current-day problems of coffee workers in Mexico:

"December 15, 2004

"Migration and Coffee in Mexico and Central America

"by Luis Hernández Navarro

"Reyno Bartolo Hernández died of heatstroke in the Arizona desert near Yuma on May 22, 2001. He wasn’t the only Mexican farmer who lost his life that day trying to cross the border. Thirteen of his countrymen and -women perished along with him in one more of the migratory tragedies of modern history.

"Reyno and his companions were small coffee growers from the township of Atzalan, Veracruz. Atzalan is a formerly rich region but in recent years it has been impoverished by senseless policies. Until just a few years ago, few of its residents migrated to the United States. Then the price of coffee fell, and so did the price of citrus fruits and cattle. To make matters worse, bananas were attacked by fruit flies and the coffee crop was overcome by a devastating plant disease.

"So little by little, the inhabitants of Atzalan set out along the route blazoned by small farmers from the states of Michoacan, Zacatecas, and Jalisco decades earlier. The coffee farmers began to look for a way to cross the 3,107-kilometer border that separated them from the United States, hoping to get to “the other side.” In desperation, they hooked up with the infamous polleros, the smugglers who led them to their deaths.

"Thomas Navarrete, long-time adviser to the cooperative that many Atzalan growers belong to, notes that the crisis in the region is dramatic and tragic. In many communities, around 70% of the residents have left, most to the United States. Navarrete points out that before people didn’t need to leave their communities, at least not like now. “Even Celso Rodríguez, the president of the cooperative, left to work in Arizona,” he says.

"The border has become a magnet for these coffee growers. If they get over–and many do–they earn $4-5 an hour, compared to the less than $4 a day they earn at home, if they’re lucky. In the coffee communities, the success stories from the other side are impressive. Migrants come back and remodel their houses; they pour a new roof, replace wooden planks with concrete blocks. Everyone can see and envy the changes."

[..]

"In 1989 the economic clause setting country export quotas of the International Coffee Organization was abandoned with the strong support of the Mexican government. Immediately, the price fell through the floor. Prices have gone up and down since the quota system ended, but since 1997 they have mostly gone down.

"The only ones who win in this situation are the large companies and speculators on the commodities markets of New York and London. Coffee-growing communities, already poor, have grown poorer. As a response, thousands of farmers and laborers who cultivate and harvest the crop have decided to leave their homes permanently.

"The old migration of laborers to harvest was marked by hardship. They went to the large plantations because they had to, not by choice. There they suffered abuse, hunger, and sickness. The journey was hell.

"Indigenous peoples of the highlands remember the suffering: “We’d get an advance from the plantation so when we got there we already had a debt to pay off. Then the debt just gets bigger because the plantation doesn’t give you anything, you have to pay for everything, even food In addition to the hard work, we suffered from other things on the plantation. The boss doesn’t care about the workers–if they’re sick, it’s not his concern. So they don’t give us good food and we’re always hungry Before, the foremen mistreated workers a lot, they whipped them, beat them with branches, with belts, with the flat blade of the machete, kicked them. You got punished for anything we were afraid of the plantation but we put up with it because we were poor.” - http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/12/1...

In short, in my cursory looks online for substantiation of Taibo's history of the abuses of German immigrants perpetrated on the indigenous population I didn't find much although I'm confident it's out there somewhere. I did, however, find substantiation of reasons for understanding the more general plight of migrant workers.

Some readers might poo-poo Taibo's story as overly sensationalist, as pandering to the public's taste for the lurid, as 'too conspiracy theory' or mythological. I'm convinced it's well-researched.

"The ever-cold rabbi with stained hands began again: "In the beginning, two lunatic Austrians met, Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels and Guido von List. Proto-Templars, admirers of runes, occultists, holders of castles. Hitler met the former in 1909, when he had formed a neopagan organization to practice magic, promote anti-Semitism, defend racial purity, and dabble in esoteric cults. There was a magazine called Ad Astra which Hitler subscribed to."" - p 84

Ad Astra? Sound familiar anyone? It did to me & I was fairly sure it had something to do w/ the AAA (Association of Autonomous Astroanuts) or, perhaps, Stewart Home. SO, I looked for a magazine of that name in my personal library & didn't find it, I looked for a file card of my correspondents under that name & didn't find it, I looked for anything under that name in my AAA file &, Bingo!, Ad Astra! was/(is?) the name of "The newsletter of Raido AAA".

