The Night Visitor and Other Stories

by B. Traven

Here are ten of B. Traven's remarkable short stories. Three of them are long stories: The setting of "The Night Visitor" is a hacienda deep in the Mexican bush where a lonely American recreates in his imagination an eerie world of Indian folk legend. "The Cattle Drive" is a vivid description of a cowboy's trek with a thousand head of cattle across the Mexican plains; it has all the authenticity that Hollywood Westerns lack. "Macario," which was made into a prize-winning motion picture, is a wry Mexican fable about an Indian woodcutter who makes a compact with the devil to save his family from starvation. Among seven shorter stories, some are based on incidents from contemporary Mexican life, others on ancient Indian folk legends. All have spontaneity, humor, and warmth. "B. Traven is coming to be recognized as one of the narrative masters of the twentieth century." New York Times Book Review.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, German Literature, Literary Fiction, Literature

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

B. Traven was the pen name of a German novelist, whose real name, nationality, date and place of birth and details of biography are all subject to dispute. A rare certainty is that B. Traven lived much of his life in Mexico, where the majority of his fiction is also set—including his best-known work, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927), which was adapted as the Academy Award nominated film of the same name in 1948.
Virtually every detail of Traven's life has been disputed and hotly debated. There were many hypotheses on the true identity of B. Traven, some of them wildly fantastic. Most agree, that Traven was Ret Marut, a German stage actor and anarchist, who supposedly left Europe for Mexico around 1924. There are also reasons to believe that Marut/Traven's real name was Otto Feige and that he was born in Schwiebus in Brandenburg, modern day Świebodzin in Poland. B. Traven in Mexico is also connected with Berick Traven Torsvan and Hal Croves, both of whom appeared and acted in different periods of the writer's life. Both, however, denied being Traven and claimed that they were his literary agents only, representing him in contacts with his publishers.
B. Traven is the author of twelve novels, one book of reportage and several short stories, in which the sensational and adventure subjects combine with a critical attitude towards capitalism, betraying the socialist and even anarchist sympathies of the writer. B. Traven's best known works include the novels The Death Ship from 1926 and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre from 1927, in 1948 filmed by John Huston, and the so-called Jungle Novels, also known as the Caoba cyclus (from the Spanish word caoba, meaning mahogany), a group of six novels (including The Carreta, Government), published in the years 1930-1939, set among Mexican Indians just before and during the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. B. Traven's novels and short stories became very popular as early as the interwar period and retained this popularity after the war; they were also translated into many languages. Most of B. Traven's books were published in German first and their English editions appeared later; nevertheless the author always claimed that the English versions were the original ones and that the German versions were only their translations. This claim is not taken seriously.

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ب‌. تراون خودش به اندازه داستان‌هاش رازآلوده، هویتی نامعلوم، زندگی در هاله‌ای از ابهام، و قلمی که زیر پوست روایت‌هاش هم تلخی دنیای واقعی رو حس می‌کنی هم فلسفه‌ زندگی رو.
نویسنده در این کتاب با داستان هایی به سراغ ما میاد که مثل اسم، چهره و شخصیت خودش، توی سایه حرکت می‌کنن اما پر از حرف و نکته ن.
میهمان شب، مجموعه‌ایه از چند داستان کوتاه که هر کدومشون مثل تکه‌ای آینه‌ست با زاویه‌های مختلف که واقعیت‌های اجتماعی، روانی و انسانی رو بازتاب می‌ده.
زبان تراون در این اثر هم ساده و بی‌تکلفه، اما همین سادگی مثل تیغ تیز، مستقیم می‌ره سراغ جان و قلب ماجرا. اون دنبال آرایه‌پردازی پرزرق‌وبرق نیست به جاش در داستان‌هایی که به طرز جالبی روی مرز امید و ناامیدی راه میرن، فضاهایی خلق می‌کنه که هم واقعی‌ان، هم پر از تنش پنهان.
شخصیت‌ها ملموسن، ولی پشت سادگی ظاهریشون، ساختاری دقیق و حساب‌شده دارن که نشون میده نویسنده روی ریتم و جزئیات وسواس داره. اون ها معمولاً آدم‌های عادی‌ن که بین فشار جامعه، فقر و آرزوهای کوچیک‌شون گیر افتادن. تراون رفتار آدم‌ها رو طوری نشون میده که انگار از دل یک آزمایشگاه روان‌شناسی بیرون اومدن، واکنش‌ها طبیعی، تصمیم‌ها پر از تردید و البته اغلب تراژیک.
ریشه کتاب میهمان شب بنظر میرسه که در نقد ساختارهای قدرت و نابرابریه، قصه ی داستان‌ها پر از تضاد بین قوی و ضعیف، صاحب‌قدرت و بی‌قدرت هاست. این تضاد فقط اقتصادی نیست، گاهی فرهنگی، گاهی هم اعتقادیه و نشون میده که چطور سیستم‌های ناعادلانه، حتی در کوچک‌ترین تعاملات روزمره نفوذ می‌کنن.
او نه مبلغ مذهبه و نه مستقیما بی اعتقاد، اما داستان‌هاش رنگ و بوی نوعی ایمان زمینی میدن، مثلا ایمان به عدالت، به شرافت آدم‌های بی‌نام و نشان و به این‌که انسانیت می‌تونه زیر فشار هم زنده بمونه. این ایمان گاهی تلخه، چون می‌دونی در دنیای واقعی همیشه پیروز نمی‌شه.
جالبه که با وجود همه تلخی‌ها، داستان‌های تراون ناامیدکننده نیستن. شخصیت‌ها حتی در بدترین شرایط هم رگه‌هایی از امید، مقاومت یا اعتراض دارن. اینجاست که نویسنده بدون اینکه شعار بده، انگیزه تزریق می‌کنه: " تو شاید نتونی دنیا رو عوض کنی، ولی می‌تونی جلوی خرد شدن خودت رو بگیری."
میهمان شب، قصه‌هاش بوی خاک، کمی اشک، کابوس و‌ رویا میده. نه برای سرگرمی صرف نوشته شده، نه برای موعظه، فقط میخواد بگه: زندگی همین‌قدر سخت و همین‌قدر ارزشمنده...
شاید ۴ امتیاز براش زیاد باشه، اما حسی که از خوندن داستان ها باقی می مونه، ذهنی که به واسطه ی نوع نگاه نویسنده در روند داستان پردازی به سمت تحلیل و نقد عمق ماجرا و زندگی کشونده میشه، ارزش ی امتیاز بالاتر رو داره!

