My rating:

add to my books

The Hummingbird's Daughter

by Luis Alberto Urrea (Goodreads Author)

4.12 · rating details · 2,763 ratings · 651 reviews

The prizewinning writer Luis Alberto Urrea's long-awaited novel is an epic mystical drama of a young woman's sudden sainthood in late 19th-century Mexico.

Paperback, 512 pages

Published September 30th 2006 by Back Bay Books (first published January 1st 2005)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 5,455)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 05, 2008

Jeanette rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mexico, all-fiction

This is a very interesting story about a real woman who lived in Mexico in the late 19th century. She was the author's great-aunt, and he grew up hearing stories and legends about her. Beginning in 1985, the author began twenty years of research leading to this novel.

Teresita was considered the "Saint of Cabora," although she did not think of herself in that way. She was born the bastard daughter of Don Tomas Urrea. At birth, she had a strange triangular mark on her for...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Sep 06, 2007

Deborah rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone!

This book sucked me right in mostly because I loved the fact that Teresita, the young girl who becomes revered as a local saint in pre-revolutionary Mexico, was actually a relative of the author, Urrea. The way he imagines Teresita's life, and the lives of those around her, reminds me of hypertext - you're reading along, absorbed in a great character whose thoughts and actions are totally unique and amusing and endearing and rage-inspiring, and suddenly there's this whole other person branching...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Jun 08, 2008

Joe rated it

· review of another edition

This was an outstanding book in every measurable way: great writing, great story, highly imaginative, and not shy in tackling substantive issues of life and death in turn of the century Mexico. A professor once defined "sublime" as a combination of the beautiful and the horrible, and I think the Hummingbird's Daughter fits this definition to a t. The story is both beautiful in its telling and horrifying in its description of the cruelty people bring to one another in pursuit of religio...more

like 7 likes

· see review

Sep 10, 2011

Caroline rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: adult, hispanophilia, mexico

Urrea pulls together two decades of personal research into the compelling story of a great aunt who became a sainted icon of the indigenous rebellion against the Porfiriato in late 19th century Mexico. The Hummingbird's Daughter paints a vivid, earthy, fearless picture of the insular rural world of the hacienda of his people, as well as of the nameless masses of "the People," his term for the Indian underclass that populate the background of the story and eventually swell like the tide...moreUrrea pulls together two decades of personal research into the compelling story of a great aunt who became a sainted icon of the indigenous rebellion against the Porfiriato in late 19th century Mexico. The Hummingbird's Daughter paints a vivid, earthy, fearless picture of the insular rural world of the hacienda of his people, as well as of the nameless masses of "the People," his term for the Indian underclass that populate the background of the story and eventually swell like the tide. Urrea deserves praise for the seamless transitions he makes between the achingly beautiful and the disgusting. He tumbles headlong into both in order to acknowledge that they are equally true, equally parts of life and death in the Mexico he describes. For a book about a woman's holy powers of healing and divine love, there is an awful lot of pig filth, difficult childbirths, gunshot wounds, and skin sores--and this balance is precisely what makes the 500 pages breeze past in a cloud of reality and possibility.

Occasionally the accumulated weight of the vast research he has amassed in preparing to tell his family's story will press against the scenery he paints, chink the sky with echoes of a newspaper article or an eyewitness account, wind the narrative into a puzzling gully, but the sum of the book breathes life into a rich world of beauty, faith, and injustice.

An excerpt from chapter one to set the scene:

Every Mexican was a diluted Indian, invaded by milk like the coffee in Cayetana's cup. Afraid, after the Conquest and the Inquisition, of their own brown wrappers, they colored their faces with powder, covered their skins in perfumes and European silks and American habits. Yet for all their beaver hats and their lace veils, the fine citizens of the great cities knew they had nothing that would ever match the ancient feathers of the quetzal. No cacique stood atop any temple clad in jaguar skins. Crinolines, waistcoats. Operas, High Mass, café au lait in demitasse cups in sidewalk patisseries. They attempted to choke the gods with New York pantaloons, Parisian petticoats. But still the banished spirits whispered from corners and basements. In Mexico City, the great and fallen Tenochtitlán, among streets and buildings constructed with the stones of the Pyramid of the Sun, gentlemen walked with their heads slightly tilted, cocked as if listening to this puzzling murmur of wraiths.

