Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Tinisima

Tinisima
Tinisima
Author: Elena Poniatowska
ISBN-13: 9780140268768
ISBN-10: 0140268766
Publication Date: 2/1/1998
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 6

3.4 stars, based on 6 ratings
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

3 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Tinisima on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this book was pretty engaging. It was nice to read about the life of another woman from Mexico ( yet Italian) besides Frida Kahlo. I hadn't heard much about her before running into this book. Anyone interested in Mexican art, early feminists or just strong women in general will find this book interesting.
reviewed Tinisima on + 18 more book reviews
Historical fiction type of a book... I really liked it even though I got confused at times as the author uses names (they are spies) interchangably. Beautiful literary juxtoposition of a woman and a communist.
reviewed Tinisima on + 1453 more book reviews
The essence of this novel focuses on the life of a remarkable woman. As I read I felt that I knew Tina Modotti whose life encompassed so many roles. She was a fine photographer whose work demonstrated her flair for the artistic as well as documenting the life of those wherever she lived - Mexico, Germany and Russia. A revolutionary/activist, she had numerous lovers, some of whom were famous (Diego Rivera and Edward Weston). She was accused of murdering one of them, Julio Mella, whose assassination occurred as he walked arm in arm with her. She devoted much of her life to working for the Communist party, serving as a nurse in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

The book is historical fiction yet the author describes Tina's life with flair. She said she could have written a thousand pages about her life, which she spent ten years researching. It shows. However, Tinisima (as she was known in Mexico), was actually born in Italy yet her heart belonged to Mexico - its people land its colorful landscape. Wonderful read about an outstanding woman.