As an integral part of both North America and Latin America, Mexico is rich in its ancient culture, diverse landscapes, vibrant cuisine, thriving arts, and warm-hearted people. It’s the land that brings us ancient traditions of the Maya and Aztecs, tequila and mezcal, the murals of Diego Rivera, and the paintings of Frida Kahlo. Before you go, check out these books from Mexico to learn more about this magical location.
8 books to read about Mexico
Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel
Laura Esquivel is a Mexican novelist that reached worldwide recognition and an international audience after publishing her novel Like Water for Chocolate in 1989. The story revolves around Tita, the youngest daughter in the family who has settled as her mother’s caregiver and is not allowed to pursue the love of her life, Pedro. With their love seeming impossible, she is forced to distract her despair and express herself through cooking. This novel will have you reading non-stop, switching emotions, and leave you with an unexpected ending.
Tear This Heart Out
The beautiful yet eventful love story of Catalina Guzman, a young woman escaping her humble lifestyle by marrying a retired general who has his goal settle to become a governor. Set in the 1930s after the violent Mexican revolution, the very temperamental, passionate, young, and naïve Catalina realizes how much she is disliking the rules of her new lifestyle, making her seek her freedom and liberation. She finds herself being the protagonist of her own story along with her ambitions and sacrifices, with some bumps and mistakes on the road that lead to risks and fear as she grows from a girl to a woman.
For more on Mastretta’s writing, head to her blog, and enjoy!
The Lacuna
This one-of-a-kind novel by the proclaimed Barbara Kingsolver tells the story of Harrison Shepherd, a born and raised American man who ventures around Mexico in the 1930s. After hopping around different households and working for different people he is filled with fear, uncertainty, and no real sense of home. It is then and there that he ends up meeting the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and his lover Frida Kahlo -- who show him the beauty and magical culture and history of the Aztecs, an ancient indigenous people of Mexico. While Shepherd goes through a lot of self-discovery working for different people, the U.S. is soon caught in the World War II conflict, making him feel torn between north and south. Kingsolver provides the reader with a clear representation of how history, culture, and the public opinion of a subject can really shape one’s way of living.
Down the Rabbit Hole
In his first darkly humorous novel, Villalobos captures a Tochtli’s journey living in a very uncommon household and surrounded by bizarre characters. Tochtli is just a child living in a luxurious palace -- and like any other average kid, he is very curious and playful. He is constantly found reading words from a dictionary, acting like a samurai, and wearing hats. As a child who always gets what he wants from his father, a drug lord about to take over a powerful cartel, his current whim is a pygmy hippopotamus from Liberia to include in his private zoo. Even though this chronicle sounds crazy and delusional, it was the actual reality of many families living and thriving in situations where drugs, corruption, and violence granted every wish.
Leaving Tabasco
The story of young Delmira Ulloa and her journey to adulthood in the small Mexican province of Tabasco. Her father went missing when she was incredibly young, which left her growing up in an all-female household and helped her become a woman with a great sense of humor and a lot of imagination. She decides to search for her missing father when she becomes a woman – forcing her to leave her home and embark on a new adventure. Little did she know, she would not be going back to Tabasco. Boullosa’s way of writing gives the story a special charm, leaving an unforgettable tale to all its readers.
Head to Boullosa’s website for more glimpse of her written pieces!
Nothing, Nobody: The Voices of the Mexico City Earthquake
by Elena Poniatowska
Mexico City is known as a common location for earthquakes; with one of the worst ones occurring in the early morning of September 19, 1985. Elena Poniatowska or Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor was born to a French father with Polish heritage and a Mexican mother but raised in France. She was 9 years old when she and her family moved to Mexico City enjoying a very privileged lifestyle where she learned English while attending a private British school. Her Spanish developed from talking to the maids that worked in her hourse and the people she met on the streets. She gained a sense of belonging to and understanding of the Mexican culture by learning from locals who were struggling, but still pushing forward. That inspired her to give these powerless people a voice. Nothing, Nobody: The Voices of the Mexico City Earthquake is a chronicle that analyzes the physical and social structures that make up the city of Mexico.
Hotel DF
Set in the Hotel Isabel, an actual hotel in Mexico City lives Frank the narrator of the story as Guillermo Fadanelli’s alter ego. The foreigners who stay in this hotel do not realize the bizarre things that happen there, only a few people do. Nevertheless, the people who end up under this same roof are somehow united with a similar misfortune, resembling somehow the life of anyone living in the city of Mexico.
Faces in the Crowd
The story of three different characters living in different places and at different times in history, but somehow, they all unexpectedly intertwine. The first narrative is about a young woman living in Mexico City and in the process of writing her novel, the second narrative is about a woman who is being haunted by a Mexican poet while living in her small apartment in Harlem, New York, and the third narrative is set in the past, a century to be exact, and revolves on the story of a lonely poet who can’t stop thinking of a woman in the future. Valeria Luiselli made her debut with this novel helping her acquire the recognition of many contemporary writers in Mexico and all over the world.
El Miedo a Los Animales
by Enrique Serna
Fear of Animals is Serna’s third novel and crime thriller story showing the true colors of the Mexican police force. Unfortunately, this organization meant to protect its people, as well as create a more synergized society is managed by corruption, dirty money, and hypocrisy. The book depicts how narco-culture lives and prevails in the day to day life of anyone living in Mexico City and bases its characters on real-life public figures – making the story even more captivating and educational. Serna is recognized as one of the most important Mexican authors in the past decade and master of literary verbal expressions of the Mexican society, utilizing it in all his written masterpieces.
Want to visit Mexico on a more personal level?
Check out our Mexico Yoga & Cooking Retreat where you will experience the beautiful, mountainous state of Guanajuato, Mexico, discover the charming city of San Miguel de Allende, embracing its diverse culture with daily yoga sessions, hands-on cooking activities with plenty of people-to-people experiences, charming B&Bs, local expert guides, and bucket-list adventures!
