"The gargantuan epic of medical student Palinuro's quest for the relationships between knowledge, myth, history, and art as he journeys through the real and imaginary realms of Mexico's cultural body. Original published in 1977 (see HLAS 42:5203) and winner of numerous international awards. Translation is inventive and 'reads like hypertext' (New York Times Book Review, 11 Aug. 1996). Lacks the introduction needed to bring its huge dimensions of slapstick and satire within reader's grasp"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.http://www.loc.gov/hlas/Centers on the life of Palinuro, a Mexican medical student in the 1950s whose life revolves around his extended family, his studies, and his sexual relationship with his cousin Estefania