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Malinche
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This is an extraordinary retelling of the passionate and tragic love 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 wisewoman grandmother who imparts to her the knowledge that their
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Hardcover, 191 pages
Published
May 2nd 2006
by Atria Books
(first published 2005)
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This year I am participating in a classics bingo and I read Malinche by Laura Esquivel for my mythology square. I am not a fan of mythology and this story pushed me to read outside of my comfort zone. Even though I enjoy Hispanic culture a great deal, Mexican mythology is not a subject I have studied in depth so I was able to learn from this slim novel. The tale of Malinalli, Cortes, and Jaramillo brought to light a chapter of Mexican folk lore from a native perspective that often isn't studied
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For all you history purists (were you there? how can you be sure, unless you're Shirley McLaine?) this is a NOVEL not an anthropological research paper. Obviously the author had to take liberties with the story of Mallinali/Marina, slave girl and *the*only native American who was a front-row observer/participant in the apex/decline of Aztecan culture. She may very well have been the last non-Spaniard to see Monteczuma alive. Can you imagine what must have been going through Mallinali's mind as t
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Dec 02, 2016
Book Concierge
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
audio,
concierge,
latino-literature,
library,
magical-realism,
mexico,
strong-women,
historical-fiction
Book on CD performed by Maria Conchita Alonso
Malinalli was a Native woman from Tabasco, who was given as a slave to the conquering Spaniards. Her ability to speak Spanish as well as two native languages – Mayan and Nahuatl – brought her to the attention of Hernán Cortés, and eventually she became his mistress and bore him a son. For centuries, she has been reviled as a traitor for her role in helping the Spaniards conquer the Aztec empire, but more recent research has pointed to a more complex r ...more
Malinalli was a Native woman from Tabasco, who was given as a slave to the conquering Spaniards. Her ability to speak Spanish as well as two native languages – Mayan and Nahuatl – brought her to the attention of Hernán Cortés, and eventually she became his mistress and bore him a son. For centuries, she has been reviled as a traitor for her role in helping the Spaniards conquer the Aztec empire, but more recent research has pointed to a more complex r ...more
Malinche is written with the tone, writing level and emotional depth of a third-grade history book. I don't know if something (aka everything) was lost in translation, but this book seems to "talk down" to you while shifting abruptly from factual-seeming descriptions of Aztec life, society and architecture to similarly presented, yet entirely different, direct renditions of stiff and unnatural inner and outer dialogue. When rape is presented with the same voice, tone, expression and aftermath as
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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 root o
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No me gustó nada.
Supongo que esto no es spoiler porque es parte de la historia de México. Pues bien, aquí vemos a la Malinche nace presagiada por signos del cambio, su abuela, es una anciana con conocimientos milenarios tipo “new age” mientras que su madre es muy malvada y la vende. Por el otro lado, Cortés que es chaparro, malo y ambicioso, decide lanzarse a conquistar México. Los dos se encuentran y ella que odia los sacrificios humanos (porque es como pacifista, nomás porque sí), apoya a los ...more
Supongo que esto no es spoiler porque es parte de la historia de México. Pues bien, aquí vemos a la Malinche nace presagiada por signos del cambio, su abuela, es una anciana con conocimientos milenarios tipo “new age” mientras que su madre es muy malvada y la vende. Por el otro lado, Cortés que es chaparro, malo y ambicioso, decide lanzarse a conquistar México. Los dos se encuentran y ella que odia los sacrificios humanos (porque es como pacifista, nomás porque sí), apoya a los ...more
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Es un libro con un lenguaje muy poético, evoca muchas metáforas, imágenes y muchos símbolos. Sin embargo, cuando leo libros que tratan de temas históricos con personajes "reales" cómo fue la Malinche y Hernán Cortés, me siento un poco rara y me siento aún más rara cuando la autora coloca como "bibliografía" a autores como Bernal Castillo, Prescott etc. Me siento un poco estafada, como si la novela fuera un experimento, donde la autora reunió muchos datos, ordenó las ideas, creo un lenguaje simbó
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Apr 09, 2017
Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
2017-reads,
library-hoopla
Classic Bingo O2: Classic Folklore or Mythology
**I listened to the eAudio edition.
**I listened to the eAudio edition.
"El que maneja la información, los significados, adquiere poder, descubrió que al traducir, ella dominaba la situación y no sólo eso, sino que la palabra podría ser un arma"
Que decepción me causo esta historia, tanto potencial para que lo amara y que la desperdiciaran :'(...las primeras 30 páginas me hicieron creer que la historia sería hermosa, profunda y cruda pero poética que se centraría en TODA la vida de Malinalli, la esclava que fungiendo como traductora facilitó, para bien y para mal, ...more
Que decepción me causo esta historia, tanto potencial para que lo amara y que la desperdiciaran :'(...las primeras 30 páginas me hicieron creer que la historia sería hermosa, profunda y cruda pero poética que se centraría en TODA la vida de Malinalli, la esclava que fungiendo como traductora facilitó, para bien y para mal, ...more
This was terrible and the worst part is that it is based on historical events that are absolutely captivating. Cortez took her as his translator/concubine and he used her to help him conquer Mexico. Not only that, but they had a son who is considered the first "Mexican" to exist, which is contentious for the indigenous population of Mexico. Malinche is still a divisive icon in Mexico- someone who enabled the forcible colonization of their land and people. This book has the potential to be amazin
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No se como me siento acerca de este libro, por una parte me encanto , me encanto la magia que Esquivel invoca explicando la cultura Mexica. Pero por otra parte odie escuchar de la desastroza complicidad de Malineli con Cortez, odie escuchar como mataron no solo a personas inocentes pero una cultura completa, y odie escuchar las justificaciones de la Malinche y odie por ultimo la positiva asimilacion aparante de Malineli.