[sAmAnE · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک مجموعه داستان خوب
بخصوص داستان میهمان شب👌🏻

[brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

b. traven.

hal croves. ret marut. traven torsvan. otto feige. etc.

why exactly is it that we're drawn to this particular mystery?
it taps into much of how we feel about identity and impermeability and authorship and lotsa postmoderny types can really run with all that but i choose not to as 1) i haven't the chops, and 2) fuck all that. i actively don't want to fully understand why traven's biography and the story of benno von archimboldi so strongly affects me -- the mystery is part of the attraction. fuck demystification. fuck understanding. fuck the brain. (sometimes)

but, yeah, if traven was a crap writer it wouldn't really matter... he'd be a loser oddball. you produce good work and misbehave and you're an elusive engima madman genius. heh heh. ten short stories, all set in mexico, ranging from the time of the aztecs to the twentieth century. all have the structure and simplicity of ancient myth. all carry the depth and universality of ancient myth. and traven has the confidence not to mar his stories with the twist ending -- the meaning is in the telling. traven's stories proceed as such: guy drinking mescal in a bar gets an offer to herd 3500 head of cattle 700 miles by rich landowner. guy takes offer. guy assembles crew. guy & crew trek across land encountering obstacles in the form of bandoleros, birth of calves, weather, etc. they make it to landowners house. guy gets paid. guy leaves. done! or guy who lives in mexican jungle watches his pal's house. he discovers a library of books dealing only with the aztec. buries himself in books for days. guy gets visited by ghost of an aztec who asks that he protect his burial grounds. guy does it. other guy comes home. done! great great shit.


can't wait to read death ship.
check this cover!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quem era B. Traven? Traven Torsvan, ou Otto Feige, ou Ret Marut, ou Hal Croves? Nasceu na Prússia em 1882, ou em Chicago em 1890? Era filho de um casal sueco, ou de um imperador alemão e uma bailarina? Estas são algumas das hipóteses sugeridas por vários biógrafos sobre a identidade de B. Traven (B de Bruno ou B de Bernhard?), que escondeu sempre a sua origem. Numa carta ao seu editor alemão escreveu:

"Nunca a um criador de uma obra intelectual se deveria exigir a apresentação do curriculum. É uma falta de cortesia. Está-se a incitá-lo a que minta. Sobretudo se ele estiver convencido, por bons ou maus motivos, de que a sua vida real poderia desiludir os outros. Devo dizer que não é o meu caso. A minha vida pessoal não desiludiria. Mas esta só a mim diz respeito, e faço questão de que assim seja. Não por egoísmo, mas porque desejo ser eu o juiz dos meus assuntos pessoais."

Viveu muitos anos no México (onde morreu) e é no povo mexicano que se centra esta colectânea de contos. A maioria das personagens são índios; gente pobre e simples, que mesmo nos actos de maior ingenuidade, revela uma grande sabedoria. Isto parece um contra-senso mas o comportamento das personagens, mesmo quando absurdo, é de uma lógica incontestável.

São onze contos que li completamente deslumbrada, entre o riso e um permanente sentimento de ternura por aquelas criaturas tão puras e tão humanas.

