His Name was Death by Rafael Bernal
A bitter drunk forsakes civilization and takes to the jungle, trapping animals, selling their pelts to buy liquor for colossal benders, and slowly rotting away in his fetid hut. His neighbors, a clan of the Amazonian Lacodon tribe, however, see something more in him than he does himself (they call him Wise Owl): when he falls deathly ill, a shaman named Black Ant saves his life--and, almost by chance, in driving out his fever, she drives out his demons as well, curing him of his alcoholism. Slowly recovering, but lying weak in his hammock, our hero discovers a curious thing: the buzzing of the mosquitoes, which to human ears seemed so irritating and pointless, perhaps, in fact, constitutes a language--a language he might learn, and (with the help of a flute) even speak: slowly, with astonishing implications and consequences, he masters Mosquil... Will he harness the global might of the mosquitoes? And will his new powers enable him to avenge himself on society and take over the world? A book far ahead of its time, His Name Was Death looks down the gun barrel of both ecological disaster and colonial exploitation.
"Rafael Bernal's The Mongolian Conspiracy, written in 1969, is a masterful work of hilarity and noirCompelling and full of wit, this is a detective story with a cast of memorable characters, delicious Mexican profanities and sharp, well-placed dialogue." -- Juan Vidal - NPR
"This is the first novel by Bernal, who died in 1972 at 57, to be translated into English... at once complex, chilling and slapstick, is a doozy." -- John Williams - New York Times
"The pervading sense of personal and social oblivion becomes increasingly bracing. It’s like Apocalypse Now with mosquitos, and surprisingly it works." -- Publishers Weekly
"In 1947, Bernal published one of Mexico’s pathbreaking sci-fi novels: His Name Was Death. Set among the Lacandón indigenous people in the country’s southern rainforests, it depicts a universe ruled by hyper-intelligent mosquitoes who farm the human race as a food source...Bernal’s work can be pulpy, and reactionary, but it’s also clever in the way it encourages critical reading. He possessed a rare ability to assume a perspective and examine it at the same time—and he expected his readers to do the same." -- Max Pearl - The Baffler
"The apparent simplicity of His Name Was Death belies the subtlety of its themes. Behind the horror of the mosquito “invasion” are the nested invasions of the apparently “civilized” humans in the book." -- Lucas Iberico Lozada - The Nation
"This is the first novel by Bernal, who died in 1972 at 57, to be translated into English... at once complex, chilling and slapstick, is a doozy." -- John Williams - New York Times
"The pervading sense of personal and social oblivion becomes increasingly bracing. It’s like Apocalypse Now with mosquitos, and surprisingly it works." -- Publishers Weekly
"In 1947, Bernal published one of Mexico’s pathbreaking sci-fi novels: His Name Was Death. Set among the Lacandón indigenous people in the country’s southern rainforests, it depicts a universe ruled by hyper-intelligent mosquitoes who farm the human race as a food source...Bernal’s work can be pulpy, and reactionary, but it’s also clever in the way it encourages critical reading. He possessed a rare ability to assume a perspective and examine it at the same time—and he expected his readers to do the same." -- Max Pearl - The Baffler
"The apparent simplicity of His Name Was Death belies the subtlety of its themes. Behind the horror of the mosquito “invasion” are the nested invasions of the apparently “civilized” humans in the book." -- Lucas Iberico Lozada - The Nation
Rafael Bernal (1915-1972) was a Mexican diplomat and novelist, best known for his crime novels, including The Mongolian Conspiracy (New Directions). Kit Schluter is the author of Cartoons (City Lights, 2024) and has recently translated books from the French and Spanish by Copi, bruno darío, Rafael Bernal, Mario Levrero, Marcel Schwob, Olivia Tapiero, and Enrique Vila-Matas. He lives in Mexico City.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780811230834 |
| ISBN 10 | 081123083X |
| Title | His Name was Death |
| Author | Rafael Bernal |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | New Directions Publishing Corporation |
| Year published | 2021-12-14 |
| Number of pages | 144 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |