Exploring the Depths of Isolation in Mexico: The Labyrinth of Solitude

Kelly: I gave up about a third of the way. Not what I expected, but may be exactly what someone else wants. I can’t give it a bad review just because it was over my head or beyond my interest.

United States on Sep 09, 2023

Lola Landa: Un gran libro y para extranjeros conocer a Mexico es de gran utilidad

Mexico on Jun 04, 2022

Veronica: I am still reading it. Sad to see how masquerade they lived their life, and how little value they hold for the role of a woman. A tremendous complex of inferiority in the handling of relationships. A very critical depiction of the Mexican culture

Canada on Jan 18, 2022

Brian F. Redman: I cannot praise this book enough, though I realize there must be other interpretations of Mexico. Octavio Paz, Nobel Prize-winner, perceives an Aztec archetype operating behind the changing masks of power in Mexico, be they Hernan Cortez, Porfirio Diaz, or the current el presidente. The Mexicans are not exactly Hispanic, nor are they Latino. Instead the population is a mixture of pure-blooded Spaniards, mixed Indian and Spaniard (Mestizos), and indigenous ("Indians" so-called). The latter have for centuries adapted themselves to various rulers by blending into the scenery - as Paz puts it about transplanted Mexicanos, they are both here and not here, simultaneously. It is not so much therefore that they are "living in the shadows" as that this has become over the centuries their traditional way of adapting. Written with the keen insight of a poet, Paz's book will give you a "crash course" on what is Mexico.

United States on Feb 07, 2021

Dave Bassett: Work of art

Canada on Jan 04, 2021

Obri Gonzalez: I've always wanted to read about my own culture, and having moved overseas I've wanted to return to some Mexicanese of some sorts, and this has definitely allowed me to reflect on the culture I was born into and at the same time question a lot of my current beliefs.

United Kingdom on Nov 29, 2020

TANSTAAFL: Octavio Paz's insights and engaging narrative are superb. If you want to understand Mexican cultural identity as juxtaposed to that of the USA, this is essential reading, and there is nothing else like it. Like any important work, I found there were numerous points of agreement and disagreement as I read; this kind of book is meant to challenge preconceptions and cause the reader to think.

I am less enthusiastic about Lysander Kemp's translation, which seems stilted at times and gets in the way of understanding as much as it helps. It feels almost transliterative, with long, run-on sentences and multiple levels of subordinate clauses. It may be faithful to the original Spanish construction, but is somewhat hard to digest in English. A less-literal, more idea-based approach would be helpful - or read it in the original, if you can.

United States on Jan 30, 2019

Clay Garner: ''The captive Elements and the ancient
Laws of the Earth break loose
Like maddened horses. And then a desire to return
To chaos rises incessantly. There is much
To defend, and the faithful are much needed.''
- Hölderlin (26)

Laws need 'faithful defenders'. Chaos does not.

''The faithful are much needed because there is ''much to defend''. . . . But exile, expiation and penitence should proceed from the reconciliation of man with the Universe. Neither the Mexican nor the North American has achieved this reconciliation.'' (26)

Paz is here expressing religio/philosophical ideas. These are not ecomonic/political concerns. Takes some adjusting.

Great!

''What is even more serious, I am afraid we have lost our sense of the very meaning of all human activity, which is to assure the operation of an order in which knowledge and innocence, man and nature are in harmony. If the solitude of the Mexican is like a stagnant pool, that of the North American is like a mirror.'' (27)

Mirror only reflects what is already there. Can't give anything more.

Paz consistently provides comparison; Mexican/American, etc.,etc.. Effective...

United States on Apr 10, 2017

Herodotus: Working my way rather slowly, but pleasantly, through stimulating (and sometimes difficult) Spanish.

United Kingdom on Apr 07, 2015

LaurentG: This book is priceless. It is about Mexican history in the context of American Continents and the world. It is a book of analysis of how Mexico emerged as the country it is today (or 1970 as that was the time the book was completed, by adding new chapters to previous ones written even before that) and its place in the world and its relationship with US. It is not a book for the masses, but once started it flows. I found it easy to read because Octavio Paz presents ideas in a very clear manner.
Like Alexander Solzhenitzin, Octavio Paz writes books for the ages, explaining history and social issues in a very direct, open, critical way. I am not Mexican. This book is a must read by anybody who wants to understand the "whys" of our times.

United States on Jul 06, 2014