De doem van de maïs

Civilization exploits nature and destroys it. Nature and civilization are in perpetual opposition to each other…The sun let down its hair. The summer was received in the domain of the chieftain of Ilóm with comb honey rubbed on the branches of the fruit trees, so the fruit would be sweet; with headdresses of immortelles on the heads of the women, so the women would be fertile; and with dead raccoons hanging from the doors of the ranchos, so the men would be potent.The firefly wizards, descend [...]

This is one of the best books that i've read in, say, the last year. Scratch that, the last ten years. The poetic descriptions and the fancy of the articulations make love to the page. I only have to offer a quote: "In the beards of the cobs, in the dusty axils of the mauve leaves and stalks as they matured, in the thirst of the earth-covered roots, amog flowers like doomed flags crawling with insects, the fire sprung from those sparks, went about, releasing flames. The night woke up fighting to [...]

Overblown, melodramatic, frequently incomprehensible. Magical realism at its most annoying.

For years I've been looking for a book that was truly unique, that could take me in new directions; in short: shake my mind up. At last! I have found it! Men of Maize is a monumental piece of literature, without doubt a 6 star read. I cannot properly review it; that would be asking too much for it throws out the usual tools upon which the reader relies, time for example, don't even think about time. When initially I opened Men of Maize, I couldn't help noticing that the first page had 20 notes. [...]

Met 'De doem van de maïs' lijkt de Guatemalteekse schrijver Asturias een portret te hebben willen schetsen van zijn land, en dan met name van het bergland, waar het woud en de indianen moeten wijken voor maïsvelden en waar de werkelijkheid naadloos overloopt in een magische wereld.Het boek is niet zozeer een roman, alswel een verzameling aan elkaar gelieerde verhalen, die telkens samenkomen. (view spoiler)[Sommige verhalen zijn merkwaardig, zoals een hele familie die uitgemoord wordt om één [...]

I recently re-read this after a ten-ish year hiatus. I was completely blown away by it the first time, but I also barely comprehended it that first reading. The second time was much different. I actually made sense of the story this last time, and not only did I enjoy the novel more, I gleaned much more from it. It is very difficult to explain the story and its many digressions, suffice it to say that everything ties together eventually.Not necessarily neatly, but the purpose of the novel is to [...]

This book is crazy. A lot of the time it's kind of like reading Guatemalan mythology in poetry form mixed in with a drug-induced dream. There's an entire page about glowworm sex. The crazy makes the book kind of hard to follow for long sections at a time. But when it gets back to coherence the story is pretty great. It continually surprised me how much a story written in Guatemala in 1945 seems so similar to American life now. After digging through the crazy is a great, comedic story about love. [...]

Amo este libro. Amo su complejidad, la historia, los giros, la escritura Es uno de mis favoritos, sin duda.

Impossible to enjoy, this Important novel of Guatemala never allows you a moment to relax: every sentence is crammed with references to Guatemalan myths, lifestyle, history, etc etc and in the course of it all, the writer forgets to offer a piece of entertainment. This book won the Nobel prize, which evidently means it puts something on paper which humanity should be thankful for, and be careful lest it disappear. But unfortunately is not a book to read, it is a book to study.

Me gustó mucho. En su tema y su trato de lo mítico, me recordó mucho a Cien años de soledad, aunque Márquez es más accesible que Asturias. Al principio pensé que era una especie de libro de cuentos, pero la forma en la que todas las historias se entrelazan después es sorprendente y magistral, con muchísima naturalidad. Muy recomendado, aunque se necesita tenerle bastante paciencia.

This is “the” original ‘magical realism’ Latin American novel written by the Nobel winning author Asturias. It was written in 1949 (perhaps including parts written separately and earlier) and set ostensively at the turn of the century 1900s Guatemala (given telegraphs and light bulbs are mentioned). This is the third Asturias novel I’ve read (including ‘Mulatta and Mr Fly’ and I think only his second after ‘The President’) so I did know what to expect.This is one of those poten [...]

y es buscando el sueño que se da uno cuenta que nada duerme, que la noche es un gran velorio de estrellas sonando en los oídos de los seres, grandes y pequeños, de las cosas que se ven como tumbas de la actividad del día: las mesas, los armarios, las cómodas, las sillas, no parecen muebles de gente viva durante la noche, sino piezas de un amueblado que se colocó a un muerto en su tumba para que siguiera viendo sin ser él, sin ser otro, porque eso es lo grave, los muertos no son ellos ni s [...]

I have the book and I am trying to read it, but it is old spanish. It is a challenge, but the few pages that I have read have been fantastical. I am into Magical Realism and what cannot be explain with some pseudo science answer. I am waiting a paper bag because I have hard covers book!This books is a difficult reading. I have given up on it becuase of its spanish!

