Mariano Azuela

Azuela, Mariano 

Born Jan. 1, 1873, in Lagos de Moreno; died Mar. 1, 1952, in Mexico City. Mexican writer.

In his novels The Defeated (1908) and The Tall Weeds (1909), Azuela critically depicted the social life of Mexico during the Díaz dictatorship. He participated in the Revolution of 1910 and was the author of the first novel devoted to its historical events, The Underdogs (1916; Russian translation, 1960), which initiated a whole literary current known as the novel of the Mexican revolution. After a period of enthusiasm for surrealism (his novels of the 1920’s), he returned to the realistic depiction of life, which he perceived pessimistically. In his novels Comrade Pantoja (1937), Regina Landa (1939), The New Bourgeoisie (1941), and The Curse (1955, posthumously), he presents a satirical picture of life in postrevolutionary Mexico, sharply and angrily stigmatizing demagoguery and political intrigue.

WORKS

Obras completas, vol. 1–3.Mexico City, 1958–60.

REFERENCES

Vinnichenko, I. “Roman Te, kto vnizu i ego mesto ν tvorcheskoi evoliutsii Mariano Asuely.” In Meksikanskii realisticheskii roman XX v. Moscow, 1960.
Kuteishchikova, V. N. Roman Latinskoi Ameriki ν XX v. Moscow, 1964.
Torres-Rioseco, A. Grandes novelistas de la América Hispana, vol. 1.Berkeley-Los Angeles, 1941.
Leal, L. Mariano Azuela: Vida ν obra. Mexico City, 1961.

V. N. KUTEISHCHIKOVA,,