In The First Annual Report of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts ("Published April 23rd 1996"), Raido's mailing address was given as "BM Box 3641, London, WC1N 3XX". On my file card for Home his mailing address as of September, 1994, was given as "BM Senior, London, WC1N 3XX". So, yeah, naming a newsletter after an occult one that Hitler reputedly subscribed to is the kind of prank Stewart wd pull. After all, he repurposed the so-called "Protocols of Zion" used by nazis to defame Jews as a manifesto for something neoist related.

I'm reminded of a prank that my father told me about. Shortly after 'WWII', the Baltimore City Council was having a meeting in wch it was discussed about what to name the plaza in front of City Hall. One of the participants proposed that it be called "Albert Speer Plaza" or some such. The others present apparently didn't care what it was called & just voted in favor of the proposal w/o knowing who Speer was. Presumably, the prankster then revealed that he was the main nazi architect, imprisoned as a war criminal, & the voters retracted.

This type of esoteric dark humor is given further background in informative passages of Taibo's such as this:

"["]Dietrich Eckart intervened in the operation; he was a strange journalist, an admitted Satanist who, at the end of the war," [ie": 'WWI'] "edited a weekly magazine in Munich where he argued, among other things, that any Jew who tainted German blood through marriage should be sentenced to three years in prison and that any Jew convicted of a second offense should be executed. He was also a theater critic and would later go on to produce some of his own works, including In Old Bavaria and Springtime for Hitler."" - p 85

Sound familiar?

" Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Eva and Adolf at Berchtesgaden is a fictional musical in Mel Brooks' 1968 film The Producers, as well as the stage musical adaptation of the movie, and the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical. It is a musical about Adolf Hitler, written by Franz Liebkind, an unbalanced ex-Nazi played by Kenneth Mars (then by Brad Oscar and Will Ferrell in the stage musical and the 2005 film respectively).

"In the film, the play is chosen by the producer Max Bialystock and his accountant Leo Bloom in their fraudulent scheme to raise substantial funding by selling 25,000% of a play, then causing it to fail, and finally keeping all of the remaining money for themselves. To ensure that the play is a total failure, Max selects an incredibly tasteless script (which he describes as "practically a love letter to Adolf Hitler"), hires the worst director he can find (Roger DeBris, a stereotypical homosexual and transvestite caricature), and casts an out-of-control hippie named Lorenzo St. DuBois, also known by his initials "L.S.D.", in the role of Hitler (after he had wandered into the wrong theatre by mistake during the casting call -- "That's our Hitler!").

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lo terminé estrictamente para archivarlo con tranquilidad. Simplemente el estilo de PITII no es lo mío, especialmente habiendo leído hace poco El Complot Mongol. Mientras El Complot Mongol me pareció delirante pero auténtico, y con un estilo fluido, este libro me pareció forzado -en el sentido de querer aparentar "profundidad "- y sobre todo, aburrido, a pesar de abordar una de las etapas más fascinantes de México en el siglo XX, un país donde siempre han abundado las anécdotas surrealistas y estrambóticas. Supongo que también me molestaron mucho los anacronismos, mismos que el autor sin empacho reconoce en el epílogo, por lo que son un recurso estético consciente y no un simple descuido. ¿Para qué y por qué?
Empecé con el pie izquierdo mi exploración de este autor.

[Mikee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most maddeningly brilliant books I have ever read. Putatively about Nazi involvement with and influence over Mexico, and the occult aspects of the Nazi movement, things are often (quite often) not what they seem. Minor characters (Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, etc) float in and out, as do phantasmagorical characters like the golden iguana. What’s real and what’s not is impossible to ascertain, and it doesn’t matter anyway Just jump in and romp through multidimensional realities. Enjoy!

