The Vortex

"With John Charles Chasteen's translation of The Vortex, José Eustasio Rivera's seminal novel about the geographical vastness and mystical power of the Amazonian jungle and the heartless exploitation of its riches and its inhabitants should garner new fans in the English-speaking world. Chasteen's restrained yet evocative lyricism succeeds in breathing vibrant new life into Rivera's depiction of the clash of two civilizations, the tragedy that ensued, and the repercussions that are felt to this day. This absorbing translation makes clear why The Vortex is as relevant today as it was when the novel was first published almost one hundred years ago." - Jaime Manrique

“When in 1928 José Eustasio Rivera died in New York, he was intent on finding an American publisher to bring out his environmentalist novel The Vortex in English. Ironically, the environmentalist concerns he addressed are as timely as ever.” - Ilan Stavans

"José Eustacio Rivera’s dark and lyrical 1924 masterpiece about a big city poet who ventures into the Amazonian jungle in search of revenge, and instead discovers the horrifying truth about the rubber industry, is a book that operates on multiple levels as a work of art." - The Old Book Appreciator