Thomas More's Magician: A Novel Account of Utopia in Mexico

by Toby Green

In 1532, eleven years after the Spanish conquest, Mexico is in crisis. As the conquistadors discover an earthly paradise, its peoples and their Gods are being destroyed. This is a time of greed, uncertainty—and idealism. Despairing of his surroundings, Vasco de Quiroga, a new member of the Spanish ruling council, forges a commune on Mexico City's outskirts, using Thomas More's book, Utopia , as his blueprint. As Toby Green explores Quiroga’s story, he begins to sense an eerie resonance between Quiroga’s age and our own. With vivid reconstructions of 16th-century Spain and Mexico, the narrative becomes an account not only of Quiroga, but also of Utopia as both an idea and a literary form.

Genres: History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Toby Green is the author of five previous works of non-fiction, and his work has been translated into ten languages. He teaches the history and culture of Portuguese-speaking Africa at King’s College London.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes me want to smack someone upside the head. But who? The author for his personal fantasy chapters that interrupt the flow of the fascinating history of Vasco de Quiroga? It was as if there were two separate books combined into one, or pages from Green's journal added to demonstrate what a deep thinker he could appear to be. These chapters were jolting, confusing, and frankly, quite weird. I think if they had been bundled in the back of the book either before or after those 46 (yes 46!) pages of footnotes, they would have been more compelling. Having said that, I do plan to re-read just these fantasy chapters someday and pretend they are a separate book. Perhaps I might get a bit more insight, perhaps not. But I would like to try.

So, getting back to the head-smacking: do I whack the proof-reader for not knowing that horses do not have 'reigns', they have reins?

Or maybe The Spaniards of the Conquest for destroying the Mexico they stumbled upon and beginning a form of governmental behavior that has proven impossible to break away from even to this day? Vasco de Quiroga was sent to Mexico just 12 years after the Conquest, as part of a group with instructions to rein in the Conquistadors and other governors who were thinking only for what they could get for themselves from the country. They did not have too much luck in that area.

How about Quiroga himself? He believed that he was the only person who knew 'the truth' and was determined to create a Utopia in Mexico (based on Thomas More's famous book) and with the entire population living the way he told them to. He did see the horrors and injustices of Spanish domination, and to his credit was ashamed at what he saw. I will give him points for that; but he also believed that the natives had lived without laws or a king before the conquest, and that is nonsense. He tried to fix something that never should have gotten broken in the first place: an admittedly well-meaning attempt to make up for the mess his countrymen created.

This book is a mixture of well-researched historical facts (yes, there really was a Vasco de Quiroga; in the state of Michoacan where he based his utopian attempt, he is considered a saint) and a swirling, fantastical search for truth about Everything. In those chapters that I mentioned, Green wonders if there is a place for Utopian thought in the modern world; about the roots of the need to conquer new countries rather than living in harmony; he pits idealogy versus idealism; and mourns the loss of seeing the Earth itself as something sacred. See why I want to go back and re-read those bits someday? They are interesting topics, but a lot to chew on when combined with Quiroga's story.

This was my second attempt at reading Green's book. I am glad I made it through to the end this time, since I now understand a bit more about my adopted country's history. But I still want to smack someone upside the head. Where is a Conquistador when I need one?! Live your own life, shine your own corner of the world, and let everyone else do the same. Respect them and yourself. Don't go stomping around insisting that yours is the only way to live and forcing others to follow your path. Come together as a community when there is the need. How hard is that? While I was reading this book, I could see that it has proven to be ridiculously difficult throughout history and may always be an impossible dream.

[Mahaley Wise · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is an interesting history but told in the entirely wrong way. It screams white savior!! There is only one page dedicated to discussing how slavery, pillaging, colonialism, and religious overthrow were still taking place in Quiroga's "utopia." There were some interesting philosophies discussed which could have been a second book.

