Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
An unparalleled encyclopedic collaboration between award-winning Mexican-American scholar Ilan Stavans and illustrator Eko, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary features lively and informative descriptions of forty-six religious, mythical, and imaginary creatures from the Nahua, Aztecs, Maya, Tabascos, Inca, Aymara, and other cultures of Latin America.
From the siren-like Acuecueyotl and the water animal Chaac to the class-conscious Oc and the god of light and darkness, X lotl, the magnificent entities in this compendium belong to the same family of real and invented creatures imagined by Dante, Franz Kafka, C. S. Lewis, Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, and J. K. Rowling. They are mined from indigenous religious texts, like the Popol Vuh, and from chronicles, both real and fictional, of the Spanish conquest by Diego Dur n, Bernal D az del Castillo, and Fernando de Zarzamora, among others. In compiling this playful primary source, Stavans distills imagery from the work of magic realist masters such as Juan Rulfo and Gabriel Garc a M rquez, songs of protest from Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, and aboriginal beasts in Jewish, Muslim, European, British, and other traditions. In the spirit of imaginative invention, even the bibliography is a mixture of authentic and inventive material.
An inspiring record of resistance and memory from a civilization whose superb pantheon of myths never ceases to amaze, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary will delight anyone interested in the history and culture of Latin America.
Synopsis
Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, publisher of Restless Books, and host of NPR's podcast In Contrast. He is the recipient of numerous international awards and honors, and his books have been translated into twenty languages. He is the creator, along with Roberto Weil, of the graphic novel adaptation of Don Quixote of La Mancha, also published by Penn State University Press.
Eko is an artist and illustrator. His engravings are featured in Ilan Stavans's The Return of Carvajal: A Mystery, also published by Penn State University Press.