Fuentes - Carlos Fuentes

Japanese: フエンテス - ふえんてす（英語表記）Carlos Fuentes

Mexican novelist and critic. Born in Panama City. His father was a diplomat, so he spent his childhood in South American countries and the capital of the United States. After graduating from university, he worked at his alma mater and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this time, he made his debut on the literary scene with his fantasy short story collection, Days of the Mask (1954). His first full-length novel, A Land of Clear Air (1958), portrayed the decadent upper class after the revolution in a frank manner, sparking controversy and drawing attention both within and outside the country. The following year, he published his autobiographical novel, Conscience, and left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to focus on writing. He continues to pursue the identity of Mexico, or Mexicans, by changing his writing style with each work.

His major works include The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962), which established his status as an international author by depicting the life of a man who went from being poor to becoming a financial mastermind, by feeding back from his deathbed to his birth; The Sanctuary (1967), which depicts a young man who transforms into a dog against the backdrop of the myth of Ulysses; The Metamorphosis (1967), which explores the definition of a novel by contrasting Mexican mythology with Western culture; Our Land (1975), which uses science fiction techniques to depict the cosmology of both the Old and Old Continents, centering on the suffering of King Philip II, and which became a hot topic in the Western reading world; Old Gringo (1985), which created an account of the final days of the American writer Ambrose Bierce, who went missing in Mexico; and Cristóbal in the Womb (1987), which depicts Mexico's near future. He also wrote fantasy novellas on eternal life such as "Aura" (1962) and "The Birthday" (1969), as well as many critical essays on the nature and current state of Mexico such as "Time of Mexico" (1971) and "New Time of Mexico" (1994), as well as essays on writers such as "The New Spanish American Novel" (1969) and "The House with Two Doors" (1970). "Old Gringo" was made into a film in the United States in 1989 starring Jane Fonda and Gregory Peck (the Japanese title of the film was "The Gringo I Loved").

[Tetsuyuki Ando]

"Time in Mexico" translated by Nishizawa Tatsuo (1975, Shinsensha)" ▽ "The Sanctuary" translated by Kimura Eiichi (1978, Kokusho Kankokai)" ▽ "Cervantes or the Critique of Reading" translated by Ushijima Nobuaki (1982, Suiseisha)" ▽ "Aura" translated by Ando Tetsuyuki (includes "Days of Masks"; 1982, Edition Archives)" ▽ "Aura: Pure Soul" translated by Kimura Eiichi (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Shedding" translated by Uchida Yoshihiko (1984, Shueisha)" ▽ "The Death of Artemio Cruz translated by Kimura Eiichi (1985, Shinchosha)" ▽ "Distant Family" translated by Horiuchi Kenji (1992, Gendai Kikakushitsu)" ▽ "The Old Gringo" translated by Ando Tetsuyuki (Shueisha Bunko)" ▽ "The Buried Mirror" (translated by Koga Hayashiyuki, 1995, Chuokoron-Shinsha)

[References] | Bias | Latin American literature

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

メキシコの小説家、評論家。パナマ市生まれ。父親が外交官であったため、少年期を南米諸国や合衆国の首都で過ごす。大学卒業後は母校と外務省に勤務。この間、幻想短編集『仮面の日々』（1954）で文壇に登場。最初の長編小説『大気澄み渡る地』（1958）で、革命後、退廃する上流社会を赤裸々に描くと、賛否両論が沸騰し国の内外で注目される。翌年、自伝的小説『良心』発表後は外務省を辞め創作に専念。一作ごとに文体を変えながらメキシコあるいはメキシコ人のアイデンティティを追求し続ける。

　おもな作品には、貧民から財界の黒幕となる男の一生を死の床から誕生へとフィードバックさせて描き、国際的作家としての地位を確立した『アルテミオ・クルスの死』（1962）、ユリシーズ神話を背景に犬に変身する青年を描く『聖域』（1967）、メキシコ神話と西欧文化を対比しながら小説とは何かを探る『脱皮』（1967）、フェリペ2世の苦悩を軸に、SF的手法を用いて新・旧両大陸の宇宙観を描き、欧米読書界の話題をさらった『我らが大地』（1975）、メキシコで行方不明となったアメリカの作家アンブローズ・ビアスの最期を創出した『老いぼれグリンゴ』（1985）、メキシコの近未来を描いた『胎内のクリストバル』（1987）などの長編がある。また、『アウラ』（1962）、『誕生日』（1969）など、永遠の生を扱った幻想中編のほか、メキシコの本質、現状を論じた『メヒコの時間』（1971）、『新メヒコの時間』（1994）、作家論『イスパノアメリカの新しい小説』（1969）、『扉の二つある家』（1970）など評論も多い。なお、『老いぼれグリンゴ』は、1989年、ジェーン・フォンダ、グレゴリー・ペックの出演でアメリカにおいて映画化（映画邦題『私が愛したグリンゴ』）された。

［安藤哲行］

『西澤龍生訳『メヒコの時間』（1975・新泉社）』▽『木村榮一訳『聖域』（1978・国書刊行会）』▽『牛島信明訳『セルバンテスまたは読みの批判』（1982・水声社）』▽『安藤哲行訳『アウラ』（『仮面の日々』を併録・1982・エディシオン・アルシーヴ）』▽『木村榮一訳『アウラ・純な魂』（岩波文庫）』▽『内田吉彦訳『脱皮』（1984・集英社）』▽『木村榮一訳『アルテミオ・クルスの死』（1985・新潮社）』▽『堀内研二訳『遠い家族』（1992・現代企画室）』▽『安藤哲行訳『老いぼれグリンゴ』（集英社文庫）』▽『古賀林幸訳『埋められた鏡』（1995・中央公論社）』