Why read Battles in the Desert?

Book cover of Battles in the Desert

Book description

This landmark novella-one of the central texts of Mexican literature, is eerily relevant to our current dark times-offers a child's-eye view of a society beset by dictators, disease, and natural disasters, set in "the year of polio, foot-and-mouth disease, floods." A middle-class boy grows up in a world of children…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Battles in the Desert as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Mario Acevedo

Author

I loved this poignant, colorful, and nostalgic look at life in Mexico City during the 1940’s. A young Carlos falls in love with his best friend’s mother, the misbegotten attraction launching an emotional odyssey that sends him through a landscape of class struggle and corruption. In his search for love and truth, Carlos sees his innocence chipped away by repeated episodes of hypocrisy and moral failure, from himself and those around him. “Love is a disease where only hatred is natural.”

From Mario's 3 favorite reads in 2024.