Top 20 Latin American Books To Read Before You Die [PHOTOS]

Top 20 Latin American Books To Read
Latin Times has put together a list of 20 Latin American themed books you must read before you die. Think of it as your bucket list of books. Top20LatinAmericanBooks
20. Like Water For Chocolate
Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is set during the end of the 12th- century. Tita De La Garza is the youngest daughter of a family living in Mexico. Each of the book’s 12 chapters takes place during one month of Tita’s life. At the beginning of each chapter the author features a recipe that is usually prepared and consumed by the characters in each chapter. The reader is taken on a journey and watches as Tita searches for love and tries to achieve her own independence. Barnes and Noble
19. No One Writes To The Colonel
This Gabriel García Márquez book tells the story of a retired army colonel hoping to receive the pension he was promised and earned while fighting in the Thousand Days’ War. The novel is set during a time in Colombia known as “La Violencia” when the government ruled using martial law and censorship. Barnes and Noble
18. The Labyrinth of Solitude
Probably Octavio Paz most famous work, "Labyrinth" is a collection of nine essays which according to the introduction by H. Bloom “are predominantly concerned with the theme of Mexican identity and demonstrate how at the end of the existential labyrinth there is a profound feeling of solitude.” Amazon
17. Love in the Time of Cholera
Ypu have to read this gem by Gabriel Garcia Marquez about the hopelessly in love Florentino. His beautiful Fermina is desperately in love with Florentino as well but decides to marry wealthy abandoning a heartbroken Florentino. Always the romantic Florentino has numerous affairs trying to fill a void left by his beloved Fermina. Fifty years after they first say “I love you” Fermina is burring her husband and Florentino attends the funeral ready to give Fermina his heart again. Will the newly windowed Fermina accept it this time? Or will she break Florentino’s heart once again? Barnes and Noble
16. Death And The Maiden
Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Chile, Dorfman explored the Pinochet regimen with an extraordinary play of three characters that has been represented in many stages around the world. It success was so big, it was published by Penguin after Roman Polanski took it to the big screen with Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley in two riveting performances. Penguin
15. The Death Of Artemio Cruz
Carlos Fuentes quintessential book is best described by goodreads.com which says the book has been “hailed as a masterpiece since its publication in 1962.” It is known as a “haunting voyage into the soul of modern Mexico.” “As in all his fiction…Fuentes is a passionate guide to the ironies of Mexican history, the burden of the past and the anguish of the present.” Barnes and Noble
14. The Golden Age
José Martí is the most important writer to emerge from Cuba. One of his novels, The Golden Age, is especially important for children, hence why one edition was translated as The Shrimp. Marti's perspective was that of an anti-colonialist and champion of justice. He catered to children as a way of turning out future adults who would also champion liberty. Amazon
13. Before Night Falls
This book by Reinaldo Arenas was named a New York Times Best of 1993. It is the memoir of Reinaldo Arenas a former subject of Castro’s Cuba. He goes on a journey beginning in Cuba and ending in New York City. His is suppressed as a writer and imprisoned for being gay. Learn about the incredible life of one of the “most visionary writers” of his generation. Barnes and Noble
12. Kiss Of The Spider Woman
Manuel Puig tells the story of two men sharing a prison cell. Valentin is a Marxist, unaware that his cell mate Molina is feeding the prison guards information about his revolutionary ideas. Molina and Valentin have been imprisoned for six-months and Molina keeps busy by telling Valentin stories about his favorite movies. Eventually Molina and Valentin fall in love and once released from prison go on to spread Marx’s revolutionary ideas. Will Valentin ever learn the truth about his lover? Does Molina really believe in the Marxist cause? Barnes and Nobel
11. Todos Los Fuegos El Fuego (All The Fires The Fire)
This story by Julio Cortázar was first published in 1966. It takes the reader on a journey through a series of the author’s short stories, eight in total, with humor, parody and human tenderness. Barnes and Noble
10. Aunt Julia And the Scriptwriter
Mario Vargas Llosa's masterpiece is the story of Julia an older woman who has just moved back to Peru following her divorce. She is on the hunt for a new man with enough money to support her lavish lifestyle but instead comes across her lust filled nephew Varguitas. The pair begin a love affair to the dismay and disgust of their family and community. Good Reads says “Llosa juggles a madcap cast of characters and carouses through a world of forbidden passion, in a novel the New York Times Book Review named one of the twelve best of 1982.” Barnes and Noble
9. Rayuela
