Reviews

The Underdogs, by Mariano Azuela

natalia_zara's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A grand book that is so hard to read. The essays included in this critical edition bring to light it's wonder and beauty but to read the book itself, to delve deep in both english and spanish is to feel nothing more than a vacillation. It feels so much like Azuela sees the failures of a revolution from his letrado view and we must come to terms with it 

kingofreads101's review against another edition

3.0

I got lost in the fast paced nature of the book but I loved how some of the scenes were so descriptive it painted a picture in my head. Also, the book did a really good job of portraying the poor people. Apart from being lost in the middle of the book it was a good read!

geraldinecarlos13's review against another edition

3.0

3.5
Realmente pensaba que no me iba a gustar, sin embargo me sorprendió y me gustó. Creo que realmente plasma muy bien la revolución mexicana y esto de ¿para que luchamos? Y lo que criticamos, nos terminamos volviendo como ellos, fue interesante.

nat_wegas7's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sonoraslater's review against another edition

3.0

Read it for my Latin America Social Revolutions class in the span of like two hours last night — definitely kept me engaged, even if it wasn't necessarily something I wanted to be reading about.

cytlaly's review against another edition

3.0

quizás es porque no sé leer o quizás es porque fue un libro aburrido

hectorip's review against another edition

4.0

Es un libro que narra episódicamente las peripecias y hazañas de Demetrio Macías, en el contexto de la Revolución Mexicana. Deja muy claro cómo vivía la mayoría de las personas de aquel entonces y cómo eran sistemáticamente oprimidos por las clases dominantes y por el gobierno, en grado extremo. Después de ver varias situaciones entiendes por qué la gente admiraba a los revolucionarios y por qué vieron en ellos una esperanza. Sin embargo, también deja claras todas las cosas malas así como las cosas qu no iban a cambiar después de la resolución y lo estéril de ese tipo de conflictos humanos.

No disfruté tanto el formato de episodios semi-aislados, además de que el autor usa lenguaje demasiado culto en algunas partes y demasiado jerga popular y los dos son difíciles de entender.

Es un libro muy valioso para entender el contexto de la Revolución Mexicana de una persona que lo vio de primera mano.

tastethepainfaby's review against another edition

adventurous

3.0

musubi_mumma's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

whybrywhy's review against another edition

dark informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

A book whose themes and moments are more intriguing than it’s characters or plot. The translation of this edition was wooden and stilted, but the lessons you can glean from its pages are worth the short read. This is a book that is incredible more as an historical artifact than as a piece of literature.