Nov 01, 2012
Krista Baetiong Tungol
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
author-south-america
I immediately bought this book after seeing it in a bookstore a few years back because it was written by the same author who wrote one of my favorite books, Like Water for Chocolate, and knowing how powerfully gripping Laura Esquivel had written it, I had expected Malinche to be carved out of the same caliber.
But as soon as I started reading the story, it failed to engage me. Malinalli fell short of a heroine for me. For someone whose country also suffered from foreign domination, I didn’t find ...more
But as soon as I started reading the story, it failed to engage me. Malinalli fell short of a heroine for me. For someone whose country also suffered from foreign domination, I didn’t find ...more
Parti com este livro com baixas expectativas, confesso. As opiniões que li não eram propriamente muito entusiásticas, por isso peguei neste livro com um pé atrás. Às vezes acontece a minha opinião não condizer com a da maioria, mas neste caso acabei mesmo por não gostar muito do livro.
Conhecia vagamente a personagem de Malinalli de Aztec, de Gary Jennings (que em Portugal foi publicado em dois volumes, Orgulho Asteca e Sangue Asteca); sabia que tinha sido a intérprete de Córtez aquando da chegad ...more
Conhecia vagamente a personagem de Malinalli de Aztec, de Gary Jennings (que em Portugal foi publicado em dois volumes, Orgulho Asteca e Sangue Asteca); sabia que tinha sido a intérprete de Córtez aquando da chegad ...more
I have never read Like Water for Chocolate, but was intrigued when I found this book by the same author on the bargain shelf at B&N. Esquivel’s prose is very expressive and fluid, and I personally found it beautiful. In the Reader’s Guide at the end of the book, it states that the book is “told in the lyricism of the Nahuatl song tradition and pictorial language.” I definitely felt that that in many ways the book resembled a song more than a novel, and this may not appeal to some readers. In
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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 about female ...more
That being said, I just wasn't into the book all that much. It saddened and therefore tired me to read about female ...more
Se adentra en el universo mítico de los pueblos precolombinos, ligados a las fuerzas de la tierra y el cosmos, ligados con la violencia y el horror de las batallas, dando como origen de ese choque el nacimiento de algo nuevo, el mestizo, en conjunto con la mejor de las armas: la palabra, que además, recae sobre la figura de una mujer indígena, que deja de lado la elocuencia y capacidad de persuasión del estudiado Cortés, que no le servían de nada fuera de su idioma, capaz de traducir, que nos ll
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I hated this book. I wanted to like it, but what is there to like? It is badly written, faux-mystical, and mostly incoherent.
Un libro innecesario, mal escrito y mal documentado. El uso de valores anacrónicos y una nula inmersión en la cosmogonía prehispánica hacen de esta obra un bodrio difícil de digerir.
"Życie oferuje nam zawsze dwie możliwości: dzień i noc, orła lub węża, budowę lub niszczenie, karę lub przebaczenie, ale istnieje też trzecia możliwość, ukryta, łącząca obie możliwości: odkryj ją."
To była dziwna książka. Serio. Z jednej strony, całkiem niezła historia niewolnicy Malinalli, która miała służyć Hiszpanom. Historia pełna tajemnic, rodzinnych wartości, silnego przywiązania do babki, odwagi. Historia przedstawiająca dziki świat Azteków, magię i zagadkowe wierzenia. Z drugiej jednak st ...more
To była dziwna książka. Serio. Z jednej strony, całkiem niezła historia niewolnicy Malinalli, która miała służyć Hiszpanom. Historia pełna tajemnic, rodzinnych wartości, silnego przywiązania do babki, odwagi. Historia przedstawiająca dziki świat Azteków, magię i zagadkowe wierzenia. Z drugiej jednak st ...more
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.
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-Alegórica, evocadora y, muy al fondo, hasta algo histórica.-
Género. Novela (a un paso de la Novela histórica, pero sin serlo porque esa no es su intención).
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre una supuesta vida de Malinalli, conocida en la Historia y la leyenda como Malinche, desde su nacimiento en el valle del Anáhuac bajo la protección del dios Quetzalcóatl hasta su encuentro con Hernán Cortés, tomado por el propio Quetzalcóatl por muchos, para quien comienza a traducir y termina teniendo con él ...more
Género. Novela (a un paso de la Novela histórica, pero sin serlo porque esa no es su intención).
