This is the kind of book for people who likes endings where the author does not tell you everything and you have to struggle and figure out what happened...and somehow you know what happened and makes you anxious and that is the fun of it! This book includes several different stories with a little taste of suspense. I have read this book many times and every time I have to read it at once from beginning to end. If you liked "100 years of solitude" of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I'm sure you would like this one. Carlos Fuentes has many other great books, but my other favorite is "Aura".

This book was written on the eve of the 500th year anniversary marking the fateful encounter between the Spanish Euoropeans and the various indigenous groups of the Americas. Not so coincidently, the prolific, briliant writer Carlos Fuentes sets the circumstances to this novel to coincide with the event. The premise for the book is a contest being held in Mexico with a great prize offered for the first born child on the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival. The child is Christopher, the narrator of the novel who makes shrewd observations about the world he will be born into, all from the comfort of inside his mother. This allows Fuentes, the author, to rip into all of the ills of modern Mexico with his usually witty and sharp use of lanuage. A master at manipulation of common laguage, he changes the words to fit his vision. Several examples of how he changes words are Mexico City to Makesicko City, Kafkapulco, Quasimodo City, Samsaville, Huitzilopochtliburg or President Dangerous Dickson before the Watergate Waterloo, blockabulary for vocabulary,Califurnace, PornoCorno, Coca-Culo and Acapukelco(or did I make this last one up?). However this is nothing compared to the daggers Christopher throws at everything from the devastation of the earthquake and the aftermath, the PRI, Mexican history and all it's tragic consequences including the massacre at Tlateloco, the narco-polices ties to the narco traffickers themselves and in short, all is fair game for Fuentes via his narrator Christopher. His observations on popular culture include everything from Lennon to Lenin to Boy George. It is a scathing, passionate view of the world Chistopher will enter. Christopher contends his nine months inside his mother are when his life began and this comfort and fear of what is out there make the narration a brutal, wry, cynical commentary. The satirical view is enhanced by a cast of characters who all are part of the make up of a world Christopher will inherit. The action of the novel is a backdrop for a political campaign and all it's cast of characters both for and against.Some of the names of these politicos and associates are Deng Chopin, Hipi Toltec, Fagoaga, Matamoros Moreno, Robles Chacon and D.C Buckley just to name a few. Coming in at over five hundered pages it is no easy read but totally enjoyable. The literature flows beautifully, creating images as only Carlos Fuentes can. As one of the preeminent writers of our times, Fuentes unleashes a novel for the times that will be reflected upon years from now as a masterpiece marking the collision of worlds that occurred five hundred years ago. This is an excellent book for educators at the AP level in high school or college to use for a literature class or to supplement a history course. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Mexico and it's contemporary literature.

This collection of novels is a beautiful and intellgently written volume, one that is an interesting read. If one wants comparisons, it could be compared to Garcia Marquez's style--very dense, very descriptive, very mysterious. There are copies of it available used... Buy it!

El libro es increible, tiene ese tipo de escritura que lo envuelve a uno en una especie de sueno hermoso, Los cuentos son atrapantes y a la vez nos ensenan sobre el ser humano, este es uno se los mejores libros que he leido............

atentamente Mauro

For context I have to say that "Cuerpos y Ofrendas" is a book that has special meaning to me. I bought it while traveling throughout South America. I picked it up at a book fair in Lima and it stuck with me throughout stays in Ecuador, Cuba, and Costa Rica. As a native English speaker I found that reading short stories in Spanish is much easier on my brain than tackling "Cien anos de Soledad." I could finish each one in a day or two, then go back and read it again, picking up what I missed the first time. My Spanish is fluent, but just barely, such that I miss enough of the story to make it slightly surreal and magical.

Although my introduction to Fuentes started more as a lesson in Spanish, I soon was reading simply for pleasure and stopped making notations altogether. The stories amazed me. The majority hint at the mystical and the inevitable. Not only is each story compelling alone, but together they provide some small snapshots into the modern life and the underpinning mythology of Mexico.

