AURA by Carlos Fuentes
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
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Paperback, 145 pages
Bilingual Edition
Published 1986 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
first published 1962
ISBN: 9780374511715
#leafbyleaf #bookreview #carlosfuentes #aura
It's pretty good. I started reading Aura before bed with the intention of only going through a few pages and I ended up reading through the whole thing. Less than 100 pages novellas are underrated; it's immediacy makes them quite the unique reading experience. Have you read 'Battles in the desert' by José Emilio Pacheco? It's also 70 pages or so and also takes place in Mexico City. As a Side note, Aura is begging to be adapted to film by Guillermo del Toro, they're truly made for each other.
It was part of Poe’s belief that pieces of literature work best when they can be read in one sitting. For him, “works best,” of course, means “have the greatest effect” on the reader. There’s a lot of truth to this with poems, short stories, and novellas. I have not read that book but I’ll order it now-thanks! Also, I concur with your assessment of del Toro bringing Aura to the screen!
@@LeafbyLeaf Definitely. A somewhat similar comparison can be made with the concept of "bing watching" a tv series versus spreading the show in weekly episodes.
Agree-good comparison. Amazing how TV series have adapted their format such that a season of a show is basically equal to a novel.
Actually del toro's a fan of fuentes, i remember him praising one of fuentes' works as a masterpiece in a quote or interview many years ago, so he'd probably like to adapt one of fuentes' horror works, but they'd be difficult to adapt
@@theonetypingthis7186 I didnt know that! Though I think Aura is pretty adaptable
Aura was assigned reading in 9th grade and I fell in love with Carlos Fuentes ever since. Much of his work centers around the mexican revolution and its aftermath but if you ever find yourself wanting something similar to Aura in tone, mood, setting, and even length I suggest giving his "Vlad" a chance (I believe it has been translated to english). It's Fuentes' take on Dracula, set in Mexico City. Aura and Vlad are a testament to Fuentes' flexibility in his ability to write beautiful and genuinely haunting gothic horror in the form of a ghost story and a vampire story respectively.
I found a Dalkey Archive hardcover of Vlad in English and purchased it right away! Perhaps something for an October/Halloween video. Thanks for the recommendation!
I'm not sure if they're available in english, but other horror/gothic novellas and stories by fuentes include Cumpleaños (Birthday), La Muñeca Reina (The Queen Doll) & Tlaltocatzine del Jardín de Flandes (Tlactocatzine from the Flandes Garden), but there are many more, and i haven't read all of his works, his bibliography is huge.
Weirdly I feel like no one reads Fuentes anymore-always a big pile up of his stuff at every used bookstore I go to. Loved his first novel, Where The Air Is Clear, and Terra Nostra kind of broke my brain in the brief third of it I read, but I definitely need to revisit. Would recommend, though I am unsure of the translations available, Efraín Huerta who is considered to have done in poetry what Fuentes did in prose for Mexican literature, which is to say modernizing it in a distinct and new way. Huerta is also one of the all time world great city poets, writing and rewriting his journeys literal, aesthetic, and imaginary through the streets of Mexico City. One of my all time favorites
Likewise he was a mentor to a young Bolaño & co., helping them secure publishers for anthologies of their poetry and even writing introductory poems that read like epic invocations-but as such is left out of Bolaño’s very deliberate automythobiography. One such poem is included in Huerta’s Circuito Interior, but was originally the foreword for the famous (and impossible to find) Infrarrealist anthology Muchachos Desnudos Bajo el Arcoíris de Fuego (naked boys beneath fire’s rainbow). Anyway, that’s all-an interesting missing puzzle piece in the anglophone world that touches a lot of emergent other pieces that are known in the anglophone world.
One thing that would get people reading Fuentes with a renewed vigor would be to go back and listen to the Bookworm episodes with him and Michael Silverblatt. These episodes are somewhat buried but they are available on the KCRW website. I also happen to know of some thing that’s in the works but it sure to spark Fuentes enthusiasm. Thanks so much for this recommendation of the poet. I believe I’ve come across the name in my various readings but I have never seized on it and explored the work. Happy reading, my friend!
