book data
251 ratings, 2.98 average rating, 53 reviews
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published
December 30th 2006
by FonoLibro
binding
Audio CD
isbn
1933499389
(isbn13: 9781933499383)
description
La princesa de la literatura latinoamericana, está de regreso con la historia el legendario amor entre el conquistador Hernan Cortés y su intérpr...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 426)
Read in May, 2007
Malinche is the story of the indigenous woman, Malinalli, who had a relationship with Hernan Cortes when the Spanish conquered Mexico. Her story is somewhat similar to that of Pocahontas with John Smith in the U.S. I had always understood Malinche from common myth to be seen as a traitor -- someone who was sleeping with the enemy and selling off her people's secrets. This book shows that it was not that way at all. Rather than standing as a symbol of betrayal, Malinche instead becomes the ro...more
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Read in December, 2008
The main character's relationship with nature, elements and her gods was very beautiful. This novel felt like a healing of history, especially hightened for Mexicans, I'm sure. It shifts the brutal Spanish domination of the American peoples and lands perspective to a more peaceful blending of cultures where not every native was 'conquered', they had a role that shaped history too.
That being said, I just wasn't into the book all that much. It saddened and therefore tired me to read ...more
That being said, I just wasn't into the book all that much. It saddened and therefore tired me to read ...more
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Read in June, 2006
La Malinche, o Malintzin, o Malinalli, como aparece en este relato de Laura Esquivel, tuvo, en su papel de intérprete, un lugar destacadísimo en la conquista de México, hasta el punto de que puede pensarse que la conquista fue posible gracias a su labor. Se la ha considerado una verdadera piedra Rosetta, la llave que abrió las puertas de los secretos de México.
De la Malinche (o Malintzin, o Malinalli) se sabe, sin embargo, poco, fuera de esos datos esenciales, y de otros ...more
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Read in December, 2007
This book is depressingly awful. I loved Like Water for Chocolate and had high hopes for Malinche, but there's no getting around it: This book is just so poorly written. The prose is overwrought, the characters are underdeveloped and inconsistent, the structure is confusing. I wondered if some of the problems were with the translation -- some of the lines seem too mangled and meaningless to be true; I laughed out loud at some of them -- but there are bigger problems that seem to go beyond that. ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Those interested in (Women in)History, Spanish Language, Mexican Culture,
OK....finally starting to read In Spanish again. As it is not my 1st language, I cannot apopreciate this book as much as a book in English. Still, it is an interesting story. The main character is a women living in what is now Mexico at the time when Hernán Cortez arrived. I heard that she was the women responsible for turning the indigenous people over to the Spanish (note, this explanation was given by a Chilean who lived in Mexico for a few years, I have no idea of its accuracy, as I hav...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommended to Irene by:
Magali
Absolutely revolting writing. I've never read anything else by Esquivel, though I know that one of her novels was adapted into a film. I saw the film and loved it. I also know it's had some critical acclaim. This leads me to believe that this writer writes for adapation to film. The way this novel is written, I imagined Colin Farrell barreling through the Halls of Montezuma carrying a limp Malinche in his arms before he battles an army on his own and carries her away from danger. Because I...more
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Read in July, 2007
I'm about half-way through now, and I'm finding this book especially interesting as a study of what literature can tell us about traumatic cultural pasts. I have studied the historical/mythical figure of La Malinche a bit (the various representations that have arisen/are arising about her, what the stakes are in these representations, and the way various people react to them). I hope to analyze this novel in a revision of my essay this coming fall or spring.
Laura Esquivel seems to ...more
Laura Esquivel seems to ...more
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I did not know who Malinalli was until I read this book. After reading the book, I researched her. That is testimony to Esquivel's story of her. I loved her Like Water for Chocolate but wasn't crazy about her Swift As Desire. I think she redeemed herself in this book. As I have said before, I've been on a historical fiction kick for about 2 years now. This book helped me to learn about Mexico in the 1500's. I really didn't know anything until I read this (and I vaguely remember learning that Cor...more
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While I enjoyed the passionate, magical Like Water for Chocolate better, Malinche has been an enjoyable historical read. Esquivel paints a vivid portrait of indigenous life and beautifully captures the spirituality that motivates the main character's life. My favorite descriptions in the book are when Esquivel describes the process in which Malinalli aquires and manipulates the new language she is learning, Spanish, and compares those meanings against the meanings in her native language. ...more
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Me gustó en términos generales. Me pareció interesante el personaje contradictorio que es la Malinche. A la vez orgullosa y solidaria, rabiosa y serena. Me viene a la mente palabras de un poema de un disco de Neruda cuando se refiere a los pueblos prehispanicos:
Tierno y sangriento fue ....
