Mexico (Random House Large Print) [Large Print] [Paperback]

I have read many of Michcner's books and found many style similarities with this one as well. Unlike Chesapeake, and Centennial, and Texas, and others, we spend more time in the present (1960s) looking at the current events surrounding the three-day Festival of Flowers and its bull fights, and a bit less looking at the historical pathways leading up to it. My favorite aspect of Michener books is the historical parts which is why I only gave this book 4 of 5 stars. The characters are definitely multi-dimensional, however, and Michener ties in all timelines of the novel well. I was left with a much greater insight into the psyche of the Mexican people. An overall excellent read.

Michener says it himself in the closing pages of MEXICO: There has to be more to Mexico than bullfighting. But in reading this novel about the country, you would hardly know it. Set around a journalist, Norman Clay, who is covering a bullfight, the reader is offered only tempting tidbits of what Mexico has to offer. I read JM's TEXAS, last year, which contained large portions that included descriptions and events in Mexico. I assumed MEXICO would be more in depth and touch upon the rich culture of the Aztecs. I was somewhat disappointed.

Though MEXICO did provide glimpses into the past of the Indians living in Mexico before the Spaniards came, the clashes with Cortez and the Conquistadors was sorely missing. The Spanish rape of Mexico was barely tapped and I really wanted to read more about the politics that shaped today's nation of Mexico. JM shortchanged the Mexican and Mexico with this book. TEXAS was so brilliantly written, I guess lightening couldn't strike twice.

On the up side, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about bullfighting. Though brief, the sections on the early Indians and the building of the pyramids was vivid and informative.

Forty-five years ago, James A. Michener walked away from a novel he was writing about Mexico. He had "run out of steam" and decided that some time away from the work would be beneficial. In July of 1992, his notes and manuscripts were rediscovered. Keeping the core of his original work, Michener completed the novel that was published as "Mexico". Although not perfect, it was a very entertaining and extremely interesting 672 pages.

The story involves Norman Clay, and American journalist of Mexican ancestry who has been sent to Toledo, Mexico (the fictional city of his birth), to cover the 1961 Izmiq Festival for a New York magazine. Expecting a spectacular bullfight on the third day of the festival, Clay fills his thoughts with childhood memories and a history of the city as seen from the perspective of his forebears. The landscape of Toledo, dominated by an ancient pyramid and a 16th century cathedral, provides the colorful setting for Michener's often sentimental journey into Mexico's past.

"Mexico" draws the reader into a universe where time is fluid and events that happened 1400 years ago seem just as current and relevant as the contemporary Ixmiq Festival. This idea of connection is Michener's central theme. Early in the book, Clay says, "I could look nowhere without seeing the handiwork of someone in my family, stretching back for more than a thousand years, tied to the harsh red soil of Mexico." The land, its history and its people are the chords that bind life in Mexico together.

Michener has created this historically based world, and filled it with characters who speak and react as real people do for a dual purpose. The technique creates an environment in which the reader can enjoy beautiful sunsets, the grandeur of a proud and ancient civilization, or the intricacies of the bull ring while Michener explores historical, sociological and human issues in an unassming and entertaining manner.

The son of a Mexican mother and an American father, Norman Clay personalizes and symbolizes the ancient and ongoing struggle of opposing forces in Mexico. Clay's need to rediscover a sense of purpose and belonging in his life is an important thread that weaves through the novel.

Michener's descriptions of the fictional civilization of the Drunken Builders, who constructed the pyramid at Toledo is one of the strongest parts of the book. As a result of their excessively comfortable and peaceful existence, the Drunken Builders eventually lost their connection with the things and ideas that gave value and purpose to their lives.

As the Builders' culture declined, they became aware of an enemy that threatened to destroy them, and yet they did not prepare for defense. Instead, they "began to speculate on what life would be like if the invaders triumphed". When they were finally invaded by an aggressor inferior in both numbers and character, they meekly accepted the destruction of their once proud and powerful society.

Michener is very skilled at bringing characters to life, that when the invaders simply walk into the city and conquer it without a struggle, the sense of tragedy, waste and foolishness is almost palpable.

"Mexico", although not perfect, did strike a deep chord. Michener clearly sees and delineates the need to be in some way connected, somehow a part of something more important than ourselves. History is the backdrop on which the mosaic of life gains its value and permanence. Michener uses the past as both a tool and a foundation; his characters gain greater understanding of themselves through knowledge of the past.