They still spoke a thousand languages--Spanish, too, to be sure, but also a thicket of songs and grammars. Mexico--the sound of wind in the ruins. Mexico--the waves rushing the shore. Mexico--the sand dunes, the snowfields, the steam of sleeping Popocatépetl. Mexico--across marijuana fields, tomato plants, avocado trees, the agave in the village of Tequila.

Mexico....

All around them, in the small woods, in the caves, in the precipitous canyons of copper country, in the swamps and at the crossroads, the harsh Old Ones gathered. Tlaloc, the rain god, lips parched because the Mexicans no longer tortured children to feed him sweet drafts of their tears. The Flayed One, Xipe Totec, shivering cold because priests no longer skinned sacrifices alive and danced in their flesh to bring forth the harvest. Tonántzin, goddess of Tepeyac, chased from her summit by the very Mother of God, the Virgen de Guadalupe. The awesome and ferocious warrior god, Hummingbird on the Left, Huitzilopochtli. Even the Mexicans' friend, Chac Mool, was lonely. Big eared and waiting to carry their hopes and dreams in his bowl as he transited to the land of the gods from the earth, he lay on his back watching forever in vain for the feathered priests to return. Other Old Ones hid behind statues in the cathedrals that the Spaniards had built with the stones of their shattered temples. The smell of sacrificial blood and copal seeped out from between the stones to mix with incense and candles. Death is alive, they whispered. Death lives inside life, as bones dance within the body. Yesterday is within today. Yesterday never dies.

Mexico. Mexico.

(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Feb 20, 2009

Lisa Vegan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub, fiction, reviewed, novels, gr-authors

I really slogged through this. I’m not sure why I had such a difficult time reading it. I’m glad that I did. I ended up enjoying it but I wasn’t wild about it. It's well written, I liked some of the characters including Huila and Teresa; many of the characters were interesting, although often infuriating. I read as a skeptic but that shouldn’t have detracted from my enjoyment as it hasn’t with other similar themed books. The book was disturbing, violent and depicted many atrocities that humans c...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Jul 05, 2010

Leah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: book-discussion, cultural-commentary, novels

It was difficult for me to get into this book for awhile... at least a hundred pages. It was challenging for me because I struggle with books where generations are involved. Also, reading phrases in a language I don't speak made me feel like I was missing important details. I can appreciate the practice of doing so, but I was out of it for awhile.

That aside, this book was beautiful. Recently I've been reading plot-driven (as opposed to story-driven) novels, the former of which prides i...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 07, 2010

Cara Lee rated it

· review of another edition

"The Hummingbird's Daughter" quickly made my list of 25 favorite books ever. Every one of the 20 years Luis Alberto Urrea spent on this story was worth it. There are few books I consider perfect, and this is one: Urrea deftly makes every word, comma, character nuance and plot twist seem straightforward and simple, yet there's so much going on here. He takes the barely sketched history of his aunt Teresita--the "Saint of Cabora" who helped inspire the Mexican revolution--and b...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Feb 07, 2008

Corinne rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: expanding-your-horizons-challenge, the-nook-book-club

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is haunting. I think that's the only word I can find for it right now. The characters are swirling around in my mind and I am trying to make sense of them. Teresita is a child born into poverty, given up by her mother, raised on a rancho in Mexico. She soon begins to learn the arts of a curandera (a healer) - and she also discovers that she is the child of a fling between her mother and the head of the rancho.

I loved following her life - as she learns the art of childbirt...moreThis book is haunting. I think that's the only word I can find for it right now. The characters are swirling around in my mind and I am trying to make sense of them. Teresita is a child born into poverty, given up by her mother, raised on a rancho in Mexico. She soon begins to learn the arts of a curandera (a healer) - and she also discovers that she is the child of a fling between her mother and the head of the rancho.

I loved following her life - as she learns the art of childbirth and healing, I believed it. I loved the relationship between her and her father, Tomas, I loved how it ebbed along as events unfolded. My favorite part in the book was when her father helped her to clean the sores and kill the lice out of an orphans head wounds - I was moved to tears to see how she had softened the heart of her brute of a father. I was especially touched by his fierce loyalty to her in the end - it felt truly redeeming.

The book took me to places I had not imagined when I opened the first page. Granted, it was not always a lovely place - it was a hard and violent life out in the wilds of Mexico, and, frankly, so full of unfamiliar names for me to remember!!! My complete lack of Spanish was a challenge, since rarely was anything translated, but I don't think I really missed anything.

