Product Description

After years of oppression, the Indians, led by a charismatic 21-year-old they call simply "General", march out of the jungles of southern Mexico to overthrow the dictator and secure land and freedom for themselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1307980 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-04
• Original language: German
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Customer Reviews

An explosive revolutionary climax
'General from the Jungle' is the last of Traven's 'jungle novels' and provides an explosive climax to its preceding volumes 'Government,' 'The Carreta,' 'Trozas,' 'March to the Monterias' and 'Rebellion of the Hanged.'

The story takes place at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution and follows the fortunes of an army of former slaves from the Monterias (the harsh, inhuman mahogony plantations of Mexico under the dictatorship), who having revolted against their masters, set out on the quest for 'Tierra y Libertad' - Land and Freedom.

Traven writes with what seems to be an amazing simplicity that never fails to convey the most complex of ideas, emotions and human understanding. And that is where Traven is best - he really knows people, from the petty tyrant to the indian peasant struggling for a better life. Yet he never sentimentalises the revolutionary heroes, the downtrodden, the indians with whom his real sympathies lie. The extreme oppression and cruelty that fill the pages of 'General' and the other 'jungle novels' are nevertheless offset with the feeling of optimism, the knowledge that better days will come - thus uplifting what might otherwise be a heavy read.

I have to say that this is my favourite of the 'jungle novels', which is one reason I've given it five stars. However, the other five are also superb and give a real sense of background to 'General from the Jungle.'

The novels are not directly connected either, so they can be read in any order... which is useful to know if any of them are not available!