[Luis Maggi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiel ansu estilo irreverente, PIT II nos lleva en un laberinto de intrigas en el mas puro estilo mexicano, misterioso, incoherente y absorbente.

Resulta agradable el regreso de los 4 personajes de Sombra de la Sombra en circunstsncias fuera de lo comun y bajo una narrativa en estilo de notas.

Mi punto negativo es que pareciera que estamos en preambulos y preambulos y de repente llegamos a la conclusion...yo me pregunto, donde quedo el climax.....

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Returning as Shadows" is undoubtedly an entertaining read. The plot is, at times, difficult to follow as the author willfully plays fast and loose with historical events and characters. Yet, the result is an enjoyable fictionalized recounting of Nazi activities in Mexico at the beginning of WW-II. The characters are unique and the writing is smart. If you find the topic and concept appealing, this is a great read.

[Matina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Χαοτικό και ενίοτε μπερδεμένο, σπιντάτο και καλογραμμένο, με ήρωες που νιώθεις δικούς σου ανθρώπους, ιδιαίτερα αν έχεις διαβάσει το «Η σκιά της σκιάς» (συνιστώ να διατηρηθεί η σειρά, ανεξάρτητα από το τι λέει ο συγγραφέας). Ας αφεθεί στην άκρη η ακρίβεια των ιστορικών γεγονότων. Ζήτω η απόλαυση της ανάγνωσης!

[R. Lanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Grandioso! ¡Fenomenal! ¡Increíble!

Un novelón. Nada que reprochar. Tiene todo: historia, misterio, ficción, mitología, sabiduría milenaria, etnografía, etimología, un Bruce Lee-nahual mexicano... y nazis.

Qué coctel tan formidable.

Sírvanme otros dos iguales.

[Felipe Izaguirre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chido pero le falta

[Federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davvero carino e divertente; non trascurabile la componente ideologica cui fa perfettamente riscontro quella narrativa.

[Leo W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow he managed to make it all cohere.

[Ασπα Τοπαλιδου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lived it!

[José · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertida novela detectivesca sobre un reportero y un agente secreto investigando las acciones del Tercer Reich en el México de los años 40. Como es propio del estilo de Taibo II, comienza con lazos sueltos que poco a poco van cobrando forma aunque sea a la fuerza (la intromisión de Hemingway, por ejemplo, que hasta el autor señala lo excesivamente causal que resulta ser) o que no todo al final encaje. El retrato de México de la época es increíble, en especial la pequeña mirada dentro del mundo gubernamental de la nación azteca en la época.

Mi principal crítica es que ni El Poeta ni Pioquinto dejaron una impresión suficientemente fuerte para distinguirse uno del otro más allá del trabajo y las características físicas. Lo cuál es una pena, por los brillantes personajes secundarios que van apareciendo como, por ejemplo, Tomás Wong, quien fácilmente pudo ser protagonista de su propio libro, o un divertido retrato de Ernest Hemingway.

Lo otro es el abuso de Deus Ex Machina, como es el personaje de Veronique, que sólo parece existir para guiar la trama cuando se tranca pero difícilmente es el único ejemplo. El final tampoco llegó al desenlace que uno quisiera, pero eso no es sorpresa. Después de todo, rara vez los detectives cambian al mundo. Parafraseando un clásico del cine: "Forget it, Jake. It's Mexico City."

En manos de un escritor menos capaz sin duda el libro sería un desastre pero Taibo II es una genialidad en la escritura. "Retornamos como sombras" no es su mejor libro (mi favorito es "A 4 manos") pero sin duda es una experiencia divertida, memorable y entretenida a pesar de sus fallas.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although at the beginning it seems a bit chaotic and incoherent with many characters being introduced at each page, as you progress with reading, the story becomes more tight and interesting. By the end of the book it has evolved to a quite breath-taking story making you to want to just read one more page (for hours).
The plot mixes real facts (most of them unknown to the majority of the people outside of Mexico or the Americas, like u-boats in the gulf of Mexico!) with fiction providing an excellent result. The typical humourous way of Paco Ignacio Taibo II to describe the events from the eyes of the characters including a large amount of epic quotes are not absent in this one.
If you are a fan of PIT II or latin american authors it is advised absolutely to read it.

