Reviews
"Azuela . . . marries a natural gift for fiction to his eyewitness analysis. Events come quickly, and the dialogue-expertly and sometimes thrillingly rendered by translator Waisman-whips us along." - Los Angeles Times " The Underdogs stands for the Mexican Revolution as The Red Badge of Courage stands for the American Civil War." - The New York Sun "Almost a century after its first publication, Mariano Azuela's The Underdogs is as timely a documentary of war as ever. Darfur, Sarajevo, Baghdad, or Bogota; this is not only a novel of the Mexican Revolution, but also of our own contemporary madness, and Sergio Waisman's translation captures its full force and fervor." -Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street "A classic novel of the Mexican Revolution, The Underdogs is a work not only of unquestionable artistic value, but also of courage, sensitivity, and dedication by a writer of great literary and historical significance." -President Vicente Fox "Azuela, more than any other novelist of the Mexican Revolution, lifts the heavy stone of history to see what there is underneath it." -Carlos Fuentes, from the Foreword "An essential book for Mexico, about the first revolution of the twentieth century. Mariano Azuela's pen is a warm gun, and Sergio Waisman's translation, introduction, and notes are as vivid, well aimed, and sharp as the gunshots in the battle." -Elena Poniatowska "A lively translation of a Latin American classic that takes us into Mexico's violent and spirited first days." -Julio Ortega, Brown University " The Underdogs is one of the most original attempts at inventing a revolutionary style to narrate the upheaval unleashed by the Mexican Revolution. Sergio Waisman's brilliant translation replicates the rapid-fire intensity of Mariano Azuela's Spanish prose. Required reading for anyone interested in twentieth- century history." -Ruben Gallo, Princeton University "Sergio Waisman's lively new translation of this fast-paced novel skillfully captures the different dialects- peasant and lumpen-and the political rhetoric at the heart of the Mexican Revolution." -Jean Franco, Columbia University, "Mariano Azuela, more than any other novelist of the Mexican Revolution, lifts the heavy stone of history to see what there is underneath it."- Carlos Fuentes, "Azuela . . . marries a natural gift for fiction to his eyewitness analysis. Events come quickly, and the dialogue--expertly and sometimes thrillingly rendered by translator Waisman--whips us along." -- Los Angeles Times " The Underdogs stands for the Mexican Revolution as The Red Badge of Courage stands for the American Civil War." -- The New York Sun "Almost a century after its first publication, Mariano Azuela's The Underdogs is as timely a documentary of war as ever. Darfur, Sarajevo, Baghdad, or Bogota; this is not only a novel of the Mexican Revolution, but also of our own contemporary madness, and Sergio Waisman's translation captures its full force and fervor." --Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street "A classic novel of the Mexican Revolution, The Underdogs is a work not only of unquestionable artistic value, but also of courage, sensitivity, and dedication by a writer of great literary and historical significance." --President Vicente Fox "Azuela, more than any other novelist of the Mexican Revolution, lifts the heavy stone of history to see what there is underneath it." --Carlos Fuentes, from the Foreword "An essential book for Mexico, about the first revolution of the twentieth century. Mariano Azuela's pen is a warm gun, and Sergio Waisman's translation, introduction, and notes are as vivid, well aimed, and sharp as the gunshots in the battle." --Elena Poniatowska "A lively translation of a Latin American classic that takes us into Mexico's violent and spirited first days." --Julio Ortega, Brown University " The Underdogs is one of the most original attempts at inventing a revolutionary style to narrate the upheaval unleashed by the Mexican Revolution. Sergio Waisman's brilliant translation replicates the rapid-fire intensity of Mariano Azuela's Spanish prose. Required reading for anyone interested in twentieth- century history." --Ruben Gallo, Princeton University "Sergio Waisman's lively new translation of this fast-paced novel skillfully captures the different dialects-- peasant and lumpen--and the political rhetoric at the heart of the Mexican Revolution." --Jean Franco, Columbia University