Liked your description very much,,,, you seem to leave out the cold coffee out in your comments,,, love to learn your thoughts on that
I also like how the title “Aura” is the girls name, and sounds a lot like (Ahora) meaning “now”… since a big theme of the story is time
Indeed!
I haven’t read any Fuentes, but one of my favorite writers here in Romania recommended “Destiny and Desire” by Fuentes and he said it’s a masterpiece and a literary event, so I’m curious about that one as well. Have you read it?
I highly enjoy your Latin/Hispanic author book reviews. I was never exposed to these greats in school. Would you ever consider doing a Latin/Hispanic series much like you did the western core series? Thank you.
I have plenty of great Latin American books coming up! Next up-a biography of Clarice Lispector (Brazilian) and a novella from Jose Emilio Pacheco.
@@LeafbyLeaf most excellent!
I love this, Chris! It's been a few years since I read Aura (I'm not even sure if I reviewed it on my channel or not). I have read a lot by Fuentes although not Terra Nostra (I have the feeling that novel has a better reputation in the English-speaking world than it does in Hispanic countries). Excellent job!
It does, also, it is a lot easier getting a copy of La Muerte de Artemio Cruz, La región más transparente, or Aura, than one of Terra Nostra, and of you find one, it is prohibitively expensive.
I always hate when I find that these great books are so difficult to get for people. ☹️
Follow up- I just finished Aura. What an incredible read. Wow. Wow. Wow.
🙌🙌🙌
I read Aura for a college lecture class and I loved it, it actually reignited my joy of horror (horror adjacent) literature. This lead me on a rabbit trail to find the book “House of Leaves” and while it’s own piece of work there’s definitely somethings I can see similar in both stories. Very intriguing.
Grabbed this along with “Bloodchild” Butler, and “wretched of earth” Fannon the other day. I extended the joy of this mini, as much as I could so what probably could have taken a few hours turned into a few weeks. So was pleasantly surprised and pleased to find your review here as I do my post reading gathering of any and all facts and tidbits and info. 📖 📚
A nice literary serendipity. Cheers, my friend. 🙏
As always amazing review/analysis. Aura and the Death of Artemio Cruz are his most famous works beacuse are typical assginments in high school in Mexico. Sadly his Stories and Terra Nostra aren't so well knwon (and imho are his best works)
Wow, I didn't even think of such works being assigned high school reading in Mexico! That strikes me as very cool! Of course, it's the same here in the U.S.: there are writers that high school students basically learn to hate (or learn to ignore) early in life before experiencing their best work. Terra Nostra is without question one of the great books of WORLD literature.
@@LeafbyLeaf Terra Nostra video when?
😁😁😁
Terra Nostra is a book written solely to be reviewed by Leaf by Leaf. Currently reading it and I gotta say it’s a truly great novel.
It is, indeed, a masterpiece! I read the opening of it in my video about great opening lines. It's a little old. But this one definitely deserves a full video treatment!
@@LeafbyLeaf I’ve been reading it for about a month or so, and my experience reminds me of what you said about Gravity’s Rainbow. How there is a certain heft that comes with books such as that. Though it’s south of eight hundred pages, it has the heft of a book twice that size.
Also I have a recommendation for you, have you read any Antonio Lobo Antunes? My girlfriend bought me his Return of The Caravels and it reads like nothing I’ve read before. He wears his Faulkner and Joyce influences on his sleeve, but he employs certain things like time imposition, perspective changes mid-sentence, unraveling innerness and breaking through, etc. that I have never seen done in his way before.
That’s just how I like my masterpieces: mini. This book is so easily available in Spanish that I have forgotten to read it. I’ll change that soon. But Chris, the most notable Mexican writer, until the ruins of el Zócalo get mixed up with the ruins of the Aztec pyramids and a new species of bipeds walks the earth and the Spanish language becomes illegible, will always be Juan Rulfo.
