BootsnAll Travel Network



B. Traven

The Rebellion of the Hanged describes the life of Mexican Indians in the state of Chiapas in the early 20th century, who are forced to work under inhuman conditions at clearing mahogany in labour camps (monterias) in the jungle, which results in a rebellion and the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution.

Traven’s books show a very detailed description of the social environment of their protagonists but also the consistent presentation of the world from the perspective of the “oppressed and exploited”. Traven’s characters usually come from the lower classes of society, from the proletariat or lumpenproletariat circles, they are more antiheroes than heroes, and despite that they have this primal vital force which compels them to fight. The notions of “justice” or Christian morality, which are so visible in adventure novels by other authors are of no importance here.

Traven’s identity is disputed but what is known is that he was an anarchist German who left Germany for Mexico in about 1924. His best-known work, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927), was adapted as the Academy Award nominated film of the same name in 1948.

The Rebellion of the Hanged will elicit a gut-wrenching cry for justice.

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