Trozas (Jungle Novels) [Paperback]

Trozas, Spanish for logs, is the fourth of six "Jungle Novels" by B. Traven, about the birth of the Mexican Revolution. The story centers around the exploitation of slave-laborers on a mahogany plantation, known as a monteria. There is little in the way of a conventional plot. Traven assumes the role of anthropologist as he explains the layout of a monteria, its power structure, the brutal methods used to exploit the Mexican Indians, and details of the daily grind they suffer as they cut down the trees, haul them with the aid of oxen through dense humid jungle which is infested with mosquitoes and biting flies, poisonous snakes, scorpions, panthers, and the cutting whips of the overseers. Though Traven's focus is on the corruption of the Diaz regime (1876-1910), the events that brought about his downfall, the social structure which places the illiterate dark-skinned Indians at the mercy of exploitive light-skinned Spaniards, the scheming-as-matter-of-policy among the local officials - from the police chiefs, judges, and tax assessors to the doctors, priests, monteria contractors and fincerias (the powerful landowners)- ultimately the book powerfully illustrates man's inhumanity to man. I was shocked and outraged - as I turned the pages - at the social structure which allowed this injustice to exist. (It is clear if one watches Mexican television programs - with light-skinned European looking men and women holding political office and on the soap operas and news, as well as the vast numbers of dark-skinned Indians migrating north to the U.S. in search of opportunity, that sadly little has changed since the Mexican Revolution). Trozas is also about human dignity in the face overwhelming suffering. Trozas is a grim book in a grim series of books, but an important one that needs to be read, for it enlightens the reader not only about Mexican history and the rise of the Mexican Revolution, but about the politics of evil and one aspect of the human condition. Traven has an easy, flowing style. He creates vivid characters and memorable scenes. He has an excellent ear for dialogue. Long after reading the book one can see and feel and hear the jungle and the pitiless human struggle for existence within it. This is a truly classic series of books which are gaining in popularity, especially on college campuses in Latino and ethnic studies classes. Traven for years languished in semi-obscurity, though he was once nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature. As the wave of class, race, ethnic, and gender studies has grown over the past two decades, Traven is being re-evaluated by critics and readers and is justly gaining in popularity and prestige.

I don't think I could add more than the Julian Barham review except to say, I love this book! This is the fourth book of the jungle series. I would recommend that one read the jungle series in order (i.e., Government, Carreta, March to the Monteria, Trozas, Rebellion of the Hanged, General from the Jungle). It is not absolutely necessary to read them in order but some characters show up in the later books (e.g., Don Gabriel from "Goverment" is referred to quite often, and Andres from "the Carreta" is present in the March to the Monteria and Trozas, amongst others). The characters from previous books are not necessarily covered in detail, so having this background of info about them sort of solidifies the story. The path of the characters is intertwined throughout the series.

I usually don't assign myself to such reading, like it's some sort of required reading for a class but in my opinion this is some of the most insightful and compelling writing I have ever read. Go Traven!

I trully enjoyed the book, once I picked it up I could not put it down. I never realized the hard work and effort taken to bring us the mahogony. And the life of the indians under the rule of the "Patrones", conquistadores. Slavery was not legal in Mexico, instead a life long debt was incurred to keep the peasants supressed and deprived of their freedom.