I’ve got an old video on Pedro Paramo! I’ve also read Rulfo’s short fiction (though no video). 🙌
I listened to What it Takes podcast. They did an amazing interview with Carlos Fuentes and Orphan Pamuk. Very insightful, deeply thoughtful and immensely revealing. I highly recommend it, if you have not heard it.
Thanks so much for this recommendation!
One can always count on you to recommend interesting books
A supreme compliment--thank you! It's a pleasure to share the books I love reading with everyone. Enjoy!
Love the video, Chris. Fuentes seems incredible, and if nothing else, your cold helps your voice sound smooth and serious out of respect for such a great little novella lol
Why thank you! Maybe I’ll start smoking a pack of cigs just before recording a video. 😜
Pagecountwise, this sounds like quality over quantity. I think I'll get a copy. And yes, re-reading is often when the real magic kicks in. Gracias for the baritonal report y cuidate.
My pleasure! Happy reading, my friend!
as always, when you're enthusiastic about a book, before i get half way through your video I'm online trying to find it at my library and if its not there, as in this case, I'm seeking a copy to own. thank you so much!
bought it. :D
This one is worth the purchase! Its subtleties continue to bloom in my mind months after reading it. Happy reading!
@@LeafbyLeaf Got it in the mail yesterday and read it today. what a story! great recommendation. thanks so much. the translation is masterfully done. also the perspective its written from, what is that called? when the author is placing the reader in the story and informing them of what they are thinking, doing, saying. haunting altogether.
2nd person (“you”). It’s so effective!
Excellent review! You have great content and taste 👌 keep it coming sir! 😊
Thanks so much! 🙏
I hope you are feeling better. This novella looks like fun to check my Spanish with dual language edition, plus a good read.
Thanks so much! I’m much better now. The cold and what eventually became Covid only affected this video and my Brian Evenson video (which posts in a couple weeks). This book is indeed an example of getting a lot for your buck!
I'm excited to read this! I recently re-read "Bright Lights, Big City" and it got me reflecting on how successful second person narration can be when done well. It's about time I finally got around to "If on a winter's night a traveller"... and sounds like this is absolutely another to add to the list. I don't speak any Spanish, but I wonder if the name "Aura" might be a play on either "ahora" or "hora", considering the theme of time in the book? Just a random thought! Your description of the book also made me think of Kieślowski's film Rouge... the connections drawn between the younger and older judge in particular. Anyway, sorry for this chaotic comment! Hope you're well, Chris (:
Oohhh, I like that proposition of the play on aura/ahora in the context of Time! Also, it has been some time since I've watched the great Polish auteur's Color Trilogy. Rouge and Bleu were my favorites! Lastly, I love chaotic comments!
@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks for that generous response (: Hope you're feeling better now! Bleu is one of my all-time favourite films. To further the theme of character doubling this week, I am lucky to have the chance to go see the new remaster of Lost Highway at a theatre tonight! Very excited for that. I picked up Levin's The Instructions, Bolaño's The Savage Detectives, and Powers' The Gold Bug Variations last weekend, great used book haul. I'll keep the chaotic comments coming, hah!
Re: Lost Highway: Very lucky! I saw a great poster for the theatrical release of the remaster. Brought back memories of my first, spellbound experience of that great Lynchian world. Those are some great, heavy-hitting books you got there! Fun fact: I'll be doing a video of all of Adam Levin's books, including his new novel due out next month, in October. :):):)
@@LeafbyLeaf Wow! Really looking forward to that video. This will be my first dip into Levin's work, when I finally get around to it (I'm planning to read Miss MacIntosh, My Darling in the fall once Dalkey releases it, then jump into Genji, probably with some smaller books along the way to break things up a bit). I'm so impressed with your diligent reading & review schedule. That sounds like a wild adventure, working through all of his books leading up to the video.
It has definitely been a fruitful time of reading during these LxL years. I’ve got Genji planned for early next year!
I was the one who reached out on Goodreads, thank you for the mention! It’s actually the future tense that Fuentes regularly makes heavy use of in the original Spanish.
I also appreciate you mentioning the often problematic application of the term “magical realism.” The way it’s haphazardly used to describe the work of any and every Latin American writer of the last sixty years or so drives me nuts.
Ah, hey there! Thanks for speaking up. And thanks again for the input. Regarding magical realism, I recently read Moser’s biography of Clarice Lispector and he made a plausible claim that the first use of the term applied to LA fiction is with a Lispector work! My video on the bio will post in a few weeks. Cheers!
Is Fuentes difficult to read in Spanish? I'd like to. I read Fernanda Melchior and was ok
@@LeafbyLeaf Very interesting, I will add that to my reading list! The most convincing argument I have heard thus far is that it spawns from the introduction to El reino de este mundo (The Kingdom of this World) by Alejo Carpentier, where he describes "lo real maravilloso" in the daily lives of Latin Americans, so I would love to read a different theory.
Thanks again for an insightful review, you've inspired me to reread Aura.
@@drts6955 If you were able to read Melchor without issue (especially if it was Temporada de huracanes), I don't think you'd have any trouble reading Fuentes. I would say that, as someone who reads Spanish as a second language, I have to look up slightly more words with Fuentes than I do on average when reading Spanish-language writers. However, I rarely encounter regionalisms or structural difficulties in his writing.
One of the earliest books I read in Spanish, which I recommend based on its quality and relative ease, is "El túnel" by Ernesto Sábato.
@@senatorturkey5332 Cheers man! Good to hear. It was Temporada but I did need to use dictionary a lot. And thanks for the recommendation haven't heard of.
Really interesting discussion.
I had started Terra Nostra by this author but was defeated within the first hundred pages. It's very intimidating but also intriguing.
Terra Nostra has defeated professors of Spanish literature. It's one of those for which you have to re-learn how to read in a different way, on its terms.
@@LeafbyLeaf 🙂 I think I have a while to go as a reader before approaching a book like that then. Maybe some day.
Reading his other books, and other Mexican books, will help. I recommend Fuentes’s Buried Mirror.
@@LeafbyLeaf Thank you, noted!
Thanks so much from Mexico to you. GRACIAS
De nada, mi amiga!
To recommend some other mexican novels:
- Hurricane Season (Temporada de Huracanes), Fernanda Melchor
- The murmur of Bees (El Murmullo de las Abejas), Sofía Segovia
- Tear this Heart Out (Arráncame la Vida), Ángeles Mastretta
- Recollections of things to Come (Los Recuerdos del Porvenir), Elena Garro
Muchos gracias! Melchor is on my radar, but not the other authors. I love getting recommendations!
Great review thanks
My pleasure!
An old favorite
Coincidence - I am currently reading his Terra Nostra 😊
An absolutely outstanding book. A WORLD masterpiece. And that opening page is one that is so sublime I often read it. Enjoy!
A bilingual book? Is there a reason why they didn’t split the English and Spanish versions into two separate books?
Chris covering more latin american literature? Sign me up!
You'll be happy to know, then, that tomorrow's video is on Zama! (I've also got Pacheco and more Lispector forthcoming.) Happy reading!
I read aura by fuentes in espagnol and it was amazing. by the way, where did you get your awesome tshirt? your review is over the top as always! thanks chris!
I got it from outofprint.com-thanks for noticing! (I was so happy to show it off!) Grazie grazie grazie!
There are some quite mixed reviews about the bilingual edition online, can anyone who knows both languages comment on the translation and formatting?
Ok so here is a nerdy nosey question you have probably been asked before. What are the colours on your tabs for?
Your question is nerdy but it’s not nosey! The orange tab off by itself is what I call the GQ (Golden Quote) that I think best represents the book overall-it’s what I read at the beginning of the video. The other two tabs are highlights of intriguing passages (green) and beautifully written passages (blue).
Yo this book was wicked lol
Agreed!
i’ll read any book with a cat on it
You’d surely love Darconville’s Cat-just make sure you get the paperback edition. 😁
...green also means greed and envy)...
GREAT point!!! (Time to read it again!)