The Labyrinth of Solitude: The Other Mexico, Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexico and the United States, the Philanthropic Ogre [Paperback]

Octavio Paz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1994

Octavio Paz has long been acknowledged as Mexico's foremost writer and critic. In this international classic, Paz has written one of the most enduring and powerful works ever created on Mexico and its people, character, and culture. Compared to Ortega y Gasset's The Revolt of the Masses for its trenchant analysis, this collection contains his most famous work, "The Labyrinth of Solitude," a beautifully written and deeply felt discourse on Mexico's quest for identity that gives us an unequalled look at the country hidden behind "the mask." Also included are "The Other Mexico," "Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude," "Mexico and the United States," and "The Philanthropic Ogre," all of which develop the themes of the title essay and extend his penetrating commentary to the United States and Latin America.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First published in 1950, The Labyrinth of Solitude addresses issues that are both seemingly eternal and resoundingly contemporary: the nature of political power in post-conquest Mexico, the relation of Native Americans to Europeans, the ubiquity of official corruption. Noting these matters earned Paz no small amount of trouble from the Mexican leadership, but it also brought him renown as a social critic. Paz, who went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, later voiced his disillusionment with all political systems--as the Mexican proverb has it, "all revolutions degenerate into governments"--but his call for democracy in this book has lately been reverberating throughout Mexico, making it timely once again.

From Library Journal

Originally issued in 1962, The Labyrinth of Solitude (Grove Weidenfeld. (ISBN 0-8021-5042-X. pap. $10.95; reprint) "contains nine beautifully written, deeply felt essays . . . whose concern is the Mexican's solitariness and quest for identity" ( LJ 4/15/62). The expanded volume contains additional essays written in the spirit of Labyrinth and other important works.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 398 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (January 12, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080215042X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802150424
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > History > Americas > Mexico
  • #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Latin American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PAZ PERFECTLY DESCRIBES WHO MEXICANS ARE AND WHY THEY ARE, March 2, 1999

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[e-mail] (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Labyrinth of Solitude: The Other Mexico, Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexico and the United States, the Philanthropic Ogre (Paperback)

No other book has been able to accurately describe the Mexican psyche as Paz has done in this book. His eloquent prose style captivates the Mexican spirit in all its grace and in all its sadness. He brings all of Mexico's conflicts and taboos together and strips off all its masks to reveal the Mexican. I found his style to be poetic, eloquent, and majestic. Never had I read a book as powerfull and truthfull as Paz's. It is no wonder Paz was honored to receive the Nobel prize for this work. Any individual willing to read this book will finish it understanding Mexican culture and history better.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poet searches for Mexican third path, August 29, 2004

By 

Scott Henson (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Labyrinth of Solitude: The Other Mexico, Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexico and the United States, the Philanthropic Ogre (Paperback)

Paz's 'Labyrinth of Solitude' describes a Mexico of days gone by. 21st-century Mexico is dramatically more urban and modern, on the whole, than when Paz wrote this 50+ years ago.

Published in 1950, this was a book of its time. The Grove Press English translation is first rate; it reads beautifully.
Paz despised communism but was unimpressed with American materialism and narcissism, which in any event he thought inapplicable en masse to the Mexican character (as he piercingly described it) that drew so heavily on indigenous roots. He thought Mexico could find a third way, and he chose to start his search for it by heeding the millenia-old Socratic charge: know thyself. The result was a book one critic called an insult to every Mexican mother, though in truth it's nothing of the sort. His polemic made him no friends in the short term, however, even as it became an instant classic and catapulted him among the pinnacle stars of 20th century Latin American cultural critics.

Great to read while traveling, but good to keep in mind it's dated 5 decades. He's not describing the Mexican world a decade after NAFTA! His collected poems are worth the cost of admission, too.

48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Los Mexicanos Defined, June 12, 2000

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

This review is from: The Labyrinth of Solitude: The Other Mexico, Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexico and the United States, the Philanthropic Ogre (Paperback)

I first read this book in the early 70's and enjoyed it immensely. Being od Mexican descent it gave me insight into who I am and why. I have read this book again recently, upon Paz's death, and found it still as enlightening. The style of writng is beautiful, poetic , and full of symbolism and metaphors. While working in education I highly recommended it to my collegues to better understand the Mexican psyche. Anyone who works in the public sector or deals with Mexicans on either side of the border should read this book. It will help you understand the mind of the Mexican and how it works. One of my all time favorite books that should be enjoyed by all people interested in human behavior.