Peter Owen Modern Classics S.
1 total work
'We Americans have lost the world'. Controversial on publication for its explicit and prophetic criticism of globalisation and big business, "The Cyclone" is one of nobel laureate Miguel Angel Asturias' most impassioned works. Drawing a moving, heartfelt portrait of his native Guatemala, the book describes the struggle of those who were lured to work on the banana plantations for a large American company. Beaten down by back-breaking labour, the tropical heat , poverty and disease those who live in this unforgiving landscape nevertheless show themselves to have a strong community, rife with song, mythology and black magic. "The Cyclone" is also the story of Lester Rimes, a disaffected American who rises to lead the resistance against the Banana company, organising a local cooperative and funding ever more imaginative schemes to thwart big business. The whole is a gripping magical realist novel that pre-dates and indeed was instrumental in ushering in the literary 'boom' in Latin America, influencing writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Isabel Allende.