O meu conto preferido é o do mineiro que perde o relógio e tortura o Santo António para que lho encontre.
Não. Gostei mais do do sacristão que fica a tomar conta da igreja e a limpar os santinhos durante a ausência do padre.
Mas é mais bonita a história do Dr. Cranwell, que vivia no meio da selva e possuía uma biblioteca de obras raras e a do seu vizinho que, na ausência do Dr., começou a ler obsessivamente esses livros e a confundir realidade e ficção.
E a do camponês que nas horas vagas criava cestinhos, "os seus poemas silenciosos", e deu uma lição de Economia a um comerciante?
Também é um encanto a do produtor de algodão que os bandidos da região transformaram, à força, em médico.
Mas a mais divertida é a história do camponês que atormenta o produtor de algodão para que lhe encontre a mulher, que fugiu com outro; porque ele tem fome e precisa que ela lhe cozinhe tortillas e frijoles.
A mais triste é a linda história de Amizade entre um cão vadio e um francês, dono de um restaurante.
De verdade, a que nunca vou esquecer é a de Macario, um homem muito pobre, com mulher e onze filhos sempre esfomeados, cujo único desejo (pelo qual vendia a alma) era ter um peru assado, todo para ele, e poder comê-lo bem longe dos filhos. Quando o seu sonho se realiza encontra três personagens - muito especiais - e uma delas muda a sua vida.

Ora, para que estou a querer escolher o melhor conto se achei todos uma maravilha?

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came up on my "to read" list - I have an interest in Traven, specifically The Death Ship, which I haven't read yet - plus, I'm more of a short fiction head, so this seemed like a good taster to start.

Traven has an interesting background - unable to sell his short fiction at a living rate in the 1930s United States, he pivoted to magazine interest from Germany and began publishing over in Europe, building an audience as he pulled up stakes and moved to Mexico, eventually getting interest from his native country, which led him to screenwriting THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE.

The 10 short stories here are straight lit with the occasional dabs of magical realism, told in a dry, prosaic, Hemingway-esque terseness (but without the virile/manly aspects of Ernest) - mostly they are tales of Mexico, its history, natives and current inhabitants. Honestly, there was not a weak read in the set, varying only from solidly good to genuinely excellent, and this collection should be read by anyone with interest in mid-20th century short fiction, old Mexico/new Mexico and those looking for an entertaining writer not much scoured over by academics.

In the titular "The Night Visitor" we meet Gales who, sequestered in a small cabin in the Mexican jungle, befriends the equally hermetic and taciturn Dr. Cranwell - the latter admits to having written 18 novels, destroying each on completion as he believes mankind would be better off destroying its own cultural progress. Cranwell asks Gales to watch his cabin while he is away for 2 weeks. Doing so, the man discovers the doctor's extensive library of books about ancient Mexican Native civilizations and becomes engrossed in reading them, even as he is repeatedly visited at night by an enigmatic native who seems upset about the local hogs... This is - in all honesty - a quiet and meditative literary ghost story, somewhat about the weight that knowledge of previous civilizations can have in modern times, and how that weight can effect our own approach to life.

A poor peasant (in "Effective Medicine") buttonholes the local doctor, complaining that his wife has run-off with another man, and expecting the doctor - who he believes has access to near magical levels of science - to locate his wife or help in some way. But when the doctor refuses, unable to really do anything, the man threatens him with physical violence. An interesting story about the perception surrounding learned white men in rural areas, and how one of forced to think on his feet to avoid disaster.

Our narrator gives us a prosaic, detailed and heartfelt overview of what heading "The Cattle Drive" entails when he is hired to do just that for a wealthy man. Attempting to dismiss some of the mythology of western novels and films, he tells you how to go about fording a river with a large herd, why you should "sing" cattle "to sleep", what to do about calves born along the way, how to handle bandits, etc. - all presented in sharp, clear prose. There's even a description of the humane process for taming a wild stallion for riding, a short discourse on the unreliability of maps, and the pride that comes with completing such a huge task successfully.

"Midnight Call" - an American who teaches English in a small town finds unexpected visitors knocking late one night, in search of his rumored medical skills. Warily accompanying the men to a home, he is presented with a patient suffering a gunshot wound (which likely means he is a bandit) - which he treats efficiently and with courtesy. Months later, leaving the country, he meets a Police Chief on the train who regales him with tales of the search for a mysterious individual who treated many injured bandits... a nice little story, very sober and controlled, with some great observed detail of the anxious personas of the bandits and the sly way the "English teacher" handles himself in difficult situations.

A native peasant makes beautiful baskets which he sells for a pittance, in "Assembly Line," but when a greedy American businessman hopes to take advantage of him for a profit, the native quickly proves that he fully understands the value of his own labor. Excellent.

"When The Priest Is Not At Home" - Cipriano, the native sacristan of a small, rural church, is put in charge when the Padre is called away for a time. A simple man, of simple faith, Cipriano sets about thoroughly cleaning all the church's statues and icons for the interval, but a small accident damages one, and so the mortified sacristan worries over his fate and how to make amends, until help arrives from a surprising direction. a great yarn about the religious life and beliefs of Mexican peasants.

