Mexico

by James A. Michener, Alexander Adams (Read by)

Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener, whose novels hurtle from the far reaches of history to the dark corners of the world, paints an intoxicating portrait of a land whose past and present are as turbulent, fascinating, and colorful as any other on Earth. When an American journalist travels to report on the upcoming duel between two great matadors, he is ultimately swept up in the dramatic story of his own Mexican ancestry—from the brilliance and brutality of the ancients, to the iron fist of the invading Spaniards, to modern Mexico, fighting through dust and bloodshed to build a nation upon the ashes of revolution. Architectural splendors, frenzied bullfights, horrific human sacrifice: Michener weaves them all into an epic human story that ranks with the best of his beloved bestselling novels.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Travel, Adventure, Novels, Literature

672 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

James Albert Michener is best known for his sweeping multi-generation historical fiction sagas, usually focusing on and titled after a particular geographical region. His first novel, Tales of the South Pacific , which inspired the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Toward the end of his life, he created the Journey Prize, awarded annually for the year's best short story published by an emerging Canadian writer; founded an MFA program now, named the Michener Center for Writers, at the University of Texas at Austin; and made substantial contributions to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, best known for its permanent collection of Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings and a room containing Michener's own typewriter, books, and various memorabilia.

Michener's entry in Who's Who in America says he was born on Feb. 3, 1907. But he said in his 1992 memoirs that the circumstances of his birth remained cloudy and he did not know just when he was born or who his parents were.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I have read two of Michener's other works- The Source and Poland- and found them fascinating and riveting and found Michener to be a fine writer , , I had expected something similar with Mexico.
And he certainly shows his talent for fine historical narrative in parts of the book.
Taking us through a journey into the history of Toledo, in Mexico, through the decline of a great nation of builders, through their discovery the drug, pulque found in the Maguey plant, the rebellion by a brave Altomec Queen against the diabolic human sacrifice rites to a strange and terrible deity, the story of conquistadors and robust émigrés in Mexico from the defeated Confederacy after the American Civil War, and the reign of terror of the blood thirsty revolutionary leader General Gurza, all add to a rich tapestry.
Alas, this part of the book is far too short, and Michener spends most of the novel with an endless saga about a bullfighting tournament.
I find absolutely nothing inspiring about this unfair and cruel sport, and do not find anything in bullfighting which reminds me ` of the principles by which life should be led' as remarked by one of the characters.
The characterization in these chapters, was glossed over, and only the bullfighting tournament itself was detailed, leading to huge gaps in the book which where not interesting to read, and only read to get to the shorter more interesting ride into history. A pity because there was rich material with which to work.
Although , to be fair he does artfully put it together again , in the last chapter.

[Daniel Villines · Rating 1 out of 5]

The country of Mexico is a subject that is dear to my heart. Through my mother’s family, my ancestors reach back into Mexico through unknown generations. I was raised as an American, but my life has been steeped in Mexican culture. It’s from this perspective that Michener’s novel comes across as disappointing.

To start, Michener made up a substantial amount of Mexican history. He creates an idealized Mexican town, a fictional native tribe, and a fake bandito revolutionary. Michener also ignores certain facts, like the massive loss of indigenous human life that was caused by European diseases. After 600+ pages, Mexico remains a poorly understood land.

Historical fiction in the absence of history becomes nothing more than a fantasy. Michener presents Mexico as a tourist attraction where Americans can witness a different culture without a need to understand it. His writing caters to predominant American attitudes as they existed during the early 1960s (and as they still struggle to exist today). Attitudes which included such absolute beliefs as "the union of Mexico and Spain produced far more that was beneficial than damaging." [Pg. 362]

As a result of Michener’s fantasy, he fails to reach any sort of genuine truth about Mexico. He fails to reach the essence of the Mexican people which is an ever-present energy that creates determination out of adversity. The novel also lacks any genuine attempt to provide an understanding of prehistoric practices and beliefs of the indigenous people even though they genuinely felt that their practices and beliefs were correct and proper with respect to the world they lived in.

It may be that Michener was more motivated by the opportunity to write about bullfighting than he was about Mexico. Most of the book is dedicated to bullfighting. There are detailed scenes of bullfights, its methods, and the lives of the matadors. This aspect of the book is probably the best that it has to offer in terms of factual content. However, in the present day, experiencing the methodical torture of an innocent animal until it’s almost dead so that a matador can hack at it to achieve his "moment of glory" hardly seems like a reason to read this book.

I have only read one other Michener novel, which was The Covenant. The difference between the two novels is striking. Everything that The Covenant succeeded in doing for all South Africans and their country Mexico fails to achieve. It’s interesting that Michener himself was so dissatisfied with this novel that he put the manuscript aside and forgot about it for 30 years. From my perspective, it should have remained hidden away and unpublished.

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mexico by James Michener is a sweeping saga of the colorful and often tumultuous history of Mexico and its people. This takes place in the fictional city of Toledo, Mexico where Norman Clay, an American journalist, comes to explore his Spanish roots as well as to report on its Festival of Ixmiq-61 and its bullfights pitting two celebrated matadors in a decisive duel; the Spaniard Victoriano executing dramatic arabesques versus Juan Gomez, the relentless little Indian. Clay reports that it is "appropriate, therefore, that our protagonists should represent almost ideally the two historic strains of Mexican history: the ancient Indian, the recent Spanish".