[Chuck Cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up in Amate Books, the best English bookstore in Oaxaca City and one of the best bookstores I've explored in many years. Focused on Mexican and Latin American literature, history, folklore, etc, the collection of books was fantastic. I bought many books and fortunately I could check my luggage on the way home.

I picked up this book because it touches on the deep history of Mexico and the early days after the initial disastrous contact between the Spaniards and the indigenous people. And I am a bit of a fan of utopian literature as well, having throughly enjoyed Aldous Huxley's Island.

I was pleasantly surprised by the creative approach of the author, interspersing historical recounting of Vasco de Quiroga as he makes his way to Mexico as part of the powerful second Audiencia and his ultimate mission to create a utopian paradise for he Purépecha people in Michoacan. I am also a big fan of Don Quixote and enjoyed how the personal present narrative of Mr. Green's quest to study an Earthly utopia quickly swerved off into some fantastical events, dreams, and discussions.

I have to say that the idea was eventually better than the execution and I found myself skipping big pieces of the fantastical narrative to get back to the historical progress of Don Quiroga and his Utopia. While it was entertaining as a concept and at points funny, it was a bit jarring and reckless and overly silly most of the time and the discussions between the author and his various encounters were not terribly interesting. I would have liked to have stayed a little closer home to reality and followed him as he must have actually retraced some of Don Quiroga's footsteps and during some of the research that he conducted in Spain. In the end, I was even a bit annoyed that such an interesting concept and vehicle as making the quest a quotidian one had been wasted in such a confused and sort of hysterical effort. At times, there were touches of brilliance in the mirrored ending and beginning of chapters and shifts between reality and fantasy.

Overall, I felt that I learned a great deal from the book about the history of the region and about Don Quiroga's struggles to create a place for the native peoples to live a harmonious and sacred life. I enjoyed the narrative approach of writing from Don Quiroga's perspective and fleshing out the sights and sounds of the past. Despite his noble ambitions, he did sound like a rather unpleasant and litigious fellow but that is probably what it took to stand up for the rights and humanity of the oppressed at that time.

[Tim Chamberlain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the conceit of this book exactly that. An interesting/"novel" premise, which genuinely intrigued me (and so I'd very much been looking forward to reading it); but sadly it didn't work for me, as I found the book neither fish nor fowl.

[T.E. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An experimental narrative that weaves together the early colonial history of Mexico with a fictional account of the author´s journey. The structure works well enough, but it's hardly triumphant. An excellent choice for those interested in the early colonial history of Mexico, and/or utopias - both real and fictional.

[Laurel Paluck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to have enjoyed this book more than other readers, but that might be due to my interest in Mexico. I also like books that fool with the narrative: this is a straight up work of non-fiction, but also has a novel of sorts within it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually quite enjoyed this book, though I did get lost in the Spanish names and words and history. I liked how he presented alternate chapters as a political satire, full of the platitudes we are fed by politicians, all in the guise of our salvation, with chapters of historical fact and possibly fiction. I think he tied the events of the past and their colliery in the present together well. History repeating itself. It makes one stop and think about the possible long term consequences of decisions made to feed our greed. It was not what I expected, but I learned a lot from it. It is a book I will reread several times.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapters of straightforward historical documentation alternate with chapters meant to describe the author's process of writing the book as some sort of allegorical journey of discovery. On the one hand I could appreciate his decision to present this philosophical exploration in an unusual way, because it probably meant that some of the concepts stick in my mind better. But on the other hand, those sections were annoying to read because they were so contrived. The historical accounts of Quiroga's work and his influence on Mexico's development were enjoyable though.

[Graham Tapper]

A very strange book, part history, part historical dramatisation, part author in search of himself. I'm not sure it quite works. The author part is a bit navel-gazing and I could probably have done without it, without any detrement to the overall result. Qualified recommendation. If you don't read it you probably won't have missed too much.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

'novel' is an appropriate wordplay - flights of editorial fancy with little to no connection to documented history do not equal non-fiction.