You Dreamed of Empires

A Novel

De: Álvaro Enrigue, Natasha Wimmer - translator

Narrado por: Gabriel Porras

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF 2024

A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Short, strange, spiky and sublime.” —Dwight Garner, New York Times

“Funny, ghastly, eye-opening, marvelous.” —Wall Street Journal

From the visionary author of Sudden Death, a hallucinatory, revelatory colonial revenge story.

One morning in 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés enters the city of Tenochtitlan – today's Mexico City. Later that day, he will meet the emperor Moctezuma in a collision of two worlds, two empires, two languages, two possible futures.

Cortés is accompanied by his captains, his troops, his prized horses, and his two translators: Friar Aguilar, a taciturn friar, and Malinalli, an enslaved, strategic Nahua princess. After nearly bungling their entrance to the city, the Spaniards are greeted at a ceremonial welcome meal by the steely Aztec princess Atotoxtli, sister and wife of Moctezuma. As they await their meeting with the emperor – who is at a political and spiritual crossroads, and relies on hallucinogens to get by – Cortés and his entourage are ensconced in the labyrinthine palace. Soon, one of Cortés’s captains, Jazmín Caldera, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place, begins to question the ease with which they were welcomed into the city, and wonders at the chances of getting out alive, much less conquering the empire. And what if... they don't?

You Dreamed of Empires brings Tenochtitlan to life at its height, and reimagines its destiny. The incomparably original Álvaro Enrigue sets afire the moment of conquest and turns it into a moment of revolution, a restitutive, fantastical counterattack, in a novel so electric and so unique that it feels like a dream.

©2024 Alvaro Enrigue (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Short, strange, spiky and sublime. It’s a historical novel, a great speckled bird of a story, set in 1519 in what is now Mexico City. Empires are in collision and the vibe is hallucinatory.... Enrigue, who is clearly a major talent, has delivered a humane comedy of manners that is largely about paranoia (is today the day my head will be lopped off?) and the quotidian bummers of life, even if you are powerful beyond belief."
—Dwight Garner, New York Times

“Sublime absurdities... abound in this delirious historical fantasia, which can be said to be many things: funny, ghastly, eye-opening, marvelous and frequently confounding.” —Wall Street Journal

"This salty and dark historical fantasia feistily explodes well-worn textbook narratives about the meeting of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his captains with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma and his entourage in Tenoxtitlan . . . Enrigue’s depiction of the stressed-out, clumsy Cortés and the drugged-out, mercurial Moctezuma sets these near-mythical figures into earthy relief . . . Natasha Wimmer’s English translation sharply delivers the novel’s poetic and witty qualities, while at the same time reveling in its core theme: the fundamental untranslatability of human experience." —NPR, 2024 "Books We Love"

Original point of view

This was a brutal book with a bit too much rape, cannibalism murder etc for me.,

Increíble

Enrigue speaks directly to the heart and soul and captivates the reader from the very start . The narrator’s style, pacing, and emphasis add a richness to the incredible text. A text that feels like a second skin and elicits a sense of pride for Mexico and for Mexicans everywhere. The blending of languages helps the reader to appreciate the encounters amongst the tremendous personalities of this story. I await the next book in this series and a movie adaptation!! 10/10

Fascinating

The author did a wonderful job transporting the reader back to the early days of European encounter. What were the lives and habits of local people? How did they live? And what did they think of the odd Spaniards who arrived on their shores?
I was particularly moved by the author’s description of the strange beasts that arrived with Cortes, horses.

Maybe better reading this than listening to it

I was really excited to listen to this book. Not only because of the many positive reviews, etc., but I live in a Spanish speaking country and thought it would be fun to listen to a latino read about the "Aztecs" etc. Well, boy was I WRONG. The reason is rather simple, this is a not a book to casually listen to as you work, walk, drive, etc. It requires listening carefully. You are literally INUNDATED with names, the likes of which are somewhat similar and have lovely complex sounds (the author claims the brain loves to make these necessary connections) but my brain was simply and truly overwhelmed. I was only able to keep up with a small handful of the characters (Monteczuma, La Malinche, Aguilar) but the rest of the characters (and don't get me started on the different factions/tribes) ended up feeling like important words placed in a blender and turned on high. It was just a bunch of blah....blah....blah...Don't get me wrong, it has parts that are beautifully written and described, but due in part to the heavy accent of the narrator and the complexity of the language/dialect, it is NOT my choice for an enjoyable listening experience.

A dream with in a dream

What a trip. You are apart of someone’s dream wither you know it or not

The story I’ve been waiting for!

Fantastic imagery. Brutality. If you have ever wondered about the magnificent empires of Mexico. What an encounter between Montezuma and Cortez may have looked like? This is it.

Revenge by storytelling

Satisfying revisited history of the encounter between Montezuma and Cortes. Very beautiful storytelling that gives justice to mesoamerican civilizations over the western colonizers. Lovely incorporation of culinary symbols, psychedelic ceremonies, and vibrant decorative elements.

The world and atmosphere.

Loved the pacing. Found the many perspectives at times challenging. Overall this was an incredible account of a fascinating period in history.

Aztec meets Castaneda …

A very different story of the “conquest” from an interesting viewpoint … sort of a surreal history in an updated mode of writing. Very enjoyable.

Fascinating and difficult to follow.

I liked the story, and at the same time, it was difficult to follow. The names of characters were all unfamiliar and difficult to keep straight. This was further complicated by the narrator’s fairly strong accent. I would buy a kindle copy if it was available, and think it would help. A PDF of characters and relationships would have helped too. At this point, I’m worn out by trying to track what’s going on and suspending my listen.