Note regarding the sequence of reading:Although the four main characters are the same as in the prequel book "La sombra de la sombra" there is not so much to miss if you haven't read it. However, I would read them in the order they were written.

[Juan Rios Monsalve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novela que va uniendo los hilos de una historia un tanto confusa sobre hechos reales y fantasiosos. Se desarrolla alrededor de 4 personajes con historias aparentemente diferentes pero con un mismo objetivo, descifrar los planes secretos del nazismo en México y el interés de su máximo representante "el Führer" conocido como Adolf Hitler, en la nación Maya. Un agente secreto, un periodista, un mercenario y un aparente loco hacen parte de esta historia donde aparecerá de la nada el escritor Hemingway a ayudarlos de algún modo. Tiene sus partes cómicas, de mucha acción y tensión, aunque a veces la historia se hace un tanto confusa pues interviene el autor y hace perder un poco el hilo. En este sentido me pareció un poco densa y con algunos a partes que en mí opinión sobrarían si se le quiere dar mayor fluidez a la historia. En cuanto al final sí bien no es flojo le falta mayor emoción e impacto que deje al lector con antojos de más. Espero otros tengan mejor opinión.

[frisco - فریسکو · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancora meglio di "Ombre nell'ombra" di cui questo è il seguito ambientato vent'anni dopo. Mette insieme aztechi, ribellioni nel Chiapas e inghippi politici, l'esoterismo nazista, arraffoni dei tesori messicani, Hemingway, ebrei e indios, in una trama abbastanza improbabile che però risulta verosimile se si tiene conto delle barbarie mondiali accadute in quegli anni.

"E racconto tutto questo perché la vita, nella sua meravigliosa complessità, sta diventando sempre più strana, e a volte non sono superflue informazioni che poi, anche se non dicono niente, servono a farci sentire informati."

[Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taibo writes another really funky thriller - well, it's technically a thriller, but it's really more of a shaggy-dog story involving reporters, spies, Nazis, Chiapas, and Ernest Hemingway. The translation seems to be a little rough around the edges. But if you've got the patience for the journey, it's a fun read.

[Laura Almazan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy entretenido

Es un libro que se disfruta, que te hace preguntarte si lo que estás leyendo es pura ficción o si tiene algo de realidad. Al final resulta como una película de The Expendables, llena de personajes famosos y apariciones breves que le dan un toque singular a la novela, pero sin hacerla predecible o aburrida. Muy recomendable y amena, diría yo.

[Malamas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η συνέχεια της "Σκιά της σκιάς". μόνο που ήταν "συνέχεια" πίστεψα ότι θα ήταν κάτι το παρωχημένο και βαρετό αλλά και πάλι ο Τάιμπο κατάφερε και με εξέπληξε. Οι χαρακτήρες 20 χρόνια μετά, ακόμα πιο γοητευτικοί.

[Angel Serrano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Durante la II Guerra Mundial la neutralidad mexicana es puesta en cuestión de forma constante: por un lado los agentes nazis quieren utilizar al país como base de aprovisionamiento de sus submarinos; por otro lado, el vecino del norte presiona insistentemente. Loca visión histórica.

[Despina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα συναρπαστικό πλέξιμο ιστορίας και μυθιστορίας, με χαρακτήρες που γοητεύουν και ύφος που συγκλονίζει. Κοφτή, γρήγορη και δυναμική γραφή και εξαιρετικό χιούμορ. Ο Taibo είναι μαέστρος.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo lei en español! un buen libro de aventuras, personajes reales e inventados, toda una sección de comentarios de lo que es historía y de lo que es invento. Un buen libro, una buena novela de detectives historicos.