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River of Painted Birds
Married at fifteen, "in loneliness and lust" as she herself puts it, Isabel Keating accidentally kills her abusive husband six years later and is forced to flee 18th century Ireland disguised as a man. She boards the Bonaventure, a ship bound for America, only to discover, once she is on the high seas, that thanks to her ignorance of geography and the captain's greed, she is not on her way north to Boston, as she had intended, but south to the Spanish colonies.
From the ship's owner, Garz�n Moreau, who is also on board, she learns of the perils and rewards of continuing south to the small coastal city of Montevideo and uses her small stock of money to invest in Garzon's export ventures. Like Isabel, he too is something of an outcast, albeit a wealthy one thanks to his ability to evade the Spanish Crown's import and export regulations, and to his skills as a smuggler. They both have strong reasons to resist a relationship that goes any deeper. Garzon is half Indian and well aware that the Catholic Church forbids mixed marriages. And Isabel is a fugitive with a troubling secret.
They join forces with an unconventional priest whose determination to save the native people from slavery impels him to leave the safety of his mission near Montevideo to establish a new one inland, on territory controlled by Garz�n. Their partnership provides them with freedom from close scrutiny from the Crown and the Church, while forcing them and the Indians who join them on their new venture to make choices that will affect not only their own lives, but the future of the Spanish colony itself.
From the ship's owner, Garz�n Moreau, who is also on board, she learns of the perils and rewards of continuing south to the small coastal city of Montevideo and uses her small stock of money to invest in Garzon's export ventures. Like Isabel, he too is something of an outcast, albeit a wealthy one thanks to his ability to evade the Spanish Crown's import and export regulations, and to his skills as a smuggler. They both have strong reasons to resist a relationship that goes any deeper. Garzon is half Indian and well aware that the Catholic Church forbids mixed marriages. And Isabel is a fugitive with a troubling secret.
They join forces with an unconventional priest whose determination to save the native people from slavery impels him to leave the safety of his mission near Montevideo to establish a new one inland, on territory controlled by Garz�n. Their partnership provides them with freedom from close scrutiny from the Crown and the Church, while forcing them and the Indians who join them on their new venture to make choices that will affect not only their own lives, but the future of the Spanish colony itself.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2015
251 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 14, 2024
#ReadAroundTheWorld. #Uruguay
This is an historical fiction set in Uruguay in the 18th century. The author Tessa Bridal was born and raised in Uruguay, her ancestors having moved there from Ireland 100 years ago.
The story is about Isabel Keating, a young Irish woman who finds herself fleeing from home after inadvertently killing her abusive husband. She ends up on board a ship, dressed as a man, mistakenly headed for South America, when she had intended to travel to America, aww chucks, whoops!
On the plus side she meets the ship’s owner, the handsome and wealthy Garzón Moreau, a half French and half Charrúa trader and smuggler. They travel to Montevideo, then to the Jesuit mission where they meet the inimitable Father Manuel working with the Guarani people. Garzón wishes to employ the Guarani to work for wages, a plan which raises the ire of the Spanish and Portuguese colonists who view them as their entitled property and a natural source of free labour.
The story has many interesting side characters like Irish landowner Charlie FitzGibbon, Yací a Minuane man who Father Manuel has developed a deep spirit connection to, Orlando a mysterious boy with a gift for languages, and Wimencaí a traditional healer and midwife.
The author has clearly done detailed research into the times, and writes lush and vivid descriptions of the place and the customs, such as the Minuane beliefs about dreaming. She outlines the conflict and deals between the Portuguese and the Spanish, the deadly impact of colonialism, and the tensions between the Catholic missions and the crown.
I found this an enjoyable read that gave me a sense of place, culture and history, despite some improbable storylines. I would like to also read The Tree of Red Stars sometime.
This is an historical fiction set in Uruguay in the 18th century. The author Tessa Bridal was born and raised in Uruguay, her ancestors having moved there from Ireland 100 years ago.
