Reviews

The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela

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ivylucia's review against another edition

4.0

Incredible book set in the Mexican revolution. Azuela has a great voice that really puts you in that place at that time.

ericpschoon's review

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eh. I didn't really like it truthfully but I am far outside the intended audience. Looking at this through a modern American lenses may actually kill you and I can appreciate how this would have "hit different" with more context. The foreword in my edition does state that this was apparently written when Mariano was in favor of the revolutionists and turned against them as time went off in later works which is interesting because they're portrayed very negatively here.

Fog of war.

amorphousbl0b's review

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

As a look into the dark side of the Mexican Revolution, deemphasizing the grand battle of ideologies most revolutions are painted as, this is a very compelling read.

One thing I’d like to mention: the localization in this book is quite good. As the phonetic accent of a rural Mexican wouldn’t really work in English, it’s been translated to read as southern, so that a US audience will get the same connotations from the characters’ accents as the Mexican readers.

Content Warnings

karinlib's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting novel about the Mexican Revolution between the years 1913 - 1915 from an eyewitness. The author was a doctor during the war, and decided to write a novel, depicting some of his experiences. Luckily there a lot of footnotes and an introduction explaining things.

brisamar's review against another edition

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4.0

Narra una época de la historia de México y presenta una realidad donde no hay malos ni buenos sino que todas las personas buscando en un inicio sus ideales y luego lo que siempre han querido pueden abusar de otros.

klaws500's review against another edition

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4.25

"Villa? Oregón? Carranza? What do I care?... I love the Revolution like I love the volcano that's erupting! The volcano because it's a volcano; the Revolution because it's the Revolution!"

The Underdogs is a fantastic novel about a group of men (and some women) who find themselves swept up in the fighting during the Mexican Revolution. They go along fighting even though who they are fighting for changes many times and is often unclear. By the time the book ends they don't seem to really know why they are fighting at all, but they also don't seem to be able to stop. They can't really think of anything else to do.

Throughout the book they murder, rape, and pillage casually, as if it is the natural order of things. Becoming more and more cavalier, violent, and cruel as time goes on. They dehumanize the civilians they come across, and they find themselves dehumanized in turn. There are some really well developed themes on the effects of war on a people, both the innocent victims as well as the perpetrators. Highly recommend this Mexican classic.