Macario (Paperback)

~ Bruno Traven (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Macario is the story of a poor man who has been hungry all his life. He suffers from a gnawing poverty which never quite kills, but also never quite permits any visible change or hope. Despite his acceptance of his colorless existence, he has a fantasy which becomes a tacit means of survival, nourishing him far more than does his meager daily diet. This book is #34 in the Cervantes & Co. Spanish Classics series. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Selector S.A. de C.U. (June 1984)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 9684030150
• ISBN-13: 978-9684030152
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,006,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars macario meets: god, devil and the dead; the 3 ask for food, February 15, 1998

By A Customer

macario is a very poor man who lives in a mexican forest (woods), he is the father of 8 or 9 kids. his wife loves him so much; he works hard but any way the are miserables....he only has a dream before he dies...eat on his own a complete turkey, without share it with NOBODY, even his family....he always said this dream to his wife, so during a lot of years, and saving as much as possible, one day she cook the turkey and send him to the woods early in the morning, before kids smell the turkey...macario runs inside the woods to hide and made possible the big dream...and suddenly apears just in front of him GOD,who's starving,and HE asks for food... read the book to know Macario's answer...)then comes the devil, (great answer too...) and then comes the dead...(here is were the really story begins)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating novelization of a Mexican folktale, January 23, 1998

By A Customer

Great for intermediate students or adults. Goes through a lot of Mexican culture in a very accessible Mexican Spanish. Poor woodcutter Macario meets the devil, Jesus, and Death on the day his wife cooks him the first filling meal of his life. They all want a bite of his turkey. He makes a deal with Death, that makes him wealthy, but later puts him in hot water with the Inquisition. Humor, irony, adventure, and philosophy. It can be compared with a wonderful B&W movie.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful short story, October 30, 2003

By	C. Luna (Tijuana, México) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A very interesting story with a puzzling ending, I especially liked the understanding that Traven has of the meaning of death in the mexican culture.
A man goes into the woods and meets the Death, they make a pact, a series of events follow until Macario dies many years later, or did he die the same day he met the Death?, you find out.
I really recomend this book for everyone, combine it with Canasta de Cuentos Mexicanos, these two books really make for some of Traven's best.