We are told how centuries old sculptures of a deformed horse, and a Christian crucifix, came to be found in a Native temple in Guatemala, though horses and Christianity had only recently arrived in the New World, in "A New God Was Born." Kind of like a fable (or more correctly, a historical anecdote) with some smart details of the religious drive in the natives.

An utterly charming and sad story of how a Frenchman (who runs a restaurant in Mexico City) gains and loses the "Friendship" of a good-natured stray dog, the outcome occurring due to a small, rash act of anger. Absolutely wonderful.

"Conversion Of Some Indians" has a local chieftain offer for he and his people to respectfully learn about the 16th Century Spanish monks' new God from across the sea. But while the Padre is eager to teach them and make a case for Christianity, despite the language barrier, they ask for 3 days to fast and consider what he tells them, and return with many questions regarding logical inconsistencies behind the concepts of Sin as it pertains to an all-knowing, all-loving God. A good examination of cultural differences in concepts.

The book finishes out with the fable-like "Macario", in which the titular, poverty stricken wood-chopper, barely able to feed his family, harbors a wish that one day he might have a whole roasted turkey to eat on his own. His wife scrimps and saves to fulfill that wish, but when he takes it out in the woods for his great Reward, he is visited in turn by three strangers, all of whom evidence interest in partaking of his meal. But while Macario rejects the request of The Devil, and even the request of Jesus (!his argument - later stated - boils down to "His father is God... he's not starving!"), he acquiesces to that of Death, giving the bony figure half of his meal, wearily accepting that he will never get his wish. But Death proves extraordinarily grateful (even after the Wood-chopper admits that his motivation was essentially just to forestall his presumed immanent demise and given him time to sample the turkey at least) gifting him with a magical potion that can cure most fatal ills (albeit with some provisos... which turn out to be problematic). This seriously well written fable should be better known!

[Meltem Sağlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

B. Traven’in okuduğum ilk kitabı. Meksika seyahatimden önce okumak üzere tesadüfen seçtiğim yazarın bu kitabı, beni yazarın hayranı haline getirdi.

“Büyülü Gerçekçilik” akımının tüm unsurlarını taşıyan hikayelerinin yer aldığı bir öykü kitabı bu. Latin Amerika yerlilerine her açıdan uygulanan baskılar ve zulüm, sömürü, özenle seçilmiş cümlelerle, son derece incelikli psikolojik analizlerle, zaman zaman espirili ve etkili bir şekilde anlatılmış.

Misyonerlik faaliyetlerinin anlatıldığı ve inanç sistemlerinin tartışıldığı öyküler özellikle etkileyici.

Çok etkilendim.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

(https://acrisalves.wordpress.com/2015...)

B. Traven é o pseudónimo sob o qual se escondeu um escritor desconhecido – certezas quanto à sua identidade não existem, apenas suspeitas. Sabe-se que terá vivido no México largos anos e que deveria ter nacionalidade alemã. Assim se explicam as histórias de mexicanos indígenas onde as novas crenças cristãs se misturam com as superstições dos índios.

Relembrando a cultura mexicana, esta capa traduz bem o conteúdo da maioria dos contos que mistura a presença dos mortes com o dia-a-dia pragmático de uma ideologia bastante diferente da nossa. O conjunto de histórias abre com o relato do culto indígena, em que um índio, tendo perdido o relógio que o distingue dos demais, faz promessas ao Santo António. Promessa atrás de promessa, gasto atrás de gasto. O índio farta-se de dispender dinheiro em troca de nada, e começa a ameaçar o Santo que, em troca, em nada o ajuda.

Noutro conto um índio dirige-se ao médico da vila para que este lhe descubra a mulher desaparecida que terá fugido de casa. Esfomeado pela falta de alguém que lhe cozinhe o jantar, o índio não acredita que o médico não seja capaz de tão simples feitiço. Acreditando que a nega do médico se baseia no parco dinheiro que tem para lhe pagar o serviço, o índio dirige-se à aldeia difamando o médico como charlatão.

Na história que dá nome ao conjunto um homem de origens ocidentais instála-se num terreno inóspido, esperando fazer daquela terra os seus últimos dias. Para além dos índios os vizinhos são poucos, mas visita frequentemente um velho médico. Tendo este que viajar para tratar de uns assuntos, toma-lhe conta da casa e descobre os livros de mitologia índia que lê avidamente. Em pouco tempo começa a sonhar acordado com um estranho índio nobre que lhe pede auxílio numa questão que não compreende.

Em Macario reconta-se uma versão da história “O Amigo da Morte”. Um homem tendo feito um favor à Morte, cai nas suas graças e ganha um elixir para salvar quase qualquer pessoa. A excepção serão as pessoas que a Morte indica como perdidas sem exclusão. Com este elixir consegue fama e riqueza suficiente para sustentar e elevar toda a família – até que um dia é chamado pelo Rei que lhe dá a escolher entre salvar o filho enfermo ou cair em desgraça, despojado de tudo o que possui.

Se há algo a realçar neste livro é a escrita. Tendo lido uma tradução deduzo que tenha havido também grande cuidado na linguagem e isso nota-se. O cruzamento das mentalidades resulta em histórias caricatas senão cómicas, onde o aspecto prático da vida quotidiana se cruza com os crenças cristãs desenquadradas. Mesmo com receio do pecado, a mentalidade despreocupada conjugada com a fome e a pobreza, levam muitos a encarar a fé de uma forma pragmática que origina episódios peculiares. Em suma, um excelente conjunto de histórias pouco vulgares.

[Azra · Rating 4 out of 5]

لذت بردم واقعا.داستانای اولش ولی به‌نظرم می‌تونستن پایان‌های بهتری داشته باشن ولی داستانای آخرش انگار پخته‌تر شده بودن.اگه کتاب قبل از سه تا داستان آخر تموم می‌شد بهش سه می‌دادم ولی حقیقتا سه تا داستان خیلی قوی و خوب‌بودن و همون‌طور هم که تو‌مقدمه‌ش دربارهٔ نویسنده‌ش اشاره شده بودواقعا نویسندهٔ خااقی بود و با چیزایی هم‌ که تو‌مقدمه دربارهٔ نویسنده‌ش خوندم به‌نظرم آدم جالبی اومد که اصلا دربارهٔ زندگی شخصیش اطلاعاتی نیست و خوش نداره حرف بزنه. عین یه راز کشف‌نشده مونده.این کتاب هم نه اونقدا خوب بود کهیگم فوق‌العاده بود و یکی از بهترین کتابای داستان کوتاهی بود که خوندم و نه اون‌قد متوسط بود که لایقشه ستاره نباشه.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"my personal history would not be disappointing to readers, but it is my own affair which i want to keep to myself" - b. traven in defense of his refusal to provide a biography to help promote his first novel.

the name that b. traven was christened with may never be revealed to us, but as tantalizing as that mystery is, i think it's pretty evident when you read his books that you know him: his interest in mexico and the indigenous population and their folklore; his disdain for greed and those who succumb to it; his love of travelling and adventure. the stories that comprise this collection are all reflective of those interests he most famously combined in the novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. i think b. traven's talents might suit the short form best: as a writer, his strengths lie in his dialogue, and his characters, and the adventures they embark upon, and while the adventures are grand, he doesn't rely on a lot of plot to entrance you.

with the exception of "a new god was born" which felt a little too thin, and too journalistic in style, more a footnote in a history of guatemala than something that stood up on its own legs, all the stories in this collection really kicked my ass. i found "night visitor" spooky but also fascinating, and my enjoyment of it was perhaps coloured by the mystery of b. traven: one of the characters claims he has written 18 books but had no desire to publish them once they were perfected, but instead burned them, feeling a complete satisfaction in his cycle of creation and destruction. stories like "effective medicine", "the cattle drive", and "midnight call" seem like he must have lived them, and yet make me feel i had these adventures too. "conversion of some indians" and particularly "friendship" ask some very basic and deep questions, that he surely believed we should all ask ourselves, and challenge us to think and find our own answers. "macario", the beautiful final tale in the collection, is regarded as a modern mexican fable: the story of a woodcutter whose only ambition in life is to eat a whole turkey himself, and faces life and death decisions as a result. it is a tremendous story, and it doesn't really matter if the man who wrote it was mexican, german, or american. he just tells a great rollicking tale. :)

[Bob Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say that B. Traven captures the essence of old Mexican life outside the big cities, coming from a reviewer who had yet to set foot in Mexico, might seem a bit rich ! But I've heard that his novels and stories are required reading in Mexican schools. That may give more than just a little insight into what Mexicans think of his work. The pleasingly-written stories are well-constructed around themes of interest to everybody---history, poverty, work, love, dreams, animals, and humor. Throughout, Traven's respect for the common people of Mexico shines like an unwavering beacon, though he never idolizes them.
The title piece, about an American stuck away in remote jungles, who reads his way through a library of rare books on pre-Columbian Indian civilizations, and reaps an amazing result, cannot fail to grip readers. Stories like "Effective Medicine", "Assembly Line" and "The Cattle Drive" reflect Mexican life as seen through American (or foreign) eyes, while "Burro Trading" is one of the most humorous stories I've read in a long time. Mexico is no doubt in the grip of the 21st century already---traffic jams, pollution, the Internet, privatisation, drug wars, globalisation, and sweeping political change. These stories might harken back to a simpler time of less justice but less uncertainty, when social status was more fixed and Mexican ways had not been sullied by MTV, MacDonalds, and Madonna. Mexico is no doubt better off nowadays. The view of Mexico provided by the history of the Conquest and by the broad strokes of Rivera, Orozco, and Sequeiros is not the only one. This group of stories, by a talented, somewhat-mysterious writer, ought to be much better known than they are because of their attention to smaller details on a more daily plane.

