Battles in the Desert & Other Stories [Paperback]

Jose Emilio Pacheco (Author), Katherine Silver (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1987

Intense, despairing accounts of life in Mexico City.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

The award-winning translator Katherine Silver has won a PEN Translation Fund Award, an NEA grant, and a Black Mountain Institute/Rainmakers Grant. She is now the Co-director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 117 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (May 17, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811210200
• ISBN-13: 978-0811210201
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good evocative writing, February 6, 2001

By 

Guillermo Maynez (Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Battles in the Desert & Other Stories (Hardcover)

In Mexico City, there is a big and very traditional neighborhood, where wealthy people lived decades ago, and now is a middle-class place, with nice streets, restaurants, museums, ann bookstores. It was there that the protagonist of this short novel was born. It is a remembrance of childhood. The narrator retells the story of his infatuation with the young and attractive mother of one of his classmates, who is also the mistress of a politician. One day he skips school and visits her, and he delcares his love for her. The visit is known of in the community, and sparks a small scandal. Years later, he will find an ex-classmate and find out what happened to her. It is a good story, full of nostalgia for Mexico City in the 30's.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars IDEAL VIEW MEET IMPURE WORLD, June 8, 2005

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battles in the Desert & Other Stories (Hardcover)

Battles in the Desert is a short but powerful collection of short stories by a Mexican writer that I believe needs more exposure in America. The stories in this book mainly deal with the conflicts that children or young adults have with the world they will have to grow up in. For example, in the title story, a young man falls in love with his classmate's mother, whose declaration of love leads to unforseen and negative results, not because of his feelings, but because of the prejudices of his neighborhood. That's really what this collection is about. The main character of each has an almost pure emotion of love for someone but when this feeling is brought out in the open, such as in "The Pleasure Principle", in which two young lovers are kept apart by circumstances, either a betrayal or the people around them drive a wedge into their bliss. Pacheco also focuses on the plight of the poor in "The Sunken Park" in which a boy is payed by his aunt to take her beloved cat to the vet to be put to sleep for 20 pesos. Him and his friend decide to kill the cat themselves and spend the money on food. These stories are quite touching and written very realistically in a masterful way.

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars!, February 25, 2011

By 

Alma - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Battles in the Desert & Other Stories (Paperback)

I was very satisfied with my order...not only was it a speedy delivery, it also arrived just like it was described