The time and place was made so real for me - I have read very little of Mexico, but this rang so TRUE. The book felt so completely researched - all the descriptions of places and, especially, the food they ate. I was truly transported to the Mexico of the late 19th century.

It reminded me a lot of One Hundred Days of Solitude, which I loved as well - but I love this for different reasons. The "magical" of this book seemed somehow sacred, somehow real to me, not like magic at all - more like true acts of faith. Teresita's rise to sainthood was remarkable - I loved her as a character, for her strength, her faith, her true desire to only do God's will and to make peace where she could. The writing was lyrical and superb. An epic tale of an incredible girl. (less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 27, 2011

Audrey Anne rated it

· review of another edition

I enjoyed this book at the beach, where it found it's way into my life by way of a thrift store. Serendipity! I liked its historical aspect and the connection the author has to his subject, who is his own relative. Teresita was an impossible contrast of power and powerlessness: a peaceful revolutionary. She was at once a historical figure of humble origin on one hand, and a saint and a hero on the other. The story allows you to hold both perspectives in focus simultaneously.

I f...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 23, 2011

Al rated it

· review of another edition

Among the many outstanding qualities of Luis Urrea's magnificent novel, The Hummingbird's Daughter, is that the story is substantially true. It is based on the historical record of his great aunt Teresa Urrea. The dialog and the personalities have been reconstructed, but anyone who cares to research the matter as I have will learn that the incredible life of the Hummingbird's daughter, Teresita Urrea, is accurately depicted.
Born out of wedlock to an illiterate Indian mother, she has no id...moreAmong the many outstanding qualities of Luis Urrea's magnificent novel, The Hummingbird's Daughter, is that the story is substantially true. It is based on the historical record of his great aunt Teresa Urrea. The dialog and the personalities have been reconstructed, but anyone who cares to research the matter as I have will learn that the incredible life of the Hummingbird's daughter, Teresita Urrea, is accurately depicted.
Born out of wedlock to an illiterate Indian mother, she has no idea that her father is Don Tomás Urrea, rich landowner and freethinker in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. At about age six she is taken under the tutelage of an elderly Indian healer named Huila, whose name means “hummingbird” in the Indian language. From her Teresita learns the uses of healing plants and prayers and discovers an even greater gift: she actually has the power to heal by her touch.
This causes problems. The ranch becomes crowded with thousands of pilgrims bearing the most pitiful ailments and afflictions, and the Mexican government, watchful to suppress any threats to its power, is suspicious of her growing fame. The shattering climax of the story calls that old cliché to mind: you can't make this stuff up. It wasn't! Unbelievable as it is, it happened.
The Hummingbird's Daughter is the story of a girl coming to terms with her destiny, with the power of faith and miracles, and with a father's and daughter's discovery of what love is and the sacrifices it sometimes requires.
The book is densely populated with cowboys, outlaws, wild Indians, men who drink too much, cantina beauties, mercy and cruelty, bravery and cowardice, and nature at its rawest. There are a fair number of Spanish words, untranslated, but these will not detract from the enjoyment of those who do not care to look them up. To add a historical note, the story is a wonderful snapshot of revolutionary Mexico along the American border.
Finally, the prose style is marvelously poetic: easy to read, but magically evoking the character of Mexico in all its color and contradictions. The description of the various ways Mexicans prepare coffee as the sun dawns gradually across the country could be excerpted as a fine poem all by itself. I have read the book three times, and in its own way it has influenced my writing as much as Huckleberry Finn, with which it shares many qualities. I even bought a second copy to lend, so as not to risk my own, precious, annotated copy. I grew up in El Paso. Teresita lived there briefly, yet I had never heard of her. This is a shame: her story and this book deserve to be better known.
(less)

· see review

Feb 27, 2011

Kirstie rated it

· review of another edition

Based on the retelling of stories of people who knew her and documents, this story explores the life of Teresita Urrea, a real true historical figure regarded as a Saint in Mexico in the first part of the twentieth century. Teresita has a rich sense of humor and personality and Urrea, who grew up with some of these stories and regarded her as his great aunt, really brings a fullness of life to her. He begins at her conception to her adulthood where she is regarded as a woman who has died, spo...moreBased on the retelling of stories of people who knew her and documents, this story explores the life of Teresita Urrea, a real true historical figure regarded as a Saint in Mexico in the first part of the twentieth century. Teresita has a rich sense of humor and personality and Urrea, who grew up with some of these stories and regarded her as his great aunt, really brings a fullness of life to her. He begins at her conception to her adulthood where she is regarded as a woman who has died, spoken to God, come back from the dead, and has the ability to perform miracles. She's also a woman that rejects the official government of Mexico and organized religion even though her own faith is strong. Urrea did fieldwork and research for 20 years on this woman. She was, from the accounts of others, a great healer but she was also quite funny and one of the first women in that time and country to learn to read. She did not like violence and her imagination was more wondrous than can be conceived by most humans.