Where the cactus and maguey meet, my heart is entwined in the tangle of Mexico."

"It was as if Mexico were divided into two nations: the Indians, who worked the fields and the markets, and the Spanish who ruled from the halls of government."

"Many spectators, reviewing in their minds what they had seen that afternoon, must have concluded there was something more to bullfighting than dancing gestures and poetic passages. There was, in all honesty, a naked moment when man and bull stood equal, with all nonsense gone. This was a fight of life and death, a summary of all we know of man's dark passage, and it deserved a certain dignity."

"This dignity could not be observed in a hundred afternoons of Victoriano Leal, but this damned little Indian had somehow reminded the plaza of the very essence of bullfighting and life."

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been 5 stars but way too much on bullfighting.

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this book during my first week in Mexico. It explains the unique culture of Mexico through the combined histories of its native and Spanish peoples. It relies heavily on the art of bullfighting as a metaphor. It's more captivating than others of his works I've read. I especially appreciate that, for once, the moral that always comes in the last 50 pages was more personal (involving the narrator, who resembles Michener, acting on his own inspiration). Now I just need to catch myself before referencing his city of Toledo and other fictional elements as historical realities.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

How I felt about that book varied from section to section. Ironically, the parts I liked best were the modern (or near modern since they were set in 1961) parts concerning bullfighting, of all things. I have never been interested in the sport, but these parts were so interesting that, paraphrasing what King Agrippa said to the Apostle Paul, "almost thou persuadest me to see a bullfight". BUT King Agrippa never became Christian and I have no intention of seeing a bullfight. Four stars for these parts.

The historical sections don't come off nearly as well, in my opinion. The best is concerned with the "Altomec" civilization preceding the conquest by Cortez. Altomec, by the way, is a term Michener uses for a composite of various tribes. Maybe this was to excuse himself from more extensive research. The part set in Spain wasn't bad and the part concerning early Spaniards in Mexico was also okay. I was not impressed by the part set in Virginia during the Civil War. After reading Michener's account, a reader might assume that the battle of Cold Harbor was fought in The Wilderness. I did like the part about unreconstructed Confederates heading for Mexico. I've read better novelizations of history. Two or maybe three stars for these parts.

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I have read many of Mitchener's books and enjoyed them I was disappointed in this one. Over half of the book was about a bullfight over a weekend in one town in Mexico. I learned about but got tired of reading about bullfighting. I don't like the sport. I began cheering for the bull. There were several chapters about the history of Mexico from ancient tribes fighting each other to the civil wars in the 20th century. The stories about sacrificing humans made me sick. So overall I did not enjoy this book.
There has got to be much more about Mexico that he could have covered. This is not Michener at his best. His other novels are so much more comprehensive and cover so much more of history. It definitely did not raise my interest in Mexico.

[J.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite my affection for Michener, I have to say I was disappointed in this book. It has the wrong title, is too long and he fictionalized in areas where I felt truth would have made it a stronger novel.

As I noted in my review of his My Lost Mexico, I don’t know how or why I neglected this book in the past. In My Lost Mexico Michener explains how he began the novel, abandoned it for 30 years and then returned to write what became another of his bestsellers. I don’t think the end result was the book he originally intended and it probably became a bestseller on the basis of his popularity rather than the novel’s merits.

Don’t misunderstand, the book does have merit. The characters—especially Norman Clay, Leon Ledesma, Mrs. Evans, Victoriano and Gomez, to name a few—are engaging. And the plot is interesting and entertaining.

But the novel is not a “history” of Mexico as the title and his past works might suggest.

It’s not my novel. If it were, I’d have eliminated all the history on Clay’s family, retaining just enough back-story on them to explain his split nationality. I don’t understand why Michener felt it necessary to invent the Altomecs when the Aztecs would have made a truer story. Likewise, the invention of Gurza when there were so many real characters of his type to draw from.

I would have centered on the festival and the bullfights, which are the real focus of the novel. Michener does an excellent job of explaining the intricacy of the corrida. Here the real themes of courage, persistence and optimism are emphasized and give the novel its soul.

[Robyn Harrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really read all of this book. I read the first 100 pages but it was all about bull fighting. I don't like bull fighting. I quit reading it.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK I finished this blasted book. I'm giving it 4 stars out of deference to Michener who was a good man and a more than respectable story-teller and he gave several million dollars to UT-Austin.
But this book was too #($&)@# long, dammit. Where are the editors? In fact, toward the end I started noting repetitive passages where I would have cut out the fat. I started reading objectively like an editor and that's not a good sign
It's a shame because there's a lot of good here too, and I learned something about Mexico and a shit-ton about bullfighting, which is of dubious merit at this point in history. I don't see the honor in killing bulls for sport, but then it is a sport and a part of history, so I tried to read with that in mind. The environmentalist in me was disappointed that they don't at least eat the meat; maybe they did in some cases, it was unclear.
The historical vignettes were quite interesting. I say quite interesting instead of fascinating because again, it bogs down in so many places. And the abundance of characters almost seems to be ego-driven. Like behold, I am James Michener and I give you a boatload of characters because I am Michener and I can do that.
However, however, like I said, good things here too. . .
But I shouldn't feel this drugged out at the end.

[Armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

persönliche Befangenheitserklärung

Eigentlich nur zufällig aufgeschlagen und gleich als Reiselektüre in Anspruch genommen. Mexiko hat mich auf Anhieb stärker in seinen Bann gezogen als jeder andere Michener. Bin zwar alles andere als ein Afficionado, aber die Stierkampfpartien sind fünf Sterne wert, im Nachhinein habe ich sogar allerlei Eindrücke, die als Jugendlicher in Arles und Gerona gewonnen habe, zuordnen können. Die seltsame Entstehungsgeschichte hat mich zusätzlich angespitzt.
Mexiko ist eine Art Zwitter, da das Manuskript verloren ging und längere Zeit verschollen blieb. Nach dem Wiederauftauchen bildete das Fundstück den idealen Anschluss an Karibik. Denn die zuletzt entstandene Saga einer Region verabschiedete sich mit Cortez Eroberungszug und dessen Erfolgsgrundlagen in andere Anrainer und auf die zahlreichen Inseln. Die Gegenwartshandlung, um die Rückkehr eines verlorenen Sohnes anlässlich des Ixmiq-Festivals 1960, dürfte den Fans des früheren Michener besser munden als den Anhängern der mehr und mehr auf politisch korrekt getrimmten Epen um einen Bundesstaat oder eine Region. Obwohl der Zinn-Impact (1980ff), bereits bestehende Tendenzen eher massiv verstärkte, was ein wenig auf Kosten der Balance ging.
Als klassischer Machismo-Roman in den frühen 1960ern begonnen, bedient sich das Buch zunächst des Verfahrens das Michener bis zu den Kindern von Torremolinos anwandte, ehe er seine Sinfonien einer Landschaft (weiter) entwickelt. Als Gesamtkompositionen sind Centennial/Colorado-Saga und Chesapake/Die Bucht dem früher begonnenen und später vollendeten Roman überlegen, die Intensität ist beim Selbstfindungsroman alten Stils höher, nicht nur weil echte Enttäuschung über einen Hoffnungsträger in den Anfangskapiteln mitschwingt.

