Translated from the Spanish by Alfred Mac Adam

Originally published in Spanish as La Muerte de Artemio Cruz

Copyright © 1962 by Carlos Fuentes

Carlos Fuentes is one of Latin America's most distinguished novelists and a one-man international cultural and political force. Few Latin American writers have such an intimate knowledge of Americans or see the American/Latin American cultural dynamic with the great depth of vision that Fuentes possesses. He is intimately in touch with both the gringo and Latino souls and he speaks with a particularly international voice. Again and again, Fuentes has shown himself to be a pioneer of the "magical realism" style that has captivated readers and critics on both sides of the Rio Grande.

The novel opens with Cruz on his deathbed, and plunges us into his thoughts as he segues from the past to his increasingly disoriented present. Drawn as a tragic figure, Cruz fights bravely during the Mexican Revolution but in the process loses his idealism-and the only woman who ever loved him. He marries the daughter of a hacienda owner and, in the opportunistic, postwar climate, he uses her family connections and money to amass an ever-larger fortune. Cocky, audacious, corrupt, Cruz, on another level, represents the paradoxes of recent Mexican history. This novel, with its freewheeling experimental prose and psychological exploration, anticipates many of the author's later themes.

In 1984, Mr. Fuentes was honored with the National Prize in Literature, Mexico's highest literary award. In 1988 King JuanCarlos of Spain presented him with the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious award bestowed on a Spanish-language writer. In 1992, President Francois Mitterand presented him with the Legion of Honor, France's highest distinction.