[Fateme Najmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

تقریبا می‌تونم بگم داستان‌ها از لحاظ نوع سورئال و بعضا بی سر و ته بودنشون شبیه به قلم موراکامی‌ان و به احتمال زیاد طرفدارهای موراکامی از این کتاب خوششون میاد.
فقط به جای ژاپن، به مکزیک سفر می‌کنید.

[Erdoğan Sağlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tek kelimeyle muhteşem bir kitap. Traven'in ilk okuduğum kitabı. Kızılderili köylüler hakkında çok şirin öyküler. Dili çok akıcı ve alaycı. Okurken bazı bölümlerinde kahkahalar attım, o denli komik anlayacağınız. İlk ve son öykü biraz farklı, diğerleri aynı öykünün içindeymiş hissini veriyor. Okumaktan mutlu oldum.

[Tok · Rating 4 out of 5]

นอกจากตัวนักเขียนซึ่งเป็นเรื่องลึกลับแล้ว หนังสือ(หรือเรื่องสั้นเพราะฉบับต่างประเทศมันทำรวมเล่มกับเรื่องสั้นอื่นๆ)เล่มนี้ก็ยังปกคลุมไปด้วยภาพของความคลุมเครือ น่ากลัว อยู่พอสมควร

เรื่องของช���ยหนุ่มผู้มาอาศัยอยู่ในชนบท บริเวณที่เขาอยู่เป็นพื้นที่เก่าของชาวอินเดียนแดง มีนายแพทย์ผู้ดูเหมือนจะไม่ค่อยอยู่กับร่องกับรอยเป็นเพื่อนบ้านผิวขาวคนเดียวที่อาศัยละแวกนั้น วันหนึ่งนายแพทย์ต้องออกไปทำธุระ เลยฝากให้เขาดูแลบ้านให้ ระหว่างนั้นชายหนุ่มก็ได้พบกับ 'ผู้มาเยือน' คนหนึ่งเข้า และความลึกลับก็ตามเขามา

จริงๆอ่านแล้วรู้สึกหลอนๆ โดยเฉพาะการให��ภาพของชาวอินเดียนแดงแบบนี้ คือมันก็กึ่งๆอยู่ เหมือนพยายามจะมองติคนขาวประมาณว่าชอบเอาข้าวของคนอื่น หรือจะมองเรื่องจิตวิญญาณของชาวอินเดียนแดงก็ได้ แต่ที่แน่ๆคนเขียนไม่ได้มีแนวทางต้านคนขาวแน่ๆ พอๆกับที่'พยายาม'ไม่ justice อินเดียนแดง

อย่างไรก็ตาม ประเด็นข้างต้นนั้นไม่ได้เป็นปัญหามากนัก สิ่งที่น่าสนใจมากกว่าคือการเล่าถึงตัวละครชายหนุ่มคนนี้ว่าเรื่องของเขาเป็นเรื่องจริงหรือหลอนไปเอง การเล่าถึงความฝันเหมือนเป็นพิธีกรรมหรือตำนานอะไรซักอย่างของอินเดียนแดง เอาจริงๆเราว่ามันมีฟีลหลอนๆผสมกับบรรยากาศแบบหนังพี่เจ้ยอยู่

อ่อ คิดว่าหน้าปกไม่ได้มาจากเรื่องสั้นนี้แน่ๆ แต่มาจากเรื่องสั้นเรื่องอื่น เพียงแต่ของที่อื่นเขาพิมพ์รวมเล่มกัน ไม่ใช่เอาเรื่องสั้นมาขายเป็นเล่มหนึงแบบไทย

[Khalid · Rating 4 out of 5]

تقول المترجمة عن المؤلف ب تراڤن....لم يعرف حقيقة شخصه أحد، ولا زوجته التي شاركته ثمان سنوات من حياته، ورغم عشرات السنين من البحث ما نزال لا نعلم علي وجه اليقين أين، ومتي ولد؟ جنسيته الأصلية، هوية والديه؟، والإسم الذي أعطياه له عند مولده..
عندما حوصر قال :
"أود أن أقرر بكل وضوح، أن سيرة الشخص المبدع، لا أهمية لها، فإن لم يكن مثل هذا الشخص حاضر في أعماله، فإما أنه لا يساوي شيئاً، أو أن أعماله بلا قيمة. ليس للمبدع سيرة إلا في اعماله".

[Ben R · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Night Visitor,” “Midnight Call,” and “Macario” were excellent. And as a whole the collection was an enjoyable read—maybe it’s a stretch to categorize it as a western, but whatever genre it is, it’s up my alley.

[Kells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precisando digerir ainda. !!!

[Paulina · Rating 5 out of 5]

B. Traven, what a writer!

This book contains two stories, "El visitante nocturno" and "Visita de medianoche". Both stories are set in Mexico and the protagonist is a man from the US (albeit, not the same man).

