# You Dreamed of Empires

By Álvaro Enrigue

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/you-dreamed-of-empires-4cf6d20b/

Cortés and his entourage arrive in Tenoxtitlan in 1519 to meet Moctezuma. Inside an unfamiliar palace, a ceremonial meal does little to reassure the visitors about their welcome. One Spanish captain is already wondering whether they can get out alive.

## What makes it funny?

Captain Caldera can barely eat beside priests whose clothes smell of blood. Cortés smiles while swearing at him, and the translators explain to their hosts that the Spaniards are praising dinner. An argument about an unbearable meal passes as successful diplomacy.

### The comedy at work

Polite appearances protect an encounter full of disgust, insults and fear. Enrigue exposes the private panic of men presenting themselves as rulers and conquerors, while his narrator keeps their political vanity in view.

### Try this if…

An irreverent version of a famous historical encounter, with court politics and dark humor, suits readers who welcome deliberate invention. Modern allusions and departures from the historical record are part of its approach.

### Good to know

Sacrificial violence, profanity and hallucinogens feature. Natasha Wimmer translated the novel from Spanish; the original appeared in 2022 and the first English translation in 2024.

## What to expect

- Genre: Historical
- Kind of humor: Absurdism · Dark comedy · Satire
- Format: Novel
- Length: 224 pages
- Audiobook: 6 hr 24 min
- Published: 2022

## A few distinguishing details

- Cortés's anxious entourage awaits Moctezuma in 1519 Tenoxtitlan
- Translators turn a profanity-filled dinner quarrel into compliments

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453347/you-dreamed-of-empires-by-enrigue-alvaro/9781529920659)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/alvaro-enrigue/you-dreamed-of-empires)
- Book information: [Unabridged audiobook edition](https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/you-dreamed-of-empires-a-novel-unabridged/id1685799217)
- Publisher: [Publisher’s opening excerpt](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9781529920659/9781529920659-sample.pdf)