Ante todo una conjetura educada de como viviria una mujer esos tiempos convulsos de la conquista, de como se mezcla su circunstancia con la del maridaje tragico de la cultura español
Tierno y sangriento fue ....
Ante todo una conjetura educada de como viviria una mujer esos tiempos convulsos de la conquista, de como se mezcla su circunstancia con la del maridaje tragico de la cultura español
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Read in October, 2008
OK, but nowhere nearly as good as her Like Water for Chocolate. The languages and images were lovely, as expected, but it was hard to feel very strongly about any of the characters. Cortes should've been detestable but was just a pitiful one-dimensional destroyer in this version. The main character/narrator was sympathetic: a strong woman making her way in a chaotic time, and it was this part of the story that kept me reading. I was glad, though, that the book was short.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
no one
It's taken 3 books to finally realize that I need to stop buying Laura Esquivel novels because she is never going to write anything as brilliant as Like Water for Chocolate again. I kept reading this thinking optimistically that it would get better and then I (thankfully) got to the end. How do you make an imagining of the relationship between Cortez and his female indigenous translator/lover boring? Ask Laura Esquivel -- she did a fine job of it.
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Read in November, 2008
I wanted to like this book, but I really struggled through it. Esquivel writes some nice sentences, but most of the line-by-line writing is overly dramatic. Conversely, dramatic moments (such as the battle/massacre scenes) fall flat. Esquivel missed some great opportunities for conflict and drama. The story picks up toward the end, but by then it is too late to hook me.
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Read in July, 2007
I enjoyed reading Esquivel's take on La Malinche and her relationship with Hernan Cortes and the role she played in Mexico's Conquest. Even better was to relate some of the places mentioned in the book to places we were visiting in Spain at the time. I thought the writing was not Esquivel's best, but in general it was an enjoyable book.
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Read in July, 2008
While this wasn't the worst I've ever written, it was pretty disappointing. I've been learning a lot about La Malinche, and while a positive spin on her is a nice change, I don't feel this novel did any of the characters much justice.
I was hoping to have something to share with people interested in my studies, but this is NOT it.
I was hoping to have something to share with people interested in my studies, but this is NOT it.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
easy "historical" read in Spanish
I'm not convinced by Esquivel's portrayal of the big “chingada”. I don’t think anyone else in my Literary Analysis class is, either.
As I said to my professor, I think that the best part is the packaging. Buy the hardback, take off the dust jacket, and look at it. Much more interesting than reading the story.
As I said to my professor, I think that the best part is the packaging. Buy the hardback, take off the dust jacket, and look at it. Much more interesting than reading the story.
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Read in May, 2007
The rich language sounded too simple at first but when I read it a second time I noticed a lot of subtle ideas that wove in and out of the basic plot. I gained many visual ideas from the descriptions: of phases of the moon, of the elements and their connection to life, and of the various settings in Mexico.
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ok, i'm on a roll - might as well start the next one. i got this book last christmas. i enjoy reading non-fictional stories, so we'll see.
was malinche really a traitor to her people? was cortez all that hot or was it the money? these are the questions in which i search for an answer... ;)
was malinche really a traitor to her people? was cortez all that hot or was it the money? these are the questions in which i search for an answer... ;)
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Read in July, 2007
Loved this book. An interesting take on the affair between Malinalli and Hernan Cortes. The characters are awesome, as usual in Laura Esquivel's books. The writing was beautiful and the book flew by...it just wasn't quite long enough...I wanted to keep reading!
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
hablantes de espanol
Got this one at the liabrary. I really like Laura Esquivel, she has this extreme creativity. Its historical fiction about the conquest of the aztecs by Hernan Cortes. I liked the parts that deatiled the beliefs of the indigenous culture.
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