The Labyrinth of Solitude: The Other Mexico, Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexico and the U.S.A., The Philanthropic Ogre

''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 teaching method. ''We have ceased to be springs of living water.'' (27) (Probably Biblical reference to Jeremiah's warning to apostate Jews . . . ‘Because my people have done two bad things: They have abandoned me, the source of living water, And dug for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.’) Paz received Nobel prize for this work. Comes from deep within his soul. Heartfelt, insightful, torn from anguish and love. Astounding! Chapters - The Pachuco and other extremes Mexican Masks The Day of the Dead The Sons of La Malinche The conquest and Colonialism From independence to the revolution The Mexican Intelligentsia The present day The Dialectic of Solitude Paz starts with a psychological/philosophical explanation of the Mexican mind. For example . . . ''Past epochs never vanish completely, and blood drips from all their wounds, even the most ancient. Sometimes the most remote or hostile beliefs and feelings are found together in one city or one soul, or are superimposed like those pre-Cortesian pyramids that always conceal others.'' (12) Paz then adds a fascinating footnote . . . ''In our history there are many examples of this superimposition: the neofeudalism of the Porfirio Díaz regime, using positivism to justify itself historicaly; Antonio Caso and José Vasconcelos, the intellectual initiators of the revolution, using the ideas of Boutroux and Bergson to combat positivism; socialist education in a country at least incipiently capitalist. These apparent contradictions all demand a new examination of our history and also our culture.'' (12) Think of the breadth of reading and depth of insight revealed in this paragraph! This work includes the essay - ''Mexico and the United States''. . . ''In 1917 the October revolution in Russia kindled the hopes of millions' in 1979, the word ''gulag'' has become synonymous with Soviet socialism. The founders of the socialist movement firmly believed would put an end not only to the exploitation of men but to war' in the second half of the twentieth century, totalitarian ''socialism'' have enslaved the working class by stripping it of its basic rights. . . . The ideological wars of the twentieth century are no less ferocious than the wars of religion of the seventeenth century.'' (374) Many scholars have now made the same connection. ''When I was young, the idea that we were witnessing the final crisis of capitalism was fashionable among intellectuals. Now we understand that the crisis is not of a socioeconomic system but that of our whole civilization.'' (374) ‘Crisis of civilization’! Who can doubt it? ''The sickness of the west is moral rather than social and economic. . . . But the real, most profound discord lies in the soul. The future has become the realm of horror, and the present has turned into a desert.'' (374) ‘Moral sickness’! Why? ''The empty place left by Christianity in the modern soul is filled not by philosophy but by the crudest superstitions.'' (375) What ‘crude superstitions’? Well . . . nationalism, racism, materialism, scientism; i.e. - ‘worship of abstract nouns’. This edition has no bibliography or index. (See also, ''Portrait of Mexico'', by Diego Rivera/Bertram Wolfe; ''The Revolt of the Masses'' by Jóse Ortega y Gasset. Fascinating!)

An interesting read, if a bit reductive and over-negative about the Mexican identity. A professor of mine criticized some Mexican schools' decision to have high school students read it--he thinks they are too young and will internalize negativity and become desolate of their heritage/history. Even still, I found this book extremely transformative and enjoyable. I bought a copy in the original Spanish for my father.

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.

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.

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.

Fascinating Exposure of a hugely interesting complex mind

This is such an amazing book. It was on my list to read for many years. When I bought it to read, when it had arrived my daughter she grasped it and used for word history class. That is worked for her too. if you want to understand Mexican sense this is the book for!

I have not read the entire book. I bought it to read the chapter on All Souls Day for a report I was writing. This author is very popular with many people exploring Mexican culture. It seems well-researched and has a good blend of imaginative prose and historic information. It is not a fast read and sometimes seems a little too dense. It is one person's take on interpreting the Mexican soul which is much more complex than I imagined. I plan to read more of it to better understand the history of the country and its people just south of the AZ border.

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

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.

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

Work of art

excellent