The Death of Artemio Cruz — Carlos Fuentes

A ruthless Mexican tycoon surveys his past from his deathbed as he navigates between dreams, memories, and reality in this literary classic.

“With virile, honest writing in a stream of ebbing consciousness, the author of Where the Air is Clear has mastered an old theme and created a strong novel.” -- Kirkus Reviews

As the novel opens, Artemio Cruz, the all-powerful newspaper magnate and land baron, lies confined to his bed and, in dreamlike flashes, recalls the pivotal episodes of his life. Carlos Fuentes manipulates the ensuing kaleidoscope of images with dazzling inventiveness, layering memory upon memory, from Cruz's heroic campaigns during the Mexican Revolution, through his relentless climb from poverty to wealth, to his uneasy death. Perhaps Fuentes's masterpiece, The Death of Artemio Cruz is a haunting voyage into the soul of modern Mexico.