The masterpiece by Julio Cortázar is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Often described as a counter novel Rayuela plays with the reader’s mind. It has multiple endings and is actually two novels in one. The first book takes the reader on a journey through the life of Horacio Oliveria an intellectual who is involved in a passionate love affair but does not share the same feelings of love his Lucia feels toward him. The second book follows Oliveria’s childhood friend, Manolo Traveler. This second book is darker with a foreboding sense as Traveler is warned his old friend is about to return. What will happen to these two as they reunite? Why does Traveler dread Oliveria’s arrival? amazon.com
8. The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta
Another Mario Vargas Llosa gem, according to Google books is “set in Peru during a war between U.S Marines and a Cuban-Bolivian revolutionary army, this fictional memoir characterizes the evolution of a revolutionary, in a powerful psychological portrait of the fanaticism and destruction of revolution.” amazon.com
7. Fictions
Jorge Luis Borges is not an easy read. So if you want to get introduced to his wonderful word of literature, you might start with "Fictions", a collection of short stories. Once you have a grasp on his complicated narrative, you can move up to his next recommended read, "Labyrinths." Amazon
6. Tear This Heart Out
Extraordinary, passionate, fun, wildly imaginative are some of the adjectives that can apply to this book that sports an unfortunate title. The original title in Spanish, "Arráncame la vida" or "Tear My Life Apart", makes more sense as woman married to a politician --said to be based on a real life PRI governor-- who has to endure all his infidelities and crimes. But how does he love her. He adores her with every bit of his being. It's full of dark humor too. The film was adapted to the big screen with Daniel Giménez Cacho on the main role. Amazon
5. Death In Andes
Mario Vargos Llosa's most important book was first published in 1993, the book is divided into two parts and each chapter is broken up into sections. The story follows the character Corporal Lituma and is a fictional account of experiences the author had while he was a leader in the Peruvian government in 1983.
4. The Alchemist
The masterpiece by Brazilian Paulo Coelho tells the story of Santiago, a young Shepard boy who dreams of adventure. Each time the boy falls asleep under an old sycamore tree he dreams a child visits him and tells him about a buried treasure at the foot of Egypt’s pyramids. Santiago is told by an old gypsy woman to go to the pyramids and find the treasure. Pick up or download a copy to find out what happens to Santiago on his mystical journey. Barnes and Nobel
3. The House of the Spirits
The most important book by a Latin American contemporary writer is Allende's story of love, loyalty and clairvoyance. Clara del Valle is a young woman with the ability to see the future. Unable to stop some of the events she sees, like the death of a sister Clara stops speaking for nine-years. Her path then changes when she marries her deceased sister’s fiancé and has to deal with the death of her parents. Barnes and Noble
2. The Savage Detectives
This Chilean novelist became a major sensation in New York with this best-seller about "two modern-day Quixotes--the last survivors of an underground literary movement, perhaps of literature itself--on a tragicomic quest through a darkening, entropic universe: our own.", as described in the back cover. Amazon
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude
No surprises here. No other work other than Gabriel Garcia Marquez's stunning achievement has been so magical. Using "realismo mágico", or magical impossibilities, it tells the story of the fictional town of Macondo. The story is told through the eyes of the Buendía family. The town once an isolated solitary civilization faces death and civil war when they decided to communicate with the outside world. Barnes and Noble

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Reading can be one of life's great joys. To some there is nothing better than curling up with a good book, getting all snuggly under a blanket and letting your imagination take over. Great literature can transport the reader to far off places where magic and myth come to life.

If far off fantastical places aren't your thing maybe you prefer romance. A subject matter where you can picture yourself as the hero or heroine fighting for your true love. Perhaps you are more interested in classic literature or a good biography, something to really get your brain moving. Something that would make you ask "What would I do in their place?

Whatever you fancy as a good read there are certain books that one should have on their shelf. Or to put it in today's terms there are certain books one must have on their E-reader.

Latin Times has put together a list of 20 Latin American themed books you must read before you die. Think of it as your bucket list of books.

The themes and genres of the books on this list range from classic, to modern to biography. Each book was carefully selected and thought to be great reads.

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