"Una Alma Pura" perhaps was my favorite. This is the story of a man's flight from Mexico to Geneva in search of a different life. Told in the 2nd and 3rd person, reading this story is much like receiving a moving letter from a dear old friend. We learn of his situation through letters written to and from his childhood girlfriend. Although simple in design it is very moving. This character's flight struck me as frighteningly similar to my current travels and escape from the US. As in the story, I feared that perhaps those things from which I was meaning to escape were the very things about myself I couldn't change.

Other stories are more playful, some horrific, and some nostalgic. Unlike some collections of short stories, Fuentes' tales show a variety of skill. I got a lot out of this book. It proved a worthy travel companion and introduced me to an author I plan to read much more of!

Abbas' photos of the everyday scenes of Mexican reality strike an emotional chord within the viewer. It is as if a creative magic compelled and inspired the photographer to capture and convey the life and energy within the mundane, juxtaposing powerful images of the contradictions of Mexican society. While the photos are arranged by themes associated with death, they overwhelmingly breathe and speak of life. Introduction by Carlos Fuentes.

At tale of many tales. Spain and America, and also the space between. The search of the origin of what constitutes the soul of hispanics. For sure, Fuentes' best work. A look in depth of the possibilities that hispanics betrayed and honored. Something tragic though: after this one, other Fuentes' books seem but short stories. The author honor his own saying: we are only what we can imagine.

...Terra Nostra" is divided into three sections, translated in English as "The Old World" "The New World" and "The Next World." The first part is set in pre-Colombian Europe and describes the degenerate king of a dying Spanish Empire and his court. This section is loaded with as much intrigue and back stabbing as "I Claudius".

The second section, "The New World", is my favorite and can be read on its own. It has some of the most beautiful prose I have ever encountered. In it, the author describes the pilgrim's journey to the New World and his meetings with its people. The narrative has an immediacy that makes one feel that one has just stumbled upon a new world, with all of its dangers and mysteries.

In the last section, the pilgrim tells his story to the Spanish King, and the rest, as they say, is history.

If you like the magical realism genre so popular among South American novelists, you will love this book. If you are looking for plausible historical fiction, look elsewhere.

TERRA NOSTRA stands as Carlos Fuentes' most incredible achievement -- and as one of the great books of the 20th Century. The depths and heights of Man's history swirl around the reader as a controlled maelstrom -- grab a handle and hang on for dear life. In this masterpiece, Fuentes attempts nothing less than to transfer the last 500 years or so of the New World -- including its origins in the Old -- into words. Alternately achingly real and mind-bendingly surreal, the story unfolds almost as a jigsaw puzzle falling into place before the reader's eyes.

As cliched as it might sound, this is truly a work that MUST be experienced by any reader who recognizes the awesome power of language in the hands of a master craftsman -- there is nothing else like it in Western literature.

