The Old Gringo

The Old Gringo is a novel by Carlos Fuentes, written from 1964 to 1984 and first published in 1985.

Fuentes stated: “What started this novel was my admiration for Ambrose Bierce and for his Tales of Soldiers and Civilians.

The Old Gringo tells the story of Ambrose Bierce, the American writer, soldier, and journalist, and of his last mysterious days in Mexico living among Pancho Villa’s soldiers, particularly his encounter with General Tomas Arroyo. In the end, the incompatibility of the two countries (or, paradoxically, their intimacy) claims both men, in a novel that is, most of all, about the tragic history of two cultures in conflict.