I feel like i have being under the drugs when i read this books. tight interconnection with Guatemalan mythology. Wish i have ever been in this country to understand if it is so real as described in book.

Amazing book, especially the first 100 pages. Long live Gaspar Ilom!

Excellent book! Unusual and strange, but good!

It was like reading the transcript to someone's dream.

This novel reads like an epic poem. The text is a bit dense at times, but once I found the rhythm, I found it beautiful with touches of humor and heartbreak.

No será de las más conocidas novelas hispanoamericanas, pero es muy buena.

This is a book I will read many times over. His use of language is so riveting, so rich. He paints the picture—horrible, beautiful, comical—as is life. What is it about the Latino writers that makes them so adept at writing such beautiful prose?

Soy tonto y me atarantan tanto

Una de las novelas que marcaron mi lectura. La primera en la cual unas páginas antes del final no alcanzaba a entender de qué iba.

I can't fairly rate this, so I won't try. I'm not going to try reviewing it in Spanish either, even though I read it in that language. Or, you know, tried to. This novel is written in very idiosyncratic language, full of archaisms and (I assume) indigenous words. At the back of my Kindle edition was a glossary taking up 6% of the book (i.e. 26 pages), which gives me the impression that the language isn't easy for the majority of native Spanish speakers, either. Unfortunately, there are no actual [...]

Author Asturias received Nobel Prize for Literature and in 1966, he won the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize. (after decades of exile) Checked this book out shortly before leaving for Guatemala with my family. The Maiz - the corn we tasted at a Guatemalan side stand was delicious with lime and salt, and it had obviously been "roasting away over a gentle flame" :)Other Guatemala tips: Listen: marimbas: pack Perez 'Luna de Xelaju' // Watch: what Sebastian dreamt : documentary part narrativeP 7 his [...]

Το «Άνθρωποι από καλαμπόκι» του Miguel Asturias –Εκδόσεις Σύγχρονη Εποχή- δεν είναι ένα συνηθισμένο βιβλίο, παραγνωρισμένο στην εποχή του από κοινό και κριτικούς μοιάζει με ένα ξόρκι, μ’ έναν ψαλμό, ένα ευαγγέλιο μιας χαμένης φυλής, μιας χαμένης εποχής και μιας καταποντισμένης χ [...]

پیچیده ترین رمان آستوریاس که کمتر از هر اثر دیگرش قابل فهم است، و در عین حال به عنوان شاهکار آستوریاس قلمداد شده. "مردان ذرت" تنها یک ترجمه ی تحت اللفظی ست، چرا که اصل مفهوم، از متن یکی از کتب مقدس "مایا"ها به نام Popol Vuh گرفته شده، که می گوید جسم مایا از ذرت ساخته شده (همان گونه که آ� [...]

Noi abbiamo scoperto ciò che sta succedendo in Amazzonia ben che vada nel 1988, anno dell'assassinio di Chico Mendes, se non che Uomini di mais è del 1949.Asturias è in primo luogo un poeta, e densamente poetico è il linguaggio di questo splendido romanzo, peraltre tradotto in modo pregevole, e poetici, pur nella loro crudezza, sono gli avvenimenti che vedono lo scontro tra gli Uuomini di mais, vale a dire gli indios secondo la tradizione del Popol Vuh, e coloro che disboscano la foresta col [...]

Πολύ ιδιαίτερο βιβλίο. Ιδιαίτερο λόγω του ότι σε διάσπαρτα σημεία της υπόθεσης η συνοχή φεύγει για έναν περίπατο, αφήνοντας τον αναγνώστη να πνίγεται μέσα σε ένα ρευστό από τέλεια επιλεγμένες λέξεις, το οποίο αρχικά είναι δίνη, στη συνέχεια αλλάζει και γίνεται καταρράκτης [...]

This author was the first Latin American novelist to receive a Nobel Prize for Literature. This book is also the first book of the magical realism genre.Concerns American Indians (Guatemala mostly) and maize and Mayan, Aztec, Spanish and other Latin American cultures and their clashes. Many historical and literary allusions (particularly from Popol Vuh, and The Revelation of the New Testament). The notes were very useful.Much of the writing is more like poetry than prose in its use of imagery an [...]

Es tan increíble que ni cabe en una review corta de esta clase. Se hace medio "densa" al principio al no estar acostumbrados a esa carga de cosa mítica, pero si se sobrevive a esa parte se entra a una de las cosas más complejas, inteligentes y geniales que pueda haber en novela latinoamericana. Sobre todo tiene una carga especial para los que llevamos alguna tecuna a cuestas. En unas palabras: mística, mítica, mágica, compleja, genial.