His personality, like that of men born in the early decades of the twentieth century, was influenced by the long dictatorship of Jorge Ubico, the revolution of 1944 and by the so-called liberation movements which occurred in 1954.

[1] This book contains some similarities with the author's life as the main character Valentine Ochaeta returns after several years studying abroad, his hometown, with a suitcase full of hopes and dreams that are contrary to the reality of their families who are in misery.

The novel won the Central sciences, Literature and Fine Arts Award on September 15, 1953,[citation needed] and a prize from the Association of Journalists of Guatemala.

Meaning "the mansion of the snake bird" the author makes beneficial use of the oral histories of Mayan mythology and the experiences of the novel's subject, the tireless adventurer.

This book, apart from having much action and romance, is told in an emotional style with an element of "disguised" political criticism towards the military government during this period in the country of Guatemala.