The Campaign [Hardcover]

Carlos Fuentes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1991

In this witty and enthralling saga of revolutionary South America, Carlos Fuentes explores the period of profound upheaval he calls" the romantic time." His hero, Baltasar Bustos, the son of a wealthy landowner, kidnaps the baby of a prominent judge, replacing it with the black baby of a prostitute. When he catches sight of the baby's mother, though, he falls instatnly in love with her and sets off on an anguished journey to repent his act and win her love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mexico's leading author follows up his stylistically experimental novel Christopher Unborn with this straightforward historical tale exploring the revolutionary fever that swept through 19th-century Latin America. After the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, the Hispanic colonies of the New World are thrown into turmoil. Fuentes's hero, Baltasar Bustos, callow idealistic son of an Argentine rancher who is seduced by the ideas of the French writer Rousseau and sickened by the racial inequality around him, becomes a guerrilla fighter in various Latin American rebellions. In an extravagant gesture, he kidnaps the newborn child of Ofelia Salamanca, wife of the presiding judge of the Argentine vice-royalty in Buenos Aires, and substitutes a black child in its place. That night a fire sweeps through Ofelia's apartments, killing the black infant. Filled with remorse, Bustos falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful Ofelia; their paths throughout war-torn Latin America cross frequently. His adventures bring him in contact with rebellious Indians, revolutionary clerics, local warlords and members of the entrenched white aristocracy. Fuentes's skill in fleshing out imaginary and real characters--General Jose de San Martin makes an appearance--yields lively and entertaining reading. The lovers are reunited--though not just as Bustos might have wished--in this novel about the "romantic time" in Latin American history, the first of a trilogy.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"On the night of May 24, 1810, my friend Baltasar Bustos entered the bedroom of the Marquise de Cabra . . . and kidnapped her newborn child. In its place, he put a black baby, the child of a prostitute who had just been publicly flogged." So begins Fuentes's short but complex new novel of ideas, which describes Bustos's passionate search for the Marquise, with whom he has fallen in love, and for justice throughout Spain's American colonies. Along the way, the chubby, intellectual Bustos fights against Spain, falls in with a guerrilla band, kills a man simply because he is an Indian, returns to the luxurious creole life, and finally flees to Mexico in search of the rebel priest Quintana. He learns that justice and liberty are not so easily reconciled, that he cannot impose the ideals he has learned in books on life's harsh realities. As Quintana tells him, "Put all your ideas on one side of the balance, then put everything that negates them on the other, and then you'll be closer to the truth." Fuentes does not set himself up as a seer, able to deliver the truth, but as only a clear, cool commentator on human history. Highly recommended for collections of serious literature. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/91.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374118280
• ISBN-13: 978-0374118280
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,159,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty beyond history, November 24, 2007

By 

Andrew Werling - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Campaign (Paperback)

I'm writing from the perspective of one who has very little background in Latin American history, and I did appreciate the literary device of sending the novel's protagonist from region to region. From reading this, I had a sense of the vastness of space and variety of experience possible in Latin America; also, I got the point that the revolutionary fervor was sweeping.

Perhaps the tool was contrived, but it worked for me mostly because I loved spending time with Balta Bustos, exploring the depths of human contradiction with him, sorrowing with him, maturing with him. Rarely have I read such beautiful writing, seemingly slow in pace (which normally would send me on to some other book) but in reality very captivating. I was absorbed here, and was rarely tempted to put the book down out of restlessness. Yes, history was obviously an aim here, but for me, the journey was human and full of heart.

4.0 out of 5 stars History and philosophy in 19th Century Americas, March 27, 2007

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Campaign (Hardcover)

Carlos Fuentes creates a historical novel based loosely on events in Latin America in the early 1800's that is both fun and exciting. The novel actually focuses more on his three main charaacters and their relationships and roles in various revolutuionary causes taking place in Latin America; in essence the breaking away from Spain. The main protagonist is Baltazar Bustos, a character who is the son of wealthy Argentine racnher and a firm believer in the ideas of Rousseau. We see an interesting tranformation of Bustos and all of the characters. Bustos has two friends that play significant roles in the book. Xavier Dorrego and Manuel Varela, who is telling the story, are the vehicles for this novel. Dorrego is from a priveleged family and buys books for his group of intellectuals. He aspires to be a lawyer. All three of the friends are subversives as each takes a role in reproducing the cherished but dangerous books received from Europe with new ideas. This is only the beginning of their adventures as the story is further propelled by Bustos kidnapping of the Marquise de Cabra's infant child(he swaps infants, replaces one with a mulatos child)but the plan goes awry as a fire destroys a room in which the baby was held. Bustos is tormented by this act and tries to repent by finding the elusive woman. The three friends travel to Chile , Venezuela, Peru and ultimately Mexico. Mr. Fuentes integrates the philosophies of the previously mentioned philosophers throughout his book via the characters. The revolutionary ideals of the time period that ultimately won independence for the nations of Latin America helps drive the novel. Thus Mr. Fuentes weaves a tale cleverly that is both historical and philosophical. I enjoyed this book but not as much as some of his other efforts. I would recommend this book to someone who likes history, specifically the quest for independence from Spain in the new world in the nineteenth century.

5.0 out of 5 stars the campaing is one of the most enjoyable books, March 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Campaign (Hardcover)

Bustos being a intrepid person along with Dorrego and Varela, tried to understand and at the same time change the political system that was being experienced back in that time when the spaniards ruled the latin american country Agentina. they fought with an intellectuall manner instead of the brutal, trying to get more knowledge about the political issues even though it was prohibited. They were succesful.