Der Plot und seine Konfliktlagen

Liberaler Mann um oder jenseits der Fünfziger, der schon allerlei Desillusionierungen erleben musste, aber den Glauben an die gute Sache und eine bessere Zukunft noch nicht verloren hat, wird von seiner Illustrierten in die Heimat geschickt, um seinen Biss wiederzufinden. Sein Vater hat ein Standardwerk über die Geschichte der Stadt geschrieben und soll mit einem Denkmal geehrt werden. Norman, einst mit einem spanischen Teil der Palafox-Sippe verheiratet und über Vater und Opa mit beiden Blutlinien verschwägert, versteht sich gut mit allen Beteiligten, selbst wenn diese miteinandern verfeindet sind. In diesem Fall die Mexikaner mit unterschiedlichen Wurzeln und den Vertretern der beiden unterschiedlichen Stierkampflager, deren Kampf den Höhepunkt des Ixmiq-Festivals bilden soll.
Hauptheld Norman Clay war vor diesem Auftrag eine Art publizistischer Schlachtenbummler von Fidel Castro, ist aber von der Realpolitik des ehemaligen Rebellen ziemlich enttäuscht und auch sonst mit sich uneins, weshalb ihn der Chefredakteur seiner Illustrierten für eine Bildreportage in die alte Heimat schickt.
Beim Namenspatron des Festivals handelte es sich um den fiktiven Gründer des später in Toledo umbenannten Orts. Er ist auch Erbauer der ursprünglichen Pyramide und zudem Stammvater der indianischen Linie des Erzählers, in die sich noch ein bluttrünstiger Stamm eingekreuzt hat, der
alle Männer der trunkenen Erbauer getötet und die Frauen unterworfen hatte.
Als die nächsten Eroberer kommen, führt Grauauge, die längst mit den blutigen Göttern abgeschlossen hat, die Verhandlungen, nachdem ihre Krieger einem Unterführer von Cortez genug Respekt für einen Waffenstillstand und Erhalt der eigenen Kultur abringen konnte. Norman, dessen Südstaaten-Opa mit Alimpio eine Nachfahrin der legendären Anführerin geheiratet hat, während sein Vater eine spanische Nachfahrin zum Altar führte, verfügte damit über spanische und anglo-amerikanische Wurzeln. Über knapp 1000 Seiten arbeitet er seinen Stammbaum nach und nach ab. Bis zur Auflösung eines ganz großen historischen Rätsels aus der jüngeren Vergangenheit, bzw. der persönlichen Verwicklung in den Anschlag auf General Gurza. Einem Rebellen mit Lokomotive, der auf seinen Vormärschen und Rückzügen regelmäßig den Verkehrsknotenpunkt Toledo verwüstet. Sehr zum Leidwesen der Stierzüchter und Bergwerksbetreiber, zu denen auch der Vater des Erzählers gehört. Dessen Mutter, die schon als junges Mädchen im Bergwerk die Ausbeute zu Fuß über tausend Stufen nach oben schleppen musste, ehe sie aus diesem Schicksal weg geheiratet wurde, ist im Herzen immer Rebellin geblieben, weil sie die Leidensgeschichte ihres Volkes mit Landraub und Ausbeutung durch die „spanischen Vettern“ viel zu sehr verinnerlicht hat.
Aus eingefleischtem Klassenhass unterstützt Oma Alimpio den dicken Rebellen aus der Unterschicht, obwohl alle Einwohner von Toledo unter dessen Raub- und Vergewaltigungszügen leiden müssen. Auch wenn das Abschlachten einer Kampfstierzucht oder Raub des Silbers aus dem Bergwerk die Reichen da trifft, wo es ihnen am meisten weh tut.
Der Umstand, dass sie doch selbst den Sprung nach oben geschafft bevor sie zu alt wurde, um die tausend Stufen ans Tageslicht zu schaffen und ihr Mann/Sohn den Abbauprozess maximal mechanisiert haben, hat ihre Einstellung nicht grundsätzlich ändern können. Zwar sind im Schacht geborene Kinder oder letzte Atemzüge unter Tage kein Thema mehr, weil moderne Forderkörbe jede Schicht wieder heil zurück an die Oberfläche bringen, aber der Gewinn geht an Eindringlinge.
Ihr Sohn geht wiederum in die Vereinigten Staaten als die Regierung sämtliche Bodenschätze verstaatlicht. Und Norman verlässt seine Frau, um dem Papa zu folgen und verdient sich im Krieg die US-Staatsbürgerschaft. Dass der Alte ein Buch geschrieben hat, wie überholt es in manchen Teilen auch sein mag, macht den im journalistischen Tagesgeschäft alt gewordenen Norman schon zu schaffen.
Der Roman über das Wiederfinden des persönlichen Wegs bei einem Gelegenheitsauftrag ist für mich fünf Sterne wert. Die Art und Weise wie Michener möglichst viele Beteiligte darin einbezieht und ein künstlich hochgehyptes Duell der Matadore zum Kristallisationspunkt macht ist an sich schon großartig, aber die Schilderung der Kämpfe und die Vermittlung der Regeln ist einzigartig gelungen. Angelehnt ist der Zweikampf zwischen einem Familienclan mit langer Tradition und entsprechender Routine und einem Außenseiter, der viel mehr persönliches Risiko geht, an jenes von Ernest Hemingway (Gefährlicher Sommer) und Peter Viertel (Love lies bleeding/Fiesta Brava, sowie Gefährliche Freunde) geschilderte Zweikampf zwischen Luis Miguel Dominguin (Star-Matador mit kalkuliertem Risiko) und Antonio Ordonez (von Hemingway idolisierter Draufgänger).
Waren die Vorbilder miteinander verschwägert, so gestalten die Micheners das von einem Kritiker herbei geschrieben Duell auch hier zum Klassenkampf. Der tollkühne Stierkiller Gomez ist ein Indio, der eher zufällig zum Torero wurde und sich aus den untersten Klassen hochgekämpft hat und dabei allerlei Rückschläge wegstecken musste. Seine Fans sitzen auf den billigen Plätzen, deshalb tötet er seine Stiere in der Sonne, während Victoriano Leal, dem zwei Cousins und sein Onkel zuarbeiten, stets vor der Haupttribüne etliche elegante Wendungen wie seinen finalen Stich vollbringt. Die Leals repräsentieren im Stierkämpferlager jenen Zweig, der seine Bräute immer noch das Spanien mitbringt. Im Anschluss an eine Erfolgstournee im Mutterland, von der auch Gomez Geliebte träumt, eine Flamenco-Tänzerin, die im Mutterland ihren Marktwert erhöhen will. Aber dafür müsste ihr Torero das Duell in Toledo erst mal deutlich gewinnen. Und es gibt so allerlei Stiere, die auch den tapfersten Torero ganz schlecht aussehen lassen.
Und die Leals sind seit Kindertagen aufeinander eingespielt, die Rollen klar verteilt. Nur Victoriano bringt die passende Optik und Eleganz für den Matador mit, darf aber nicht ausfallen, weil dann die stattlichen Honorare ausbleiben. Deshalb lassen die finanziellen Rücksichten des Familienclans dem Star allerdings so gut wie keine Freiheiten persönliche Risiken einzugehen, um sich selbst zu beweisen.
Deshalb gilt Victoriano bei den Auskennern als eleganter Feigling, der geschickt seine Schwächen markieren kann. Onkel Veneno, der als Kind den Tod seines Vaters in der Arena ansehen musste, und seine Söhne Chucho und Diego schrecken dagegen vor nichts zurück, um auf jeden Fall zu gewinnen. Das Trio zerlegt seinem Matador die Stiere nicht nur mundgerecht in der Arena. Um eventuell riskante Stiere schon vor dem Kampf nachhaltig zu schädigen ist kein Manöver vor dem Kampf zu fies. Als Vertrauter des Clans wird Norman Zeuge von allerlei Gemeinheiten bei denen nicht nur militanten Tierschützern das Herz blutet.
Der Gegenwartsteil strotzt also keineswegs nur vor glänzenden Kampfszenen, denn die Stiere, ob geschädigt oder unterschätzt, spielen den Matadoren immer wieder Streiche wegen denen jegliche Rivalität schnell mal Nebensache wird. Insofern gibt es am Ende keinen Sieger im sportlichen Sinne, sondern einen Rückkampf im folgenden Jahr. Victoriano kann sich immerhin von der Diktatur seines Onkels befreien, Gomez seinen Ruf rechtfertigen, muss aber erst mal die Verletzungen aus dem Finale mit einem Stier auskurieren, der das vermeintlich gefährlichste Tier schon auf der Weide erledigt hat.