This really deserves 4 1/2 stars out of 5 but it bothered me that in the end, the author doesn't follow up in an epilogue on the remainder of the protagonist's life. Even a small summary would have sufficed to make it 5 stars. It seems careless to create an epic 500 pages then leave that out. I needed it for my sanity and well being. That information is important.

Still, I really learned a great deal about Mexican and Native Indians in Mexico in history as well as about their culture and I found the text both engaging and incredibly rewarding. I really couldn't wait to see what would happen to our heroine next. I'll also say I really enjoyed the other characters in Teresita's life as well.

And whether, in your own sense of culture and wisdom, you believe in the sainthood and, perhaps more importantly, the miracles of Teresita is for you to decide but I will say you'll at least yearn to believe it and more than anything you hope every word is true.

Quotes:

pg 194, "Bees were better companions than people."

pg. 255, "Feel it. The earth falls away. We have been prisoners of the ground, and now it releases its grip on us. Yes. Yes. The air moves us freely. We are like water...The air loved them-they could feel it...Dog voices were tiny as crickets."

pg. 394, "The World of reason must be a lonely place."

(less)

· see review

Feb 26, 2011

switterbug (Betsey) rated it

· review of another edition

This is a phenomenal, picaresque story. Teresa (Teresita) Urrea, the Hummingbird's daughter, possessed me, made me want to dig my bare feet in the earth and rub rose petals and lavender all over my body. She is now my beloved hero of contemporary literature. Strong, courageous, formidable, guileless, beautifully vulnerable, compassionate, quick-witted, and luminescent, Teresa is a modern-day *saint* without the dismal, pious sobriety of one. She is more like a noble iconoclast. She hikes up her ...moreThis is a phenomenal, picaresque story. Teresa (Teresita) Urrea, the Hummingbird's daughter, possessed me, made me want to dig my bare feet in the earth and rub rose petals and lavender all over my body. She is now my beloved hero of contemporary literature. Strong, courageous, formidable, guileless, beautifully vulnerable, compassionate, quick-witted, and luminescent, Teresa is a modern-day *saint* without the dismal, pious sobriety of one. She is more like a noble iconoclast. She hikes up her skirts and rides a horse better than any man, eats like a lumberjack, and engages in astral projection. She denounces organized religion and behaves more like a pantheist. She can heal with her hands, bandy words with politicians, and flirt with the infamous.

The author based this work of fiction on real events in the life of an eponymous blood relation, circa 1880 (when the story also takes pace). He spent 20 years in the research and writing, which is evident in the stirring, complex, yet easily digestible, mouth-watering narration of this novel.

Teresa is the illegitimate daughter of wealthy (and married) south-of-the-border rancher Don Tomas and a fourteen year-old peasant Indian woman who fled Sinaloa for greener pastures. Raised initially by her mean-spirited aunt, her adventurous spirit eventually delivers her to the house of her father at a tender, young age. The protective, flinty Huila, a medicine woman who works for Don Tomas, apprehends Teresa's destiny and mentors her in the art and botanical science of healing. Huila is also aware that Teresa has a native and inherited shamanic talent way beyond midwifery and organic medicine.

Filled with a sprawling and vivid cast of characters--vaqueros, caballeros, Indians, pilgrims,politicians, the wealthy as well as the indigent, apostates as well as the devout, this is a colorful, astutely comical allegory that is ripe with thought, action, and spirit. It is a story of familial love and redemption and the vastness of the soul. It is a tale of adventure that you won't want to end. (Rumor has it that a sequel and a film is in the works.)

