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You Dreamed of Empires: A Novel Hardcover – January 9, 2024
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“Riotously entertaining... A triumph of solemnity-busting erudition and mischievous invention that will delight and titillate.” --Financial Times
From the visionary author of Sudden Death, a hallucinatory, revelatory colonial revenge story.
One morning in 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés enters the city of Tenochtitlan – today's Mexico City. Later that day, he will meet the emperor Moctezuma in a collision of two worlds, two empires, two languages, two possible futures.
Cortés is accompanied by his captains, his troops, his prized horses, and his two translators: Friar Aguilar, a taciturn friar, and Malinalli, an enslaved, strategic Nahua princess. After nearly bungling their entrance fo the city, the Spaniards are greeted at a ceremonial welcome meal by the steely Aztec princess Atotoxtli, sister and wife of Moctezuma. As they await their meeting with the emperor – who is at a political and spiritual crossroads, and relies on hallucinogens to get by – Cortés and his entourage are ensconced in the labyrinthine palace. Soon, one of Cortés’s captains, Jazmín Caldera, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place, begins to question the ease with which they were welcomed into the city, and wonders at the chances of getting out alive, much less conquering the empire. And what if... they don't?
You Dreamed of Empires brings Tenochtitlan to life at its height, and reimagines its destiny. The incomparably original Álvaro Enrigue sets afire the moment of conquest and turns it into a moment of revolution, a restitutive, fantastical counterattack, in a novel so electric and so unique that it feels like a dream.
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRiverhead Books
- Publication dateJanuary 9, 2024
- Dimensions5.7 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
- ISBN-10059354479X
- ISBN-13978-0593544792
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Enrigue’s genius lies in his ability to bring readers close to its tangled knot of priests, mercenaries, warriors and princesses while adding a pinch of biting humor."
-- Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Los Angeles Times
"Enrigue’s work is marked by an all-consuming attention to historical detail.... He is a preternaturally entertaining and erudite writer who builds alternate worlds from the minutiae. He also seems like he’s having a pretty good time."
-- Benjamin Russell, New York Times
“Incantatory... Enrigue conjures both court intrigue and city life with grace.”
-- The New Yorker
“[S]ublime absurdities... abound in this delirious historical fantasia, which can be said to be many things: funny, ghastly, eye-opening, marvelous and frequently confounding.”
-- Wall Street Journal
“Riotously entertaining...Enrigue revels in the salacious and the scatological, serving up a sensory feast. All praise for the translator, who has so magnificently grappled with multiple layers of language. As in her rendition of Enrigue’s encyclopedic novel Sudden Death, Natasha Wimmer brilliantly brings the author’s playfulness and idiomatic humour to life for an English-language readership. The result is a triumph of solemnity-busting erudition and mischievous invention that will delight and titillate.”
-- Financial Times
"[S]hort, strange, spiky and sublime. It’s a historical novel, a great speckled bird of a story, set in 1519 in what is now Mexico City. Empires are in collision and the vibe is hallucinatory.... Enrigue, who is clearly a major talent, has delivered a humane comedy of manners that is largely about paranoia (is today the day my head will be lopped off?) and the quotidian bummers of life, even if you are powerful beyond belief."
-- Dwight Garner, New York Times
"An alternate history of Mexican conquest, with a Tarantino-ready twist.... Deliciously gonzo.... Rendered in earthy, demotic, wryly unhistorical English by translator Natasha Wimmer... Enrigue’s antic style is high-minded, richly detailed, vulgar and sophisticated all at once — reminiscent of the films of Peter Greenaway or Derek Jarman."
-- Washington Post
"[A] story built on what-ifs.... In his hallucinatory prose, anything could happen."
-- Los Angeles Review of Books
"Enrigue proves supremely capable of subverting in service to the story about colonization and societal power.”
-- Chicago Review of Books
“Throughout the book, Enrigue (and in English his excellent translator, Natasha Wimmer) boldly uses modern language to recreate the past.... Parts of the novel play like an Aztec West Wing, taking us deep into the political manoeuvrings of the royal court but blending its particularities with 21st-century psychology. It’s a rich approach that achieves a hallucinatory vividness.”
--The Guardian (UK)
“Enrigue sustains a seductive yet ominous tone that evokes a persistent threat of violence, and he caps things off with a dizzying climactic scene that offers an alternative to the historical record and dovetails with the book’s heavy dose of hallucinogens. Flexing his narrative muscle, Enrigue brings the past to vivid, brain-melting life.” --Publishers Weekly
“The irony and wit Enrigue brings to the story is entirely his own. An offbeat, well-turned riff on anti-colonialist themes.” --Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Natasha Wimmer’s translations include Álvaro Enrigue’s Sudden Death, Nona Fernández’s Space Invaders and The Twilight Zone, and Roberto Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives and 2666. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Product details
- Publisher : Riverhead Books (January 9, 2024)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 059354479X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593544792
- Item Weight : 12.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.7 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #21,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,999 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #2,487 in Historical Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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The main story involves Moctezuma's court -- the Spanish characters are secondary. The main, and most sympathetic, of the Spaniards (the Caxtilteca) is Jazmín Caldera, the expedition's main investor. The main, and most sympathetic of the Tenochca is Tlilpotonqui, cihuacoatl (mayor) of the city. Atotoxtli, the empress -- sister and wife of Moctezuma -- also plays a major role.