Fazit:
Damit bin ich bei meinen Gründen doch nur vier Sterne zu vergeben: Die Beiträge von Ehegattin und Co-Autorin Mari Yoriko Sabusawa sind eher dreieinhalb Sterne. Der Einfluss der von der Rechercheurin zur Co- oder allein verantwortlichen Autorin aufgestiegenen Gattin auf die Ahnengalerie von Norman, ist leicht daran zu erkennen, dass sich auf einmal starke und klügere Frauen durch die Vorgeschichte ziehen. Halt die typischen von Howard Zinns alternativem Geschichtsbuch „A peoples History“ inspirierten Ausformungen der späteren Michener-Sagas bei denen der jüngere Teil der literarischen Kooperation mehr und mehr die Oberhand gewann oder gar einen ganzen Roman, ohne Beteiligung des Altmeisters (Poland/Mazurka), veröffentlichte.
Im Vergleich zu den späteren Epen über eine Landschaft, bei denen in jeder Epoche eine andere Person/Familie in den Fokus rückt und die Nachfahren der Protagonisten aus vorherigen Kapiteln nicht immer als beste Freunde oder gute Menschen auftauchen, wirkt der komplette Stammbaum einer Person über knapp 1400 Jahre schon so ausführlich, wie es nur in einem Roman möglich ist. Oder wenn ziemlich viele Anführer dabei sind: von 600 (Ixmiq und Nachfahren), 1000 (Kriegerische Verdränger der trunkenen Baumeister) 1500ff (Flucht der Palafox-Söhne unter Cortez Fittiche bevor ihr Vater als Ketzer verbrannt wird. Beim Waffenstillstand heiratet der geistliche Anführer Palafox die Tochter von Grauauge, der jüngere Bruder die frühere Geliebte aus Spanien. Bildung von zwei Blutlinien, die Bischöfe haben immer Indio-Frauen, die Nachfahren der Krieger Bräute aus dem Mutterland.
Mit dem landlos gewordenen Rebellen Jubal Clay, der 1847 schon mal als Eroberer in Toledo war, kreuzt sich dann die letzte Ader ein und ein Ahnung von Fackeln im Sturm. Alimpios Begeisterung für General Gurza und ihr Versuch dem Enkel die andere Seite der Geschichte zu zeigen, ist so eine Art später Ausgleich mit pikanter Pointe. Denn das Geschenk einer Knarre an den Jungen bedeutet das Ende des Rebellen und seiner blutigen Heldenreise. Auch wenn der Beschenkte nur als Drehkreuz fungiert.
Wären Mari Yoriko Sabusawas starke Frauen nicht dermaßen vernutzt und als Charaktere auch nicht so rund wie frühere Beispiele, müsste ich schon wegen der Ironie dieses Handlungsstrangs fünf Sterne vergeben, aber die Bucht bleibt wohl das Maß aller Michener-Dinge.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine you wrote a grinding, repetitive novel with cardboard characters and whose theme had bullfighting at its center, bullfighting being a metaphor for the blending of Spanish and Indian culture in Mexico. For hundreds of pages. Imagine thirty years later that bullfighting is not only illegal in many locales in Mexico but soon may be illegal nationally. Some might say you got things about as wrong as they could be. And so James Michener did with this plodding novel that relies on sentimentalism and cliches to picture Mexico. What an utter mess. And, then, to top it off, all of his characters--and I do mean all of them--are virtuous, innate geniuses, with superior insight into human nature. The most tedious and annoying set of individuals you'll ever run across in Michener's work. Especially the American oil millionairess from Oklahoma. The ever petulant Penny, the 17 year old know it all who magically grows up while watching men slaughter bulls and bulls maim men. And the virtue signalling Mrs. Evans, 65 years old and always on the hunt for some young marginal to rescue and develop into what she imagines as great potential. Finally, there is Michener himself, who in this book, reminds me of the irritating tourist come back from some foreign country with his snout in the air and who just can't wait to tell everybody how he knows the real Mexico, which all the rest of you utter timid poltroons afraid to follow his trail will never understand.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I gather I cannot expect to enjoy all of an author's work and this was for me a real missfire. Originally published in 1992, Mexico and its history is told through the eyes of Mexican-American Norman Clay and is written in the first person. Albeit a different approach than his other novels, I wasn't bothered by this because I really just wanted to delve into Mexico's history.

But Michener pulls a Herman Melville(see Moby Dick) on us and a rather large majority of the text is taken up by bullfighting. One chapter, I can handle. But Norman Clay is borderline obsessive because it's on his mind all the time. I felt like saying "Speed it up, Norman!"

Now the transitions to the historical parts were a bit strange and I swear I thought Norman was going to turn it into a rap or a musical of some kind because it always started with him saying "it happened like this..." Where was the rich history? I read this after reading Caribbean and I felt that Michener spent way too much time focusing on the European Spanish and how they were treated in history. I wanted to hear about the Mexican people!!!

