Where the Air Is Clear

First edition (Mexico)

Where the Air Is Clear (Spanish: La región más transparente) is a 1958 novel by Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes. His first novel, it became an "instant classic"[1] and made Fuentes into an immediate "literary sensation".[2] The novel's success allowed Fuentes to leave his job as a diplomat and become a full-time author.[2]

The novel is built around the story of Federico Robles – who has abandoned his revolutionary ideals to become a powerful financier – but also offers "a kaleidoscopic presentation" of vignettes of Mexico City, making it as much a "biography of the city" as of an individual man.[3] It was celebrated not only for its prose, which made heavy use of interior monologue and explorations of the subconscious,[2] but also for its "stark portrait of inequality and moral corruption in modern Mexico".[1]

In November 2008, the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española) together with Spanish academies from all the world, released a special edition of the book to celebrate its 50th anniversary.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Husna Haq (May 16, 2012). "Carlos Fuentes: 5 best novels". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Anthony DePalma (May 15, 2012). "Carlos Fuentes, Mexican Man of Letters, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  3. ^ Genevieve Slomski (November 2010). "Where the Air Is Clear". Masterplots. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  4. ^ "La región más transparente". Real Academia Española. Retrieved February 25, 2017.

See also


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