Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012). Connotado intelectual y uno de los principales exponentes de la narrativa mexicana, tiene una vasta obra que incluye novela, cuento, teatro y ensayo. Recibio numerosos premios, entre ellos los siguientes: Premio Biblioteca Breve 1967 por Cambio de piel; Premio Xavier Villaurrutia y Premio Romulo Gallegos por Terra nostra; Premio Internacional Alfonso Reyes 1979; Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes en Linguistica y Literatura 1984; Premio Cervantes 1987; Orden de la Independencia Cultural Ruben Dario, otorgada por el Gobierno Sandinista, 1988; Premio del Instituto Italo-Americano 1989 por Gringo viejo; Medalla Rectoral de la Universidad de Chile, 1991; Condecoracion con la Orden al Merito de Chile, en grado de Comendador, 1993; Premio Principe de Asturias 1994; Premio Internacional Grinzane Cavour 1994; Premio Picasso, otorgado por la UNESCO, 1994; Premio Cervantes, 1987; Premio de la Latinidad otorgado por las Academias Brasilena y Francesa de la Lengua, 2000; Legion de Honor del Gobierno Frances, 2003; Premio Roger Caillois 2003; Premio Real Academia Espanola 2004 por En esto creo; Premio Galileo 2000, Italia, 2005; Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Catolica, 2008; Premio Internacional Don Quijote de la Mancha 2008; Gran Medalla de Verneil 2010; y Premio Formento de las Letras, 2011.
Narrator Robert Fass's crisp narration enhances this audio edition of Fuentes's riff on Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which the undead eponymous antihero travels to Mexico City for blood (having drained all of Europe's supply). As in the original, the first-person narration is by a young attorney-one of many parallel plot developments that will bemuse Stoker fans. The Mexican setting calls for convincing Spanish accents, which Fass ably handles. He also demonstrates versatility in creating unique voices for the book's many characters. As with other fantastic stories, listeners will only suspend disbelief if the story's everyday elements are convincing. And Fass's matter-of-fact delivery of passages such as the description of Navarro's breakfast routine, lulls listeners into imagining that the supernatural elements are fully believable. A must for Dracula fans. A Dalkey Archive hardcover. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
The noted Mexican author provides a modern update of Dracula in which the Count moves to Mexico City in search of fresh blood. A lawyer has been assigned to find Vlad a very special home with tunnels, drains, and blacked-out windows. The attorney's wife locates the perfect house...and discovers some horrifying information about their new client. There is a satisfying mixture of old-world descriptive writing and contemporary horror-listeners will never look at a squirrel the same way again-and reader Robert Fass does an expert job of keeping the sometimes clunky narrative from overpowering the truly gut-churning terror. The ending is unexpected; credit goes to Fass for keeping readers guessing right up to the very last sentence. VERDICT Recommended for large public libraries and academic collections. ["For those who like the gothic or who are diehard Fuentes fans, go for it, but for others it may be more appropriate to pay him a fitting tribute in light of his recent passing by rereading some of his classics (The Death of Artemio Cruz or Old Gringo) and pass on this one," read the review of the Dalkey Archive hc, LJ 7/12.-Ed.]-Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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