The first was by far my favorite, it is the story of a man who buys land in the jungle and his closest neighbor (also a foreigner) has to go away and leaves him as his house-sitter. Then, at night an indian starts visiting and asking for his help. The story is rather creepy and haunting, the language that Traven uses (well, in this case with an excellent translation) crawls under your skin and at the same time teaches you about the history of the natives of the jungle. Though it is a work of fiction, Traven draws from historical fact, about how the natives were driven from their land, how they fought each other, and what their customs were. There's language and then there's structure, I will definitely have to read this one again because there were certain parts of the story that mimic each other, giving the sense of being in a dream or a sense of deja vu that is very effective in setting the mood for the story.

The second is less creepy but very smart. It is about an unlicensed doctor who lives in a remote and dangerous town. He lives there growing corn and is surprised one night when three armed men come to his door. At first he hides from them but when he finds it is no use he goes with them and thus ensues a series of events that leave the reader with a story that is so well crafted that we don't know where it's going until it ends and everything falls into place quite nicely.

In both of these stories I was pleasantly surprised by the play with words, with language, with historical references so well interweaved that it leaves a seamless story. When he leaves something unanswered it's even more interesting because the reader can take from what he has actually said and construct multiple satisfactory answers.

I recommend this to anyone who likes magical realism, historical fiction, mystery, horror, suspense, or just a really well written story.

Thanks Ulises, for the recommendation!

[Rudiran Messias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este volume reúne duas novelas de B. Traven, um dos mais obscuros escritores do século XX, cuja real identidade ainda permanece um enigma.

A primeira delas é a que dá nome ao livro. O visitante noturno conta a história de um aventureiro que abandona a civilização e vai viver nos confins da selva. Lá, acaba tomando conta da casa de um vizinho enquanto esse viaja. Durante sua ausência, aproveita para explorar a biblioteca do vizinho, mas é atropelado por experiências aterradoras.

A segunda, Macário, é a incrível história de um homem que tem o sonho de comer um peru sozinho.

Essas duas novelas estão entre as mais conhecidas do escritor misterioso, que já foi incluído por Borges em sua "Antología de la Literatura Fantástica" (1940).

O livro ainda conta com prefácio que fala sobre o que se sabe e o que não se sabe sobre B. Traven, incluindo sua possível aparição no set de filmagens do filme "O Tesouro de Sierra Madre" (1927), baseado em texto seu. Também tem histórias de pessoas bem conhecidas que já se precisaram negar publicamente que eram o verdadeiro escritor por trás do pseudônimo.

[Steve Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories by the great writer of tales and Indian lives in the Central American jungle.
It ends with Macario. I had seen the 1960 Mexican movie version of Macario twice before reading it. The original is better that the movie, but that is not unusual. The movie is quite good.

This is a nice introduction to the world of Traven but I just hope more people read the series of jungle novels. They, in my opinion, are Traven's greatest work.
(And I have yet to readThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Death Ship.)

[die Marie van O · Rating 5 out of 5]

B. Traven ha sido de los autores con el que jamás hubiese esperado encontrarme. Lo he leído en alemán, y aún habiéndolo leído en un idioma tan peculiar, que se diferencia mucho al disfrute de leerlo en español, logró transmitir todo lo que la jungla mexicana esconde y lo que la historia del pueblo tiene que contar. Su manera de relatar es tan abierta, sin romanticismo, sino con la realidad de incluso experiencias vividas por él mismo. Me ha impresionado lo mucho que me capturó este tipo de literatura.

[Ali Deniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

mükemmel :((((

[Carolina Búho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro contiene dos historias:
El visitante nocturno, 2.5/5
Esta primera historia es bastante más larga (abarca el 70% del libro) y está dividida en capítulos, versa sobre un gringo que vive en medio de una selva al sur de México y cuyo vecino, un médico gringo, le confía el cuidado de su casa mientras él regresa a EU a resolver unos asuntos. Es en esta casa donde el protagonista comienza a recibir las visitas de un misterioso indígena que le habla de cosas que no puede entender. Más adelante, tanto el narrador como el lector se entera que este misterioso visitante no es sino el fantasma de un indígena enterrado en una colina cercana a la cabaña, cuyo descanso funerario fue perturbado por unos extraños cerdos que irrumpieron en su túmulo. Bueno, pues, esta historia, aunque me pareció interesante y sentí que el ambiente extraño e inquietante estaba muy bien logrado, no terminó de convencerme: me pareció que se alargó más de lo necesario (sobre todo en la parte de en medio) y si bien el componente misterioso me agradó, de igual forma creo que hubo muchas incógnitas que se quedaron sin resolver, como la identidad de los cerdos/perros y del médico gringo. Tampoco entendí del todo el final. Quizá fuera la intención del escritor dejar todo tan envuelto en misterio o hay algún subtexto intelectual que se me está escapando... no lo sé.
Visita a medianoche, 4/5.
Este segundo relato es bastante corto y nos cuenta la aventura nocturna de un gringo que es sacado a a mitad de la noche de su cabaña por tres hombres misteriosos para que ayude, con sus pocos conocimientos médicos, a curar las heridas de un todavía más misterioso muchacho. Si bien esta historia ni tiene ningún elemento sobrenatural y, más bien, está ambientada durante la época de la revolución mexicana, me gustó muchísimo más y me divirtió, quizá porque está llena de ironía y de situaciones divertidas tanto para el protagonista como para los lectores, que conocen la verdad de todo el asunto.
Ahora, en cuanto a la edición, debo decir que sospecho que la traducción fue hecha por un programa/computadora, puesto que había partes o frases medio extrañas, pero al menos el texto resultó legible en su mayoría.