Luis Alberto Urrea is an exuberant storyteller oozing an alchemical mixture of warmth, humor, satire, and vigorous vitality. His style is a reminiscent witch's brew of the best of outlaw and magical realism--The Milagro Beanfield War; Lonesome Dove; a dose of Garcia-Marquez; a glittering sprinkle of Isabelle Allende. But it is its own mystical and magical epic story of community and faith, of an unforgettable daughter and the people who loved her. (less)

like 4 likes

· see review

Jul 10, 2010

Jessica rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: stuck-on-a-deserted-island

I still dream of this book. And a year later, I am still looking for this book, remade. Like an old girlfired or a wife now dead that will be the ideal all other women in a man's life are compared to. Damn...how can I describe this...My last two years of undergrad, I focused primarily on Female Medieval Mystical Writers. I love how these women brought their faith into their bodies, and write from there...bringing god into themselves as a lover, a layer of skin, a wealt. I love their absolute co...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 06, 2010

Ruth rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

449 pages.

Late 19th Century Mexico - an epic struggle between Spaniards, Anglos and Indians.

"Teresita is not an ordinary girl. Born of an illiterate, poor Indian mother, she knows little about her past or her future. She has no idea that her father is Don Tomas Urrea, the wild and rich owner of a vast ranch in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. She has no idea that Huila, the elderly healer who takes Teresita under her wing, knows secrets about her destiny. And she has no...more

like 1 like

· see review

Apr 25, 2010

Book Concierge rated it

· review of another edition

Urrea spent two decades researching the “history” of his distant relative – Teresa Urrea, the Saint of Cabora and “Joan of Arc” de Mexico.

This fictionalized biography of Teresa has many fantastical elements. She was a curandera and known to have prophetic dreams, as well as the healer’s gift. Even as a young girl she was in demand as a midwife because she could ease the mothers’ pains.

Urrea clearly loves the subject and writes poetically. There is a large cast of charac...more

· see review

Oct 26, 2009

Claire rated it

· review of another edition

"Most of us trudge in a straight line. All day, every day, we march like sheep. Look straight ahead. What do you see?
We spending our livings walking into our own mirrors. All we see is ourselves as we walk down the road." - Huila

"Feel the earth, keep the integrity of the heart. Keep the spine in line. Let your heart shine. Relax, don't strain. The white man has to strain. Has to flex his muscles. Be soft. Be like water. Water is soft, and is the most powerful for...more

· see review

Aug 03, 2009

Ariela rated it

· review of another edition

Set in late 1800’s Mexico amid the political turmoil of General Porfirio Diaz’s regime “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” recounts the real-life story of Urrea’s great-aunt Teresita. The illegitimate daughter of the patron and one of the indios working his ranch, Teresita eventually became known as Santa Teresa, the Saint of Cabora. Apprenticed to the colorful curandera (healer) Huila at an early age she eventually became known for her midwifery skills, healing powers and supposed return from the dead...more

· see review

Jun 12, 2009

Lars Guthrie rated it

· review of another edition

Yes, it's an outstanding piece of historical fiction and the reader can learn much about Mexico in the Porfirio Diaz era just prior to its bloody revolution. Yes, it's an extraordinary example of magical realism that can bear the weight of comparison to Gabriel Garcia Marques's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude." Yes, it's a breathtaking epic novel that sweeps the reader up with many finely drawn characters and exciting twists and turns of plot. In looking over the reviews, I agree wholehea...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 11, 2010

Gale rated it

· review of another edition

Teresita (the “Saint of Cabora”) is the author’s great–aunt. Urrea spent 20 years researching her amazing life and writing a fast-paced romantic Western epic filled with legends and folklore. Teresita, born out of wedlock in 1873 and raised in poverty by an abusive aunt, is recognized as having special healing powers and apprenticed to a wealthy rancher’s medicine woman. The rancher, Teresita’s father, later takes her into his household where she becomes a voracious reader and the intellectual c...more

· see review

Oct 10, 2009

Katie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: latin-america, historical-fiction, male-author, 2009

I really enjoyed this book. It is It is a fictionalized account of the real life of Teresita Urrea, who lived in Mexico in the late 1800s. She had healing powers and the gift of clairvoyancy, and was known as the Saint of Cabora. She was seen as a rebel by both the Mexican government and some higher ups of the Catholic church, although she preached much about the teachings of Jesus.