A great example of the humor can be found in the names given to the elder Councillors, like He Who Looses the Rain of Words and Governs the Songs Lest We Be Like the Flowers and Bees That Last But a Few Days. Toward the end, Moctezuma pays a visit to the Great Temple, stoned out of his mind on mushrooms. As he meets with the high priest he hears a T. Rex song and dances along. The priest, also dosed, hears it too: "...he bent his magic powers of hearing to the music and caught the sexy crooning of Marc Bolan" (177). There is a running joke, and mystery, about "the story of the ant."
What will happen to the Caxtilteca, who seem to be prisoners? What about the huge army waiting outside the gate, composed of enemies of the Triple Alliance? Enrigue masterfully keeps the reader guessing, and concludes the novel with a dazzling finale.
*** *** ***
There is no reason for confusion over the Nahuatl names. The author provides a list of characters with their names, nicknames, and roles. Any reader who has read a novel before will be prepared for the third person narrator to move from one of these characters to another, it is very clear.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
The main story involves Moctezuma's court -- the Spanish characters are secondary. The main, and most sympathetic, of the Spaniards (the Caxtilteca) is Jazmín Caldera, the expedition's main investor. The main, and most sympathetic of the Tenochca is Tlilpotonqui, cihuacoatl (mayor) of the city. Atotoxtli, the empress -- sister and wife of Moctezuma -- also plays a major role.
A great example of the humor can be found in the names given to the elder Councillors, like He Who Looses the Rain of Words and Governs the Songs Lest We Be Like the Flowers and Bees That Last But a Few Days. Toward the end, Moctezuma pays a visit to the Great Temple, stoned out of his mind on mushrooms. As he meets with the high priest he hears a T. Rex song and dances along. The priest, also dosed, hears it too: "...he bent his magic powers of hearing to the music and caught the sexy crooning of Marc Bolan" (177). There is a running joke, and mystery, about "the story of the ant."
What will happen to the Caxtilteca, who seem to be prisoners? What about the huge army waiting outside the gate, composed of enemies of the Triple Alliance? Enrigue masterfully keeps the reader guessing, and concludes the novel with a dazzling finale.
*** *** ***
There is no reason for confusion over the Nahuatl names. The author provides a list of characters with their names, nicknames, and roles. Any reader who has read a novel before will be prepared for the third person narrator to move from one of these characters to another, it is very clear.
Though they are allowed into one of the royal palaces of the Aztec, the would be conquerors know nothing of their own noble etiquette let alone that of their hosts. Cortes almost botches first contact with this new civilization. The Spanish guests find themselves lost in the maze like palace as they have an uncomfortable lunch with Princess Atotoxli, the wife and sister of Moctezuma which doesn't help with the feeling of general unease settling on the explorers. For his part, Moctezuma is not sharing his plans for these vulgar visitors with those closest to him, choosing to spend his days using magic mushrooms in order to commune with his gods. As the first official meeting between cultures draws closer, both sides view it with anticipation and dread.
This book paints a vivid portrait of daily life of the Aztec ruling class which is equal parts beautiful and terrifying. These Spanish visitors seem both filthy and uncultured to their royal hosts. For their part, the Spanish are awed by the splendor and cleanliness of this strange new metropolis. This is a great selection if you are looking for a book in translation or if you just want to diversify your reading list.
Cortez may have been a monster, but he was brave, clever, fearless and resourceful.
I wonder if Diaz wrote of the Maya and if that manuscript exists.
Top reviews from other countries
Follows a host of characters through one pivotal day, when the emperor Moctezuma met conquistador Hernan Cortez in Tenochtitlan (now known as Mexico City).
Liked:
Was interesting to read this whilst in Mexico; I've been very ignorant as to the country's history up till now so this felt like another tool to start learning. Some of the description is vivid. Also, a lot of the plot revolves around horses, which is always a plus for me!
Disliked:
Enrigue takes some verrrry heavy liberties with the historical accuracy of this thing, as I understand it, so I need to take everything in here with fistfuls of salt. On two separate occasions there are drug trips which seem to be just a lazy excuse to jump into the future for a bit. One whole chapter is written in an obtuse manner because the character it follows is sneaking out and hence 'would' see all these things, if he were there. Honestly, this feels like a bunch of gimmicky writing and attention-grabbing themes which aren't done justice. It's obtuse and up itself. Probably should have worked that out and DNFed right from the translation note at the start, to be honest.
Would not recommend. I had high hopes for this one so I'm doubly disappointed. Folks on Goodreads and Storygraph seem to rate it quite highly, though, so your mileage may vary.