Books and Lunch on Tuesdays: You Dreamed of Empires In-Person / Online
You Dreamed of Empires
by Álvaro Enrigue
One morning in 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés enters the city of Tenochtitlan – today’s Mexico City. Later that day, he will meet the emperor Moctezuma in a collision of two worlds, two empires, two languages, two possible futures.
Cortés is accompanied by his captains, his troops, his prized horses, and his two translators: Friar Aguilar, a taciturn friar, and Malinalli, an enslaved, strategic Nahua princess. After nearly bungling their entrance to the city, the Spaniards are greeted at a ceremonial welcome meal by the steely Aztec princess Atotoxtli, sister and wife of Moctezuma. As they await their meeting with the emperor – who is at a political and spiritual crossroads, and relies on hallucinogens to get by – Cortés and his entourage are ensconced in the labyrinthine palace. Soon, one of Cortés’s captains, Jazmín Caldera, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place, begins to question the ease with which they were welcomed into the city, and wonders at the chances of getting out alive, much less conquering the empire. And what if… they don’t?
You Dreamed of Empires brings Tenochtitlan to life at its height, and reimagines its destiny. The incomparably original Álvaro Enrigue sets afire the moment of conquest and turns it into a moment of revolution, a restitutive, fantastical counterattack, in a novel so electric and so unique that it feels like a dream. -(publisher)
- Date:
- Tuesday, December 9, 2025 Show more dates
- Time:
- 12:00pm - 1:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Aldrich Room
- Online:
- This is an online event.
- Event URL:
- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/814651580
- Categories:
- Adult
This book discussion program is HYBRID. We will meet in the library, but you may also attend via Zoom. Email Mike at mike.morris@thehowe.org for an invitation or more information.
BLT meets on the second Tuesday of each month at noon. We meet in the library and via Zoom. Bring your lunch and a healthy appetite for good discussion.