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre una supuesta vida de Malinalli, conocida en la Historia y la leyenda como Malinche, desde su nacimiento en el valle del Anáhuac bajo la protección del dios Quetzalcóatl hasta su encuentro con Hernán Cortés, tomado por el propio Quetzalcóatl por muchos, para quien comienza a traducir y termina teniendo con él ...more
I have a copy signed by the author. Yet, I feel nothing. This is probably the worst book I've ever come across. If anyone other that an already well-known author tries to publish something this bad, he/she would be laughed at. I would've been ashamed to have sent this manuscript to an editor. Rant's over for now, I'll come back with details later.
me gustó, pero no me encantó.. Hmm ceeo que fue una buena forma de darle un nuevo toque a este personaje histórico tan emblemático en México y quitarle un poco de esa maldad que le atribuyen en los linros escolares de historia y presenta a la Malinchr más humana.
Listened to the audiobook. No doubt the author stepped into the shoes of the protagonist, Malinalli, and used her imagination to create the indigenous world Malinche knew from infancy, then wrestled with the changes Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors invoked on her people and the native tribes she was forced to address as the interpreter. Much description of the earth, nature, eroticism, pre-colonial civilization and religious/philosophical belief accompanied the sparse plot and dialogue.
Esqui ...more
Esqui ...more
This is a tricky one to review. On one hand, it had the lovely light touch of magical realism, an intriguing interpretation of feminism, and the benefit of one of the most savage conquests in history as a dramatic backdrop. The presence of religion and spiritualism in the story is also interesting and vital to making the story work. I remember feeling almost amused shock as a fifth-grader or whenever it was that we learned that the Aztecs had mistaken the Spanish conquistadors for returning gods
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-Alegórica, evocadora y, muy al fondo, hasta algo histórica.-
Género. Novela (a un paso de la Novela histórica, pero sin serlo porque esa no es su intención).
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre una supuesta vida de Malinalli, conocida en la Historia y la leyenda como Malinche, desde su nacimiento en el valle del Anáhuac bajo la protección del dios Quetzalcóatl hasta su encuentro con Hernán Cortés, tomado por el propio Quetzalcóatl por muchos, para quien comienza a traducir y termina teniendo con él ...more
Género. Novela (a un paso de la Novela histórica, pero sin serlo porque esa no es su intención).
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre una supuesta vida de Malinalli, conocida en la Historia y la leyenda como Malinche, desde su nacimiento en el valle del Anáhuac bajo la protección del dios Quetzalcóatl hasta su encuentro con Hernán Cortés, tomado por el propio Quetzalcóatl por muchos, para quien comienza a traducir y termina teniendo con él ...more
I have heard the term Malinche used to describe a backstabber or a treacherous woman. The woman and historical figure Malinche is explored in this novel. She was an abandoned child raised by her grandmother and given to Hernan Cortez as a slave. He was enraptured by her and eventually became his lover, translator and important diplomat between her people and the greedy Spaniard conquistador. I really enjoyed this novel by Laura Esquivel famous novelist of Like Water for Chocolate. I listened to
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Aug 03, 2018
Emanuela
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history-and-historical-fiction
Questa è la storia romanzata di Malinalli/Malinche, la schiava atzeca, interprete ed amante di Hernan Cortes. Pensavo fosse un romance ma mi sono sbagliata, in questo libro la parte romantica ha un ruolo marginale, troviamo un po’ di storia (che è la parte che ho apprezzato di più) e molto molto misticismo. Non posso dire che è stata una scrittura noiosa, magari un po' piatta. Il contesto storico, ben ricostruito, è interessante, purtroppo è stato trattato molto superficialmente, mi ha lasciata
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Misschien ligt dit deels aan de vertaling, maar wat op de achterflap beschreven werd als een zangerige, schilderachtige schrijfstijl, komt op mij vooral over als hoogdravend en zeurderig. Deze manier van vertellen zorgde ervoor dat ik me niet goed kon inleven in de personages. Voor wie een veel leukere manier zoekt om in contact te komen met de oude Aztekencultuur, raad ik de Dreamworksfilm El Dorado aan.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Play Book Tag: Malinche / Laura Esquivel - 4**** | 1 | 11 | Dec 06, 2016 08:34AM |
A teacher by trade, Laura Esquivel gained international attention with Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies and The Law of Love. In both books she manages to incorporate her teaching abilities by giving her readers lessons about life. During an on-line Salon interview with Joan Smith, she said, "As a teacher I realize that what one lear
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“Once again she would arrive at a foreign place. Once again be the newcomer, an outsider, the one who did not belong. She knew from experience that she would quickly have to ingratiate herself with her new masters to avoid being rejected or, in more dire cases, punished. Then there would be the phase where she would have to sharpen her senses in order to see and hear as acutely as possible so that she could assimilate quickly all the new customs and the words most frequently used by the group she was to become a part of--so that finally, she would be judged on her own merits.”
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22 likes
“Todo se olvida en esta vida, todo pasa al recuerdo, todo acontecimiento deja de ser presente, pierde su valor y su significado.”
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8 likes
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