Like Fuentes''s masterpiece THE DEATH OF ARTEMIO CRUZ, the action in this new novel begins in the state of Veracruz and moves to Mexico City. Now the principal figure Fuentes''s first female protagonist, the extraordinary Laura Diaz. From 1905 to 1978 Fuentes traces Laura Diaz; a life filled with a multitude of witty, heartbreaking scenes and the sounds and colours, tastes and scents of Mexico. Laura grows into a politically committed artist who is also a wife and mother, a lover of great men, and a complicated and alluring heroine whose bravery prevails despite her losing a brother, son, and grandson to the darkest forces of Mexico''s turbulent, often corrupt politics. Hers is a life which has helped to affect the course of history, and it is the story of a woman who has loved and understood with unflinching honesty.>
Here is a true literary eventyes'>#8211;the longawaited new novel by Carlos Fuentes, one of the worldyes'>#8217;s great writers. By turns a tragedy and a farce, an acidic black comedy and an indictment of modern politics, The Eagleyes'>#8217;s Throne is a seriously entertaining and perceptive story of international intrigue, sexual deception, naked ambition, and treacherous betrayal.In the near future, at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Mexicoyes'>#8217;s idealistic president has dared to vote against the U.S. occupation of Colombia and Washingtonyes'>#8217;s refusal to pay OPEC prices for oil. Retaliation is swift. Concocting a yes'>#8220;glitchyes'>#8221; in a Florida satellite, Americayes'>#8217;s president cuts Mexicoyes'>#8217;s communications systemsyes'>#8211;no phones, faxes, or emailsyes'>#8211;and plunges the country into an administrative nightmare of colossal proportions.Now, despite the motto that yes'>#8220;a Mexican politician never puts anything in writing,yes'>#8221; people have no choice but to communicate through letters, which Fuentes crafts with a keen understanding of manyes'>#8217;s motives and desires. As the blizzard of activity grows more and more complex, political adversaries come out to prey. The ineffectual president, his scheming cabinet secretary, a thuggish and ruthless police chief, and an unscrupulous, sensual kingmaker are just a few of the fascinating characters maneuvering and jockeying for position to achive the power they all so desperately crave.From the Hardcover edition.
