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Fuentes, Carlos (Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden).
THE HYDRA HEAD.
New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Company, 1978. Hardcover. First Edition/First Printing. 292 pages. Fine/Fine. Slight creasing on DJ top, corners and edges. Very slight rubbing on black DJ . The author's seventh novel. Now considered a late-modern classic. The first appearance of the title in English. His first attempt at the thriller genre, the book represents a major departure for Carlos Fuentes after "Terra Nostra", his massive and masterly historical/fantasy novel. The title comes from the fact that the plot is extremely complex, involving numerous characters, with labyrinthine plot twists and turns worthy of the proverbial hydra-headed monster. "The first Third World spy thriller, an action-filled, quick-paced, terse novel of intrigue as contemporary as a headline" (Publisher's blurb). Dedicated to Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Claude Rains, who are all featured on the cover. Carlos Fuentes is widely regarded as Mexico's man-of-letters. He is more erudite than most other Latin-American writers and fortunate readers who have read him in the original claim that his mastery of the Spanish language is next to none among Latin-American writers in its lucidity, elegance, and sheer beauty. Among admirers of his work, he is just as highly regarded for his exquisite linguistic mastery of a very complex language, for his restless imagination, and for his genuine wisdom. This title has been out-of-print for some time. This copy is in fine condition: It is not price-clipped, remainder-marked, yellowed at the white DJ flaps or sunned at the spine. Every internal page is clean and unmarked. Many copies online have major flaws. A scarce copy thus. Winner of the Cervantes Prize in 1987, awarded to the greatest living writers in Spanish by the Spanish Government. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CARLOS FUENTES TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374173974. $45.00 |