There were a number of things I really liked about this book. I loved the differing perspectives...more

· see review

Mar 29, 2009

Ladan rated it

· review of another edition

Pasadena, One City, One Story

This was really a beautifully written book, albeit a bit too long, like the author couldn't help himself from going on. The imagery is so vibrant and colorful, hot like the sands of Cabora and putridly sweet, like most of the characters. Beautiful, beautiful book full of indigenous mysticism, religion, politics, hope, and plain ole life and death. I can't imagine what an enlightening journey it must have been for Urrea to research it.

"Thi...more

· see review

Oct 15, 2009

Sally Maria rated it

· review of another edition

This book worked it's way to one of my top five.

Urrea gives us a real feel for what it was like just prior to the Mexican Revolution - Providing us too, with background to the embryonic stages of liberation theology. Even better, he gives us a true story, filling in with some of the best character development I have read. He really is a master, a poet.

His intermingling of Spanish with English might throw some, but if the reader sticks with it, they will find gold.
...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 10, 2012

Alicia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, around-the-world-in-52-weeks

Around the World in 52 Books Challenge: Book 1/52

“But no one understood her; there was no one left who knew the story.”

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to read 52 books from 52 different countries. I'm starting with books from Spanish-speaking countries to compliment my Spanish classes. First up is The Hummingbird's Daughter from Mexico, by Luis Alberto Urrea.

The Hummingbird's Daughter is definitely on my list of favorite historical fictions. It's...more

· see review

Aug 18, 2011

Jane rated it

· review of another edition

Urrea's novel combines Mexican history with magical realism as it relates to Teresita Urrea, the "Saint of Cabora," who was actually a distant relative of the author. Inspired by the stories he heard about her, he developed this poetic, violent, provocative novel that takes place during the dictatorship of General Porfirio Diaz. Teresita's magical powers of healing, her defiance of the political regime, her wealthy, amusing, womanizing father Tomas, and the curer-healer (curandera) H...more

like 1 like

· see review

May 27, 2010

Renee rated it

· review of another edition

Finished this book a few days ago and honestly had to take a moment to digest it and let it percolate. I ADORED this book.... really, cannot remember being drawn into a book like this in such a long time.

It could be that it takes place in Mexico. And has the feel of a sweeping epic Mexican tale, but with a bit more wit (although just as much drama). And has a very Gabriel Garcia Marquez-esque style that is actually way more accessible and down to earth (ie. easier to read by volumes)...more

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 13, 2011

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

I picked this up because I received an ARC of the sequel at ALA in June. However, after finishing this one, I don't think I'll be reading that ARC. This book was very difficult for me to get through. I could not get into it at all in the beginning and a number of times throughout I lost the thread. There are certainly some interesting pieces of this novel - I really liked Teresa's story of working with Huila, dying, becoming La Santa de Cabora - but a lot of the stuff that makes this a deeper no...more

· see review

Jan 24, 2012

Jill rated it

· review of another edition

Certain authors excel at crafting gritty and realistic recreations of the world we live in; others are expert at transforming our world into a more magical and fantastical one. Luis Alberto Urrea, in an astounding feat of alchemy, does both. Within the novel’s sprawling 499 pages, his depiction of Teresita Urrea – his real-life great-aunt, anointed the “Saint of Cabora” – becomes increasingly intoxicating and unputdownable.

In a sprawling yet controlled epic, we meet Teresita – the ...moreCertain authors excel at crafting gritty and realistic recreations of the world we live in; others are expert at transforming our world into a more magical and fantastical one. Luis Alberto Urrea, in an astounding feat of alchemy, does both. Within the novel’s sprawling 499 pages, his depiction of Teresita Urrea – his real-life great-aunt, anointed the “Saint of Cabora” – becomes increasingly intoxicating and unputdownable.

In a sprawling yet controlled epic, we meet Teresita – the illegitimate daughter of a teen mother called “hummingbird” and the patron Tomas– right after she is deserted and left in the so-called care of a mean-hearted aunt. She is “adopted” by Huila, an old curaranda, who takes her under her wing and teaches her about desert herbs and plant medicine and the power of the unconscious. It is not long before she comes to the attention of Tomas, who accepts her as his daughter.

In a sensuous whirlwind of description, the land comes alive and our senses are besotted the noxious smells of pig sties the sharp smell of sweat, and the mouth-watering smells of Mexican foods, the bursting beauty of desert flowers and plants, the braying burros and squabbling crows. You feel as if you could step into the scene; that’s how perfectly it’s depicted.

