Fuentes carlos

1965 · 34397 — New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux 1965. First edition and printing in English translated by Lysander Kemp. With two decorations in a native Mexican motif. 8vo in the original red cloth the upper cover with central decorative device repeated from one of those in the book embossed in purple the spine lettered in purple and green in the pink paper dustjacket decorated in a similar style. 74pp. A very fine copy with only the most trivial evidence of shelving or age both jacket and book beautifully preserved. FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH AND AN OUTSTANDING COPY of Fuentes novel known for its remarkable "dreamlike" themes and complex character carried out entirely in second-person narration. This second person point of view and and use of "you" brings the reader directly into the story.<br> Since its initial publication AURA has been an ongoing source of controversy in Mexico and Latin America. Aura is preoccupied with the place and persistence of the sacred in modern Mexico rather than simply the secret abuses of institutional Catholicism. In 2001 a former Mexican interior secretary objected to the book being on the reading list at his daughter's private school leading to the teacher's dismissal. It was also banned from public high school curricula in Puerto Rico in 2009. These controversies rekindle interest in the story thus leading to first editions becoming increasingly difficult to find. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux hardcover