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Fuentes, Carlos (Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden) : The Hydra Head

Farrar, Straus & Company, New York City, NY, 1978

ISBN 0374173974

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 292 pages. The author's seventh novel. One of Carlos Fuentes' finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Carlos Fuentes' "The Hydra Head" in a felicitous English translation. His first, triumphant attempt at the spy thriller-genre novel. The book represents a major departure for Carlos Fuentes after "Terra Nostra", his massive and masterly historical/fantasy novel. The title comes from the fact that the plot is extremely complex, involving numerous characters, with labyrinthine plot twists and turns worthy of the proverbial hydra-headed monster. "The first Third World spy thriller, an action-filled, quick-paced, terse novel of intrigue as contemporary as a headline" (Publisher's blurb). Dedicated to Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Claude Rains, who are all featured on the cover. Widely regarded as Mexico's man-of-letters, Fuentes was more erudite than most other Latin-American writers. Readers who have read him in the original claim that his mastery of the Spanish language is next to none among Latin-American writers in its lucidity, elegance, and beauty. He is highly regarded not just for his exquisite mastery of a very complex language but also for his restless imagination and genuine wisdom. Carlos Fuentes died on May 15, 2012 at the age of 83. To his credit, President Felipe Calderon was one of the very first to announce his death, a gesture that would be unheard-of from a political leader in America when one considers that Fuentes was such a vehement and often despairing critic of his country. Calderon was right to say that Fuentes' death is a loss to Mexico and world literature. An absolute "must-have" title for Carlos Fuentes collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black pen on the front free endpaper by Carlos Fuentes. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First American Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Unlike copies available online, it is NOT price-clipped, remainder-marked, yellowed at the white DJ flaps, or sunned at the spine. Every internal page is clean and unmarked. Copies available online have such serious flaws, but are priced as though they had collectible value. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Winner of the Cervantes Prize in 1987, awarded to the greatest living writers in Spanish by the Spanish Government. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CARLOS FUENTES TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374173974.

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