A real lack of the Michener magic!

[Brian Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michener wrote Mexico in 1992. He used the sport of bullfighting, and a fictional modern (1961) pair of toreros, Juan Gomez and Victoriano, to build a framework around which his cast of characters tell the history of Mexican people. After finishing the book, I went to Wikipedia suspecting that modern sensibilities may have led to major changes in the world of bullfighting. I see that the sport / art is now banned in five Mexican states including that of Mexico City. The story primarily takes place in the fictional city of Toledo, and is centered around photojournalist Norman Clay, who was born in Mexico and married a Mexican woman, but who is divorced and living in the U. S. working for a major newspaper. He is sent on assignment to photograph and write a story on an important bullfight at the Festival of Ixmic in Toledo. The bullfighter Victoriano is of Spanish descent and is known as "The Filigreed (or delicate) Dancer. Juan Gomez is sometimes called "The Brutal Indian", because while he is highly skilled and very brave, he is also awkward and stubby. Michener looks at the perceived differences in those two lines of heritage of Mexican people, those descended from the Altomec Indians, the native people of Mexico, and those descended from Spanish immigrants. In general, native Mexicans are depicted as less noble, cultured, graceful and proper than those descended from Spaniards. To Michener's credit, he does say later that one is not better than the other, but just that they are fundamentally different. I was discussing this with my adult son after reading the book, especially in terms of the issues of dishonesty, bribery and corruption in Mexico. While these issues occur everywhere, if they are more prevalent in one society than another, we decided that this has much more to do with a system of government that allows official corruption, and which adds to rampant poverty and desperation, than to do with any innate difference in a country's people. In addition to the near demise of bullfighting since the novel was written, current attitudes about stereotyping may have also kept the book from being written today, or may have changed its tone.

The structure of the book is different from what I'm used to expecting in a Michener historic epic. Rather than a continuous plot moving through multiple generations of a family, here he keeps to the present and uses a few characters to tell the stories of Mexico's past. I enjoy both techniques in his hands.

He tells the story of human sacrifices practiced by the Altomecs between AD 1151 and 1519. Apparently it is believed that this ritual possibly began with the fear that the sun threatened to disappear as days shortened near the Winter Solstice: " ... curious rites, mainly involving sacrifices, were invented to lure it back, and since they invariably worked, they became fixed in religious practices." According to Michener's research, which is legendary, while most of the sacrifices were from their own people, one horrible day saw the sacrifice of about 6,000 members of an enemy populace. During this 400 year era, there were probably over one million human sacrifices.

While Michener always intends that the story of a people be the main focus, I have to admit that I was actually most fascinated in this book with his lengthy description of the great pyramid near his fictional Toledo, making me yearn to visit whatever actual pyramid inspired his - it sounds as if it was probably the Pyramid of the Sun, near Mexico City. What a marvel of design and engineering and beauty. I enjoyed using the photos on Google Maps to look at the sites that I imagined Michener used as his models for the fictional places in the book. And after reading Mexico I've been searching examples of Pre-columbian art on Yahoo Images - it is amazing ! I need to read a book on that topic alone. I've also now put Hemingway's novel about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon, on my reading list.

I had a few frustrations with the novel in terms of extraneous, missing or incorrect information. I felt that his foray into the American Civil War was unnecessary. A bit earlier, in 1847, during "The Mexican War", Mexico City was taken by the United States ?! Michener didn't follow up on that and let us know when it went back to Mexican rule. In his depiction of the dangers of bullfighting, he made a medical misstatement, saying that a goring after eating a meal was more serious than in a fasting torero, because spilling food from the gut would cause septicemia and death. In reality, it makes no difference because it is the indigenous gut flora that create the peritonitis. Finally, while Michener obviously took great pride in learning and then teaching all the facets of bullfighting, I came away strangely uniformed on how a bullfight with three toreros is officiated, scored and decided.

Of course Michener spends a fair amount of time on the 20th Century with details of the revolution. If you are in the mood for a highly operatic and dramatic comedy film that irreverently portrays some fictional and real characters from that era in Mexico, check out Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite, with Rod Steiger and James Coburn.

When one considers the vastness of a country's history, Michener is a master at developing a plot that allows characters and situations to gradually narrate that history in a hugely entertaining way.

[Bodosika Bodosika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about the history of Mexico and the art of bullfighting... An interesting book.

