Trozas: A Novel (Jungle Novels) [Paperback]

B. Traven (Author), Hugh Young (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Jungle Novels | Publication Date: September 1, 1998

With the first publication in English of Trozas, B. Traven's legendary Jungle Novels, an epic of the birth of the Mexican Revolution, are complete. Trozas is the fourth of the six Jungle Novels that describe the conditions of peonage and debt slavery under which Mexican Indians suffered during the reign of Porfirio Díaz. The main character of the novel is a young Indian named Andrés Ugaldo, a virtual slave worker in a montería—-mahogany plantation—which is purchased by the profit ?hungry Montellano brothers, widely despised for their brutal treatment of workers. The demands on Andrés and his companions exceed even the usual insufferable conditions in the montería. Trozas (the word means "logs") captures the origins of the rebellious spirit that slowly spread through the labor camps and haciendas, culminating in the bloody revolt that ended Díaz's rule. Traven masterfully evokes the backbreaking daily routine of the montería, brings alive the players in this sordid drama, and tells the story in riveting narrative.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known for his adventure classic The Treasure of Sierra Madre , the mysterious Traven (1890-1969), who wrote in German but was probably American-born, also created a six-volume series of Jungle Novels about the Mexican Revolution, of which this is the fourth installment. Never before translated into English, it displays the author's customary disdain for authority and sympathy for the oppressed while painting a devastating, painfully detailed picture of conditions on a mahogany plantation in the southern province of Chiapas. The vicious Montellano brothers, a trio of Spaniards who are not really related, take over the plantation and begin brutalizing the workers, among them Andres Ugaldo, a young Indian with a growing sense of self-worth; Celso Flores, a skilled, experienced slave laborer whom even the cruel overseers dare not push too far; and Vincente, a mere boy forced to do a man's work to pay his family's debts. Meanwhile, a mysterious singer in the darkness hints of the revolution to come. Not for everyone, and more a long narrative episode than a conventional story with a resolution, this nonetheless offers a fascinating look at a terrible place and time. Over the next two years, Dee will issue paperback editions of the other five Jungle Novels.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

The bloody uprising of the Indian people of Chiapas early this year obsessed authorities and captivated the imagination of Mexicans far beyond the rebel strongholds in this southern Mexican-Indian jungle. This spirit of rebellion that permeated the Mexican revolution was captured over a half-century ago in Traven's "jungle novels." Trozas depicts the circumstances and origins of the discontent that brought down the rule of Porfiorio Diaz. The despicable conditions of neglect and exploitation in the monteria are described through the experiences of a young Indian, Andres Ugaldo, virtually a slave laborer. The system of peonage, legally abolished in 1917, was still rampant during the Diaz regime; the German author, e.g., Traven Torsvan, who was blacklisted by the Nazis, had firsthand knowledge of it from having lived in that country then. This literary classic still resonates for the disenfranchised in Chiapas. Highly recommended.
- Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 269 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566632196
• ISBN-13: 978-1566632195
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man's inhumanity to man!, May 7, 2000

By 

Julian V. Barham (Riverside, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Trozas (Jungle Novels) (Hardcover)

Trozas, Spanish for logs, is the fourth of six "Jungle Novels" by B. Traven, about the birth of the Mexican Revolution. The story centers around the exploitation of slave-laborers on a mahogany plantation, known as a monteria. There is little in the way of a conventional plot. Traven assumes the role of anthropologist as he explains the layout of a monteria, its power structure, the brutal methods used to exploit the Mexican Indians, and details of the daily grind they suffer as they cut down the trees, haul them with the aid of oxen through dense humid jungle which is infested with mosquitoes and biting flies, poisonous snakes, scorpions, panthers, and the cutting whips of the overseers. Though Traven's focus is on the corruption of the Diaz regime (1876-1910), the events that brought about his downfall, the social structure which places the illiterate dark-skinned Indians at the mercy of exploitive light-skinned Spaniards, the scheming-as-matter-of-policy among the local officials - from the police chiefs, judges, and tax assessors to the doctors, priests, monteria contractors and fincerias (the powerful landowners)- ultimately the book powerfully illustrates man's inhumanity to man. I was shocked and outraged - as I turned the pages - at the social structure which allowed this injustice to exist. (It is clear if one watches Mexican television programs - with light-skinned European looking men and women holding political office and on the soap operas and news, as well as the vast numbers of dark-skinned Indians migrating north to the U.S. in search of opportunity, that sadly little has changed since the Mexican Revolution). Trozas is also about human dignity in the face overwhelming suffering. Trozas is a grim book in a grim series of books, but an important one that needs to be read, for it enlightens the reader not only about Mexican history and the rise of the Mexican Revolution, but about the politics of evil and one aspect of the human condition. Traven has an easy, flowing style. He creates vivid characters and memorable scenes. He has an excellent ear for dialogue. Long after reading the book one can see and feel and hear the jungle and the pitiless human struggle for existence within it. This is a truly classic series of books which are gaining in popularity, especially on college campuses in Latino and ethnic studies classes. Traven for years languished in semi-obscurity, though he was once nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature. As the wave of class, race, ethnic, and gender studies has grown over the past two decades, Traven is being re-evaluated by critics and readers and is justly gaining in popularity and prestige.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Open Up Your Eyes, November 27, 2000

By 

C. Magill "clyde-o" (knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Trozas: A Novel (Jungle Novels) (Paperback)

I don't think I could add more than the Julian Barham review except to say, I love this book! This is the fourth book of the jungle series. I would recommend that one read the jungle series in order (i.e., Government, Carreta, March to the Monteria, Trozas, Rebellion of the Hanged, General from the Jungle). It is not absolutely necessary to read them in order but some characters show up in the later books (e.g., Don Gabriel from "Goverment" is referred to quite often, and Andres from "the Carreta" is present in the March to the Monteria and Trozas, amongst others). The characters from previous books are not necessarily covered in detail, so having this background of info about them sort of solidifies the story. The path of the characters is intertwined throughout the series.

I usually don't assign myself to such reading, like it's some sort of required reading for a class but in my opinion this is some of the most insightful and compelling writing I have ever read. Go Traven!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description of life in the Monterias, August 12, 2000

By 

Federico Pizano (Rodeo, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trozas: A Novel (Jungle Novels) (Paperback)

I trully enjoyed the book, once I picked it up I could not put it down. I never realized the hard work and effort taken to bring us the mahogony. And the life of the indians under the rule of the "Patrones", conquistadores. Slavery was not legal in Mexico, instead a life long debt was incurred to keep the peasants supressed and deprived of their freedom.