Carlos Fuentes

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Recommended at the end of the episode as a book that 'transcends the terms of the debate' about Columbus as hero or villain. Described as Fuentes's 'masterpiece and by far his most difficult book,' it is a counterfactual novel in which Philip II's reign unfolds without America having been discovered, Elizabeth I is married to him as 'Isabel Tudor,' and Don Quixote appears. Inspired by Finnegans Wake but described as 'infinitely more readable,' it's recommended for anyone wanting to grasp the 'overwhelming strangeness' of the European encounter with the New World.

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Described as counterfactual novel where Philip II marries Elizabeth Tudor and Don Quixote is a character

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Mentioned by one of the hosts as a Carlos Fuentes novel he has read, when the other host recommends Terra Nostra. A landmark of Mexican literature exploring the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath through the memories of a dying man, it would appeal to listeners interested in Latin American fiction.

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Briefly mentioned alongside The Death of Artemio Cruz as another Carlos Fuentes work that one of the hosts is familiar with. Based on the disappearance of American writer Ambrose Bierce in revolutionary Mexico, it would interest readers who enjoy historical fiction set in Latin America.