[Kristy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book on my first trip to Mexico, and read the first part while gazing at the Caribbean Sea from Cozumel. I'm a fan of Michener, collecting first editions and rare copies of his books, with Centennial being my favorite. I was hoping the book would be closer to that style of fictionalized history, and it was, to a point.
Like many of Michener's books, this story travels through time. The framework story is of the Mexican-American reporter, Norman Clay. His magazine has sent him to Toledo to report on a festival centering around bull fights between two matadors. These Matadors represent the two side of Mexican ancestry; the showy favorite descended from Spaniards, and the squat and efficient matador that his fought for his success, descended from the native tribes. Norman is from Toledo himself, with his father being a revered writer of Mexican history. So between modern (1960's) bullfight episodes, we see the history of Mexico and Norman Clay's ancestors. His native Mexican side descended from the Altomec Queen, Lady Grey Eyes; his Spanish side descended from Spanish brothers that conquered the area with Cortez, a priest and a soldier by the name of Palafox. We even get a short line of lost Confederates, who couldn't bear to stay in Virginia when the Confederacy lost.
I would have liked to have less of the bullfight episodes. It's a cruel, brutal sport, and didn't deserve to take up so much of the story. I would have liked to learn more about the lives of the Mexican Indians that slaved in the silver mines, and more of the revolutionary struggles of Mexico. There was a character in Centennial named Nacho Gomez, and would have been interesting to see Michener connect the struggles of his family in the revolution in this book. But other than that, I enjoyed the journey. Michener almost never uses the real names of places or people, but the connections are rather obvious. Toledo is likely the city of Puebla, the Altomec people are the Aztec, General Gurza is Pancho Villa, and so on. This is my least favorite Michener so far, but his work is still far above the average historical fiction writer. 3.5 stars.

[Lauren Contreras-Loreto · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this as I had heard many a good thing about Michener's books. I was instead really disappointed to find that he had created a character who was the worst kind of "explainer" who never trusts the audience and who constantly needs an ignorant hanger-on to explain the concepts in the book. Much as in the "Paris Wife" this is a non-character who has secretly been at the heart of all things- but who also has to claim legitimacy by at different times claiming heritage from proud Spaniards of a noble line, to a descendant of one of the princesses at heart. He also happens to be related to a distinguished general from the civil war... and also was there when General Gursa... anyways- you get the idea.

Would not recommend.

[James Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a b---S--t book! I can understand the characters being fictitious but whole book is made up.
The historic native indians-made up, the City it all revolves around: completely made up, the
General Gurza character so central to the action: completely made up.

Worse yet this book is not about Mexico it's about Bull fighting. On top of that it all about the made up history of the fictitious central figure and his family history which is so contrived as to ridiculous.

There is reason he could not have built his story around real history and given us something at least educational about Mexico

I threw this book in the trash when I was finished I was so disgusted

[Arnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Padzirdējuši par izslavētu buļļu cīņu festivālu Ixmiq Meksikas Toledo pilsētā, kuru vietējās avīzes ceļ debesīs, kā potenciālu kulminācijas dueli starp diviem matadoriem, kas var rezultēties vien ar viena nāvi, jo viens otru centīsies pārspēt ar aizvien bīstamākiem trikiem, žurnālista Norman Clay priekšnieki viņu nosūta to atspoguļot Ņujorkas publikai.

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1980s, when James Michener was finishing up a novel in Austin -- and I also lived in Austin -- I wrote him a letter asking if he'd please consider writing about Mexico. (I'd lived in Mexico several years and was always fascinated by the multi-level history, and thought it would make a good Michener novel.)

A short time after writing to him, his Mexico book was published. Turns out the manuscript was mostly complete so it didn't take much time to finish. I like to think he took my advice, though he never wrote back, and perhaps never even read my letter. Oh, well. I still like to think...

"Mexico" is an interesting book with a good, solid 4 stars.

[Michael Sump · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of James Michener, but I have to say that this book was not his best. Michener had a unique ability to comprehensively blend the history, geography, and culture of a place into an interesting story. He did a good job on Mexico, and I enjoyed the result of his effort--but I have to say that this “novel” did not come up to the high standard of excellence that he achieved in _Alaska_, _The Caribbean_, _Hawaii_, and _Space_.

It’s hard to imagine that a subject could have been too big for Michener, but maybe the history of Mexico is that big and complex. Michener wanted to make his story personal for his North American audience, but his effort to make an American journalist, living in 1961, a descendent—simultaneously--of a scholar in Spain executed by the Inquisition, of an Indigenous Priestess who led her people away from the horrible native goddess who burned and sacrificed people to the gentle loving religion of Christianity (irony, eh, in light of the Inquisition), and of a family famous throughout Mexico for the excellence of their fighting bulls was, well, strained. And how did this American with the complex ancestry come to be in Mexico? His grandfather was an American and Confederate soldier who fought in Mexico under Winfield Scott and who fled to Mexico after the American Civil War rather than live under the tyranny of the victorious Union. Well, it was all a bit too much!

I tend to believe that, in some ways, time has not been kind to this book. Michener’s Mexico is frozen in the 1960s and the subsequent 50 years has changed Mexico in many profound ways. Michener’s fascination with bull-fighting is one example, but his seeming admiration and his apologies for the hypocrisies of the American Confederacy, for Porfirio Diaz, for Maximillian, and for the tangible sense of superiority of the Mexican "ricos" (the rich and conservative upper class, self-described as Spanish born, separate from the lowly indigenous) was all a bit jarring for me.

This was written quite late in his career and only a few years before his death, so perhaps it is true that he had lost some of his incredible powers of storytelling.

[Nanette Buccola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 to 4 ⭐️ depending. Very long (650 pages) and drawn out with details. If not for bookclub I would not have read. But.... if you like history it really was informative. The story centers around bullfighting but goes into depth about the history of Mexico.