En el libro Aura, el autor Carlos Fuentes hace una crítica de la época colonial, cuando los mexicanos no tenían la libertad. Fuentes publicó este libro en 1965. El cuento tiene lugar en México. Un hombre joven, Felipe Montero, ve un anuncio para un trabajo que parece ser para él y solamente él. Felipe va a una entrevista con la mujer vieja que está ofreciendo el trabajo. Él acepta el trabajo en la mansión colonial después de ver los ojos de la sobrina bonita de la mujer. Felipe trabaja en la mansión, y no tiene permiso para salir. Él nota muchas cosas raras, que incluyen una conexión extraña entre Aura, la sobrina, y su tía, la Sra. Llorente. Él quiere ayudar a Aura para que ella pueda escapar el control de su tía. Felipe también se siente una conexión con Aura. Una noche Felipe y Aura hacen el amor, pero Felipe ve a la Sra. Llorente en el cuarto después del acto. La Sra. y Aura parecen hacer las mismas acciones todo el tiempo. Durante su trabajo, Felipe ve una foto del Coronel Llorente, el esposo muerte de la Sra. Se da cuenta de que él mismo tiene una cara igual al Coronel. También se da cuenta de que la conexión entre Aura y la Sra. Llorente es más que el control. Él también se siente una conexión con las mujeres y la casa, y empieza de sentirse en casa.
Me gusta este libro. Carlos Fuentes usa elementos fantásticos y imágenes opuestas para criticar la época colonial y los apoyantes de esta época. Fuentes muestra que la época colonial no es real, que ya no existe. Unos ejemplos de estes elementos fantásticos son el nombre "Aura," que indica algo místico, la conexión entre Aura y Sra. Llorente, y las caras iguales de Felipe y el Coronel Llorente. Fuentes usa las imágenes opuestas para mostrar que las personas que apoyan el periodo colonial están viviendo en un mundo de sueños. Un ejemplo es la mansión colonial situada entre tiendas modernas. Otro ejemplo es el cuarto de Felipe. Recibe mucha luz, y al principio del cuento Felipe cree que todavía está conectado al mundo. Esto no es cierto, sin embargo; Felipe está atrapado en la casa. Finalmente, hay símbolos del cristianismo. Aura lava los pies de Felipe, los carácteres rompen y comen el pan, y hay una figura de Jesucristo en un cuarto. Sin embargo, el cristianismo no está verdaderamente presente, porque la magia es la influencia principal en la casa.
Creo que Sra. Llorente crea a Aura para preservarse para siempre. También crea a Felipe para preserver al Coronel Llorente. Ella sabía que la réplica de su esposo existe y este es la razón que el anuncio fue perfecto para atraer a Felipe. Sra. Llorente quiere vivir con el Coronel para siempre por medio de Aura y Felipe. Ella quiere quedarse en el mundo colonial. Fuentes critica las personas como la Sra. Llorente que no avanzan y no aprecian un México libre. Yo recomiendo este libro.

Aura es una chica joven y bonita, con ojos verdes misteriosos. Ella vive con su tía, Señora Consuelo quien es muy vieja. Y cuando el narador, Felipe Monterro, lee un anuncio, por suerte o por un elemento mágical, Felipe entra un mundo de mágico y misterio. El anuncio que Felipe lee es por un historiador que conoce frances. El trabajo parece estar perfecto por Felipe. Felipe va a la casa que está en el anuncio el día proximo. Pero tiene no idea que tipos de cosas van a pasar. La casa obscura de Señora Consuelola persona que escriba el anuncio, es una perfecta escena por todo el mágico y misterio que pasa durante la cuenta. Aura y Señora Consuelo tienen una diferente tipo de misterio realación. Ellas tienen una conección secreta que propone muchas preguntas sobre que está pasando entre los dos. Felipe tiene mucha passión por Aura, pero ella tiene un secreto grande. Yo recomiendo esta cuenta. Es una cuenta corta y es fácil para leer. Si le gusta obras de literarios que incorpara lo real maravilloso, problamente le gustaría esta cuenta.

Aura toma al lector en un mundo del misterio, del amor, del horror, y de la pasión. Asombra verdaderamente que Carlos Fuentes tiene la habilidad de escribir una novelita que abarca tan muchos momentos intensos, con tal estilo y completa la descripción. La novelita es muy bien escrito y hace al lector se siente que él está en el cuento, mirándolo en realidad. El cuento sucede en el centro del siglo xx en Latino América. El personaje principal es un historiador joven se llama Felipe Montera, que decide para tomar un trabajo ofreció a él por una viuda vieja. Señora Consuelo, la viuda vieja, lo emplea para organizar las memorias de su esposo muerto. En la casa de Señora Consuelo, Felipe reúne a su sobrina, Aura. El esta intrigado por su belleza y cae en el amor con ella. Aura no es un cuento tradicional del amor, por cualquiera significa. La novelita se llena con las torsiones y las vueltas que mantendrán su interés, y mantiene también las páginas que giran fácilmente. Esto es un libro excelente que recomendaría a muchas personas. No toma mucha tiempo para leer esto libro brevemente, pero el contenido poderoso de lo permanecerá con usted para siempre.