“Malinche” by Laura Esquivel (Mexico)

Review

There were mixed reactions from readers about this book. Some liked it while others found it tedious. Those who liked it enjoyed the historical characters and the descriptive passages about the customs and ways of life of the Indian peoples. They also liked the relationship between Malinalli and her grandmother, which they described as tender. They felt it was in strong contrast with her relationship with Cortes, which they found highly ambiguous. Readers who didn’t like the book said that, although they found the story interesting and even moving at times, they didn’t like the style of writing. They felt there were too many descriptive passages and not enough dialogue. As a result, they found it difficult to warm to any of the characters. They agreed that the saving grace of the story came at the end when Malinalli finds for a while a happy family situation. Overall, the book averaged a 6.5 out of 10.

Synopsis

A retelling of the tragic love affair between the conquistador Cortez and the Indian woman Malinalli, his interpreter during his conquest of the Aztecs. Malinalli’s Indian tribe has been conquered by the warrior Aztecs. When her father is killed in battle, she is raised by her wise-woman grandmother who imparts to her the knowledge that their founding forefather god, Quetzalcoatl, had abandoned them after being made drunk by a trickster god and committing incest with his sister. But he was determined to return with the rising sun and save her tribe from their present captivity.

When Malinalli meets Cortez she, like many, suspects that he is the returning Quetzalcoatl, and assumes her task is to welcome him and help him destroy the Aztec empire and free her people. The two fall passionately in love, but Malinalli gradually comes to realize that Cortez’s thirst for conquest is all too human, and that for gold and power, he is willing to destroy anyone, even his own men, even their own love.

Favourite Quote

For some strange reason she understood that eternity was an instant, an instant of peace where everything is understood, everything makes sense, even if it could not be explained in words, for there was no language to name it.

Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 16 – “Journeys in Time” (Sep 2012 – Jan 2013)

“Malinche” by Laura Esquivel (Mexico)
“Pure” by Andrew Miller (U.K.)
“Black Mamba Boy” by Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia) *
“Map of the Invisible World” by Tash Aw (Malaysia)
“Departing at Dawn” by Gloria Lisé (Argentina)

* The book club favourite
In italics, Nicola’s Coup de Cœur