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love historical fiction and have read a great deal on Asian and African history as well as North American and European (particularly the 20th century, that is World War II). I enjoyed the movie adaptation of Hawaii and for some reason never picked up a Michener book, though I had heard many great things. I have been struggling greatly to complete the first quarter of the book which focuses on the narrator, a half-Mexican Journalist Norman Clay, who is covering a bull fight in the fictional city Toledo. Clay, who recalls a bloody butchering in his youth under the tyranny of either Huerta or Diaz (sorry I can't recall) but somewhere preceding WWI. He moves to the U.S. to attend an Ivy League college as is the tradition of his paternal side of the family. His father was an American Southerner, who bought a ranch in Mexico in the late 1800's and married a local woman. Clay remains in the U.S. after college, as an employee for a prestigious newspaper and thus he returns to his homeland.

If you like bull fighting or Hemingway this is your novel. I don't care for either and thus I was awaiting to learn more about the Aztecs and the Incas but they are barely mentioned except to say that they were very advanced people's and had not incorporated human sacrifice until much later in time (when was that? why?). Then back to the bullfighting.

As a result of my disappointment and lack of interest, I went to Amazon to see why I didn't wasn't enthralled with this story. It turns out I am in good company. Many reviewers expressed disillusionment with this story. One reviewer speculated that since it was completed by Michener in his '80's and was his last work prior to death perhaps he had not been able to put forth his best effort. He had started 30 years earlier and abandoned it. I suspect that may be the reason, as the story meanders with no true direction (with regard to Mexico's history other than the importance of bull fighting). Many Michener fans expressed disappointment in the lack of historical facts and cohesiveness. I must agree. I was anticipating a rich history of the people of this region, who had a profound impact not just in Central America but all of the America's. Michener via Clay states a similar thought akin to this and parses a few sentences that is Mexico was advanced in its functioning before the arrival of the Spaniards. Which is what I was waiting to hear about!

I may return to this another time but after completing more than 3 discs, I am distracted by more interesting tales.

I liked the narrator of the audio book but I wasn't intrigued, which may have more to do with what he was reading rather than his ability to tell a tale.

[Giles Moustache · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since meeting James Michener at Liz Carpenter's house in the Westlake neighborhood of Austin where I once heard Lady Bird Johnson and Jimmy Carter sing and play the piano--I was 15 or 16 and a playmate of Carpenter's nephew--I've wanted to give Michener a try; he seemed so legendary, like the others, a relic in a good way, a walking memento of another better time, a contemporary of John Huston, which puts me in mind of some of my favorite movies of Mexico (not Mexican movies) such as Night of the Iguana (so good) and Treasure of the Sierra Madre (so so good) and all those stars taking up residence in the lovely village of Taxco southwest of Mexico City (Huston, Lowry, Highsmith, Gershwin...), and so I thought why not try Michener's Mexico as a start? I was in Guanajuato for three weeks last summer, and completely by coincidence the novel's fictional town of Toledo is modeled in part on that picturesque old mining town, and I have to say, despite inhabiting the right frame of mind--that nostalgic American projection state of mind or tourist colonial state of mind--I was pretty disappointed. I was rapt for the first 150 pages or so, but it wore me down and I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was making so much stuff up (not just Toledo but most of the history and geography), he was clearly writing from a place of love and respect for Mexico, why not engage with the real place a little bit more?

His writing style is plenty good, engaging and not at all brash or chauvinistic a la Bellow or someone, his narrative weaving is engaging at times, but the whole is very much less than the sum of its parts and I was never able to gin up much sympathy for the project and his method of piecing it together, whatever that may have been.

[Matthew Gonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought Hemingway could tell a bullfighting story, wait until you read this epic story.

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started this book before taking a trip to the Copper Canyon section of Mexico. The book is typical James Michener - long with some history and a present-day story. This current-day story is about bull-fighting. And the history dealt with native Mexican ()Indian communities, Spanish immigrants and conquerors, and a few ex-pat Confederate soldiers. While these stories were interesting, they didn't shed any light of the areas I was visiting, so it took me a long time to finish the book and dampened my enthusiasm for it.

[Judi Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of James Michener's books - all while he was still living so quite a while ago. Mexico and Texas were two of my favorites. All of his books are slow starters in that there is a lot of detail about the place and characters as they evolve but they are wonderful stories of both the people and the geography that shaped them. I have read that personally he was very fond of the southwest, particularly Texas

[LaRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed historical fiction and Michener is my favorite author. When I travel I like to find one of his books to help me appreciate the culture I will be visiting. Since I was sending time on the beach in Mexico, this book was perfect! I gained a greater respect for this country, its history, and its people.

[John Opre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good story and I did enjoy it but having read a few other Mitchener novels it’s not the book about Mexico i was anticipating. Lots of research, as expected, but some fictional things I was disappointed in as Mexico is filled with an incredible complex history of events and characters that I was looking forward to learning about so not sure why all the fictionalization. I did enjoy the the description of the art of bullfighting and the Matadors and wish I had this understanding, appreciation when I saw my one and only bull fight 40 years ago.
Cheers.

[John Senner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Hawaii, so I was hopeful when I dug Mexico out of the shelf. Alas, not so good. Binational Norman Clay visits his old hometown to report on bull fights. He reprises the Indian, Spanish, and Virginia Confederate parts of his ancestry and how they came together in high plateau Mexican town with a silver mine. And lots of bull fights and behind the scenes of the whole business.