The story is about Isabel Keating, a young Irish woman who finds herself fleeing from home after inadvertently killing her abusive husband. She ends up on board a ship, dressed as a man, mistakenly headed for South America, when she had intended to travel to America, aww chucks, whoops!
On the plus side she meets the ship’s owner, the handsome and wealthy Garzón Moreau, a half French and half Charrúa trader and smuggler. They travel to Montevideo, then to the Jesuit mission where they meet the inimitable Father Manuel working with the Guarani people. Garzón wishes to employ the Guarani to work for wages, a plan which raises the ire of the Spanish and Portuguese colonists who view them as their entitled property and a natural source of free labour.
The story has many interesting side characters like Irish landowner Charlie FitzGibbon, Yací a Minuane man who Father Manuel has developed a deep spirit connection to, Orlando a mysterious boy with a gift for languages, and Wimencaí a traditional healer and midwife.
The author has clearly done detailed research into the times, and writes lush and vivid descriptions of the place and the customs, such as the Minuane beliefs about dreaming. She outlines the conflict and deals between the Portuguese and the Spanish, the deadly impact of colonialism, and the tensions between the Catholic missions and the crown.
I found this an enjoyable read that gave me a sense of place, culture and history, despite some improbable storylines. I would like to also read The Tree of Red Stars sometime.
January 24, 2016
i was so excited about this book as i LOVED this author’s first novel (Tree of Red Stars). This just wasn’t quite as yummy. It is clear that a tremendous amount of research was done, but it seems she felt obligated to include every damn detail she had gleaned in that research. Long stretches were dry, very descriptive, probably impeccably correct but i found myself gazing at how many more pages were left. The story picked up about a third of the way in, and she took some lovely chances - giving us protagonists from each major indigenous tribe, and a coupla mixed folks, which was nice, if hard to believe. And the underlying story of a mid- 18th C, indigent, Irish, murderess-by-accident, who, in her haste to escape before being caught, leaped onto the wrong ship (dressed as a boy) and sailed off to the “wrong” America; i HATE it when that happens.
There were some Neat Facts about the Indians’ (Guarani) beliefs re dreams and dreaming, and, of course, there is the overall sadness which one feels about the impending future for our heros (genocide campaigns leaving NO Indians in Uruguay) with the attendant loss of all of their knowledge, their music, their culture. But that sadness is present in all books about first peoples where Europeans eventually arrive to rape, pillage and destroy.
Have a nice day!
i tried to attach a photo i lifted from a 19th century book on Uruguay, showing a small group of white boys with shoeshine kits and with this charming descriptor:
“Unlike the Paraguayans, the Uruguayans may justly pride themselves on their almost entirely unmixed blood. The people one sees on the streets, from the well dressed promenaders to the boot blacks, are wholly Caucasian types”
[image error]
There were some Neat Facts about the Indians’ (Guarani) beliefs re dreams and dreaming, and, of course, there is the overall sadness which one feels about the impending future for our heros (genocide campaigns leaving NO Indians in Uruguay) with the attendant loss of all of their knowledge, their music, their culture. But that sadness is present in all books about first peoples where Europeans eventually arrive to rape, pillage and destroy.
Have a nice day!
i tried to attach a photo i lifted from a 19th century book on Uruguay, showing a small group of white boys with shoeshine kits and with this charming descriptor:
“Unlike the Paraguayans, the Uruguayans may justly pride themselves on their almost entirely unmixed blood. The people one sees on the streets, from the well dressed promenaders to the boot blacks, are wholly Caucasian types”
[image error]
February 16, 2023
While I was reaidng this book I was thinking how lucky I was not to have lived during that era. Even though there were several long dry descriptions on numerous pages, this book is one of courage, survival, love and undying desire to the best that you can under very trying circumstances. I have to admire the author for the amount of researdh she must have done to write this book.
June 10, 2019
un libro excepcional. totalmente recomendable, una novela histórica tan real.
December 27, 2015
An enthralling and educational read, this is truly a love story of both the heart and the earth.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews