Customer Reviews

Government

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first B. Traven book, and I am hooked. His satirical wit and narrative prose are well constructed. A simple story about early 20th century Mexico. Traven follows characters through the story and makes reading easy. The interesting thing is how true some of the same bureacracy and logic of those times is still with us in this modern day. After having traveled extensively in Mexico, it also gives me a better understanding of the plight of the indigenous people and the history behind their current governmental structure. The insight garnered is not country specific, however, as the same systems can be found in all walks of life, countries, and governments. Highly recommended!

GOVERNMENT should be required reading in every High School civics class. Beyond its relevance to actual Mexican history, and its introduction to Traven's amazing Jungle series, it does an expert and entertaining job of describing the prevelant corruption that most, if not all, modern goverments eventually (often rapidly) employ. Also a must read also for all voters and elected officials.

Amazing fact: in Government, published 1931, Traven has the rebels in Chiapas commandeer an army post while the troops are drunk on New Years Eve. This is exactly what happened on Jan. 1, 1994 when the Zapatista rebels seized the army base near San Cristobal de las Casas and procured their weapons. I don't know if the rebels took their cue from Traven, or if it was coincidence, but this is a case of reality imitating fiction.

B. Traven uses his prose to clearly illuminate the fallacies foisted upon people by those in power, who clearly believe that they belong in power. This is a story in the "The Jungle Stories" series of Traven, which describe the horrible abuses that the indigenous indians of southern Mexico (mainly around Chiapas, which is still an area of unrest today) by Mexican government officials who conspired with foreign capitalists to use the indians as cheap, throw-away labor all in the name of promoting Mexico as a great nation under the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Great for some, but a disaster for the poor.

Government by B. Traven felt more like an introduction into an epic rather than a stand alone product. Treasure of the Sierra Madre by Traven earns 5 stars, but Government seemed to be setting the stage for a larger landscape of characters and events. Yet, he carefully lays down a description of the parallel cultures and values of the Mexican central government under the dictatorship of Diaz, and the culture of the native indigenous population. Sometimes Traven gets too preachy with his anti-capitalism and anti-Catholicism. The native folks are pictured as too innocent and ideal, much like the philosophy of Rousseau. The two brothers Don Gabriel and Don Mateo are contrasted well, showing that true theft and deception must be slowly and carefully developed as shown by Don Gabriel, as compared to the over reaching, over greedy actions of Don Mateo.

After reading all six of the Jungle Novels, I've been trying to decide which novel was meant to be read first, Government or The Carreta. Looking at the publishing history, I saw that in Germany, Great Britain and the U.S. Traven had always published The Carreta first. But despite that I really think that Government is the best of the series to read first, because it best describes the system of debt slavery in Mexico that is the setting for what follows in the other novels.

That's not to say that the novel is boring. Quite the opposite. It's a fascinating page-turner, as are all the novels in this series. In fact, this is the strangest and most unexpected series of novels I have ever read, and when I put down the final volume I couldn't help but compare it favorably to Alexander Dumas. The style is very different, but the story is that good, and that well told.

But I won't bore you with my opinion. It's best to let the books speak for themselves. Highly recommended.

It's an eye opening book about the origins of the State and how politicians enrich themselves on the backs of poor peasants. I had read this book about 12 years ago and I decided to buy it because it's such a treasure and because B. Traven's books are so hard to find.

Traven continues to strike a balance between despair and hope with this story set in rural Mexico.