When the novel levitates into magical realism, we’ve already signed on for the ride and put ourselves into Mr. Urrea’s very capable hands. The power of his words is that we do not merely escape from the world by entering this new one; rather, we gain a greater grasp of what it is to be human. As Teresita begins to heal with her hands and her father’s ranch is overrun by pilgrims, we stand in amazement with the People – the Greek chorus that is indelibly embedded into the pages of this book.

All of the narrative plays against the backdrop of a changing Mexico: approaching revolution, removal of Indians from their ancestral lands, southwestern border disputes, the Diaz government’s darkening suspicions and paranoia, the controlling hand of organized religion – all contrasted against one uneducated but wise girl’s healing message of love and healing.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter has it all – facts and legends that Mr. Urrea, a reporter, gathered from 20 years of research into his childhood, Western mythology, Catholic hagiography, Mexican folklore and more, interwoven with down-to-earth descriptions of poverty, warfare, torture, and grittiness. The result is pure effervescence, a testimony to the power of storytelling at its finest.

(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 03, 2011

Caitlin rated it

· review of another edition

This is an excellent book from a very talented writer. Urrea takes a legend from his own family and culture and expands it into an historical novel. It is a good example of magical realism, a story told in a realistic light, with magical elements that affect the lives of the characters. His style reminded me of a mix between Cormac McCarthy and Salman Rushdie. This book was a work of dedication and is beautifully written, I recommend it to anyone. It tells of a young girl who becomes a saint in ...more

· see review

Jun 24, 2010

Chana rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, historical-fiction, mexico, religion, political

It has been awhile since I have read a book that read like a symphony, entering the mind in a complete and beautiful form, causing an emotional, physical and spiritual uplifting engagement. I was completely immersed in this book; it is the kind of book that a reader experiences with all senses. I wouldn't exactly call it a religious experience, but it is certainly great literature. Not only that, but it is written with a great sense of humor, humility and a love of the human being in all his ...more

· see review

Aug 24, 2011

Paula rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Just loved this! And was so grateful for this introduction to Luis Alberto Urrea. I have since downloaded "The Devil's Highway" and have a library book on hold for his autobiography, "Nobody's Son." Urrea does such an amazing job capturing personality, dialogue, time and place. I could almost hear the characters speaking as I read it. This story is part family history and part imagination and they come together in an amazing way. First, how great to have an aunt like Teresita as part of your lin...more

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 181 182 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Do you love it or hate it?	10	14	Jan 14, 2012 11:46am
A 2012 Challenge:...: The Hummingbird's Daughter	2	13	Dec 06, 2011 05:35am

combine
Other Editions (15)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

1 comment

Genres

Historical Fiction

76 users

Magical Realism

22 users

Book Club

21 users

Novels

6 users

Religion

6 users

Literary Fiction

5 users

Womens

5 users

Cultural > Latin American

5 users

Adult

5 users

Spirituality

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

Rain of Gold
by Victor Villaseñor
So Far from God
by Ana Castillo
Across a Hundred Mountains
by Reyna Grande
Carry Me Like Water
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Caramelo
by Sandra Cisneros

About Luis Alberto Urrea

Luis Alberto Urrea is the award-winning author of 13 books, including The Hummingbird's Daughter, The Devil's Highway and Into the Beautiful North (May 2009). Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Luis has used the theme of borders, immigration and search for love and belonging throughout his work. A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 (nonfiction), he's won the Kiriyama Prize (2006...more

More about Luis Alberto Urrea...

Books by Luis Alberto Urrea

Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The Hummingbird's...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Hummingbird's Daug...

“...There was nothing one could do when love came. It was fast, and it was strong, and if it were not good, then surely God would not have allowed it such power.” — 8 people liked it

“Roses denote grace.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved The Hummingbird's...

Comfort Reads

1129 members

last activity 4 hours, 31 min ago

shelf: read

Mythic Fiction

711 members

last activity 6 minutes ago

shelf: read

Latino and Latin American...

392 members

last activity Jan 01, 2012 02:41pm

shelf: read

title link	preview: The Hummingbird's Daughter
avg rating	preview: The Hummingbird's Daughter Goodreads rating: 4.12 (2763 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613770.The_Hummingbird_s_Daughter?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176331416m/613770.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613770.The_Hummingbird_s_Daughter?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea[/url]

The Hummingbird's Daughter

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website