El Sol, Se Muere

by Jamake Highwater

Nanautzin, chief orator of Montezuma, describes Mexico before its conquest by Cortes and evokes the character of Montezuma himself, torn between his dignity as an Aztec leader and his belief in the return of the white god Quetzlcoatl

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

388 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Jamake Highwater, born as Jackie Marks, and also known as Jay or J Marks (14 February 1931–June 3, 2001), was an American writer and journalist of eastern European Jewish ancestry.[1] From the late 1960s he claimed to be of Native American ancestry, specifically Cherokee. In that period, he published extensively under the name of Jamake Highwater. One version of his shifting story was that he had been adopted as a child and taken from his Indian home in Montana to grow up in a Greek or Armenian family in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story beautifully tells an under recognized side of the invasion of Mexico by Fernando Cortes
and his troops. Looking at history from the angle rarely seen, it inspires both empathy and reverence for the people who tended this land for thousands of years. The work, dedication, ideas and fealty of their civilization that was destroyed by these savage and non-understanding invaders gets to sing again through this story. Beautiful, heartbreaking and in a stunning memorial to time.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Jamake Highwater is a Native American. He tells the tale of the deceit, betrayal and disregard that made the conquest and slaughter of the Aztecs possible. This book is filled with stark, brutal and intense scenes that Mr. Highwater decsribes. He does a superb job in telling of the nobility and