R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on + 1452 more book reviews
This is a delightful story written by a Mexican-American who is widely read, Rudolpho Anaya. The book won the Premio Quinto Sol, national Chicano literary award. It is the story of six-year-old Antonio Marez who bonds with Ultima, a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic. Under the guidance of this wise woman, Antonio examines family ties that bind him and tear him apart and discovers himself in the magical past.
Antonio is strongly influenced by the church, a curandera named Ultima, witches, and ghosts. It's fascinating to see how these concepts affect Antonio, his family, community and friends. While my college Spanish is rusty, I have plowed through the book and delighted in the childish dreams and fantasies expressed by Antonio. At times I think that Antonio uses vocabulary that is beyond his years but that does not detract from the story. The book is a good in depth look at life in a Spanish family in the 1940s. While this is quite different from much of the historical fiction I have read I found it a fine read!
Antonio is strongly influenced by the church, a curandera named Ultima, witches, and ghosts. It's fascinating to see how these concepts affect Antonio, his family, community and friends. While my college Spanish is rusty, I have plowed through the book and delighted in the childish dreams and fantasies expressed by Antonio. At times I think that Antonio uses vocabulary that is beyond his years but that does not detract from the story. The book is a good in depth look at life in a Spanish family in the 1940s. While this is quite different from much of the historical fiction I have read I found it a fine read!
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