[Julián Maldonado Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"-Ah, desde luego. Los libros son los pilares del mundo. En mi opinión un libro es lo más grandioso que existe. Ningún dios, sólo el hombre puede hacer un libro. Se nos ha enseñado que Dios hizo el mundo y todo lo que está dentro y fuera de él. Muy bien. Pero si el hombre no hubiera inventado esa historia, contado, divulgado, escrito y distribuido en millones de copias, nadie sabría nada de esto. No sabríamos que existe un cielo con ángeles y un infierno con diablos. No sabríamos nada de un árbol con manzanas y de hojas de parra. No estaríamos enterados de que fuimos concebidos en pecado; pero que el peor pecado de todos es no creer en Dios. Sin esta historia inventada por el hombre y dicha por el hombre para asustar y dominar a otros hombres, no sabríamos que existe un Dios creado por el hombre."

[Robert Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not care for this book or B. Traven's plain writing style which seemed to oscillate between bland and whimsical. The only story I liked somewhat better than the rest was Friendship, sad stories about dogs usually get to me. The setting of central Mexico was a new one for me and that I liked. I got interested in this writer after watching that old Bogart gem The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and watching a featurette on the mystery of B. Traven's identity. After reading this collection of stories I do not get the fascination with this writer at all then or now, loved the movie though. I cannot really recommend this book unless you need something light and airy with a theme or two flowing underneath the whimsy to read.

[Momo Corleone · Rating 4 out of 5]

En un principio parece una historia de suspenso, pero conforme se acerca al final parece un relato de la época de la Revolución Mexicana.

Algunas cosas que aparecen justo en el último tramo parecen no guardar relación con lo que se planteó al inicio, por lo que puede desconectarte o hacerte sentir que no hay razón para hilar la historia de esta manera.

Deja muchas dudas, pero parece que fueron dejadas ahí por descuido o desinterés.

Sin embargo, la voz de Traven siempre es divertida de leer, tiene un particular sentido para captar la mexicanidad y muestra algunos giros de tuerca que resultan interesantes.

[Adam Bregman · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these stories are set in rural Mexico, as is much of B Traven's writing. The Night Visitor is a masterpiece, a tale that will stick with you and is somewhat in the vein of exotica with themes similar to a Paul Bowles classic. While I enjoyed all the other stories about priests, cattle driving and magical jungle happenings, none of them knocked me out. Some of the endings are a bit flat. Still, this is very much worthy of your time.

[Márcia Figueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ignorava por que razão me sentia tão ansioso por levá-lo para longe do local onde o encontrara e onde ele pertencia; era ali que repousava havia muitos séculos e era ali que deveria permanecer.
Contudo, não me guiava uma ideia ou um pensamento definidos - pelo menos uma idea ou um pensamento próprio, gerados no meu espírito. Agia de modo mecânico, sem me preocupar minimamente com o porquê, como se não houvesse outra maneira de o fazer."

[Luis González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro bastante interesante, dividido en dos: el primero, un relato de un hombre que cuida una hacienda y se encuentra con un visitante muy peculiar cada noche. El otro, un estadounidense que, sin querer, ayuda a unos bandidos a escapar. Ambas historias tienen un encanto peculiar, de un extranjero que adoptó la cultura y las usanzas de México para escribir fantasía y misterio de una forma elocuente y sincera.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only story I read was Assembly Line: however, since that isn't listed separately on GR, I'm putting my review here. It's a great little story about a businessman trying to exploit a local artisan, reminiscent of that old tale about the buy trying to persuade a happy fisherman to buy a bigger boat so he can make money and retire. Basically, why slave away doing things to make other people rich if you can be content with less and enjoy your life more?

[Jorge Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relato corto del misterioso autor B. Traven. Nos cuenta la historia de un extranjero que vive en una zona selvática y nos muestra los distintos sucesos que le ocurren al estar aislado del mundo. Me gusta como el autor maneja la narrativa, manteniendo siempre el misticismo y la emoción. A eso hay qué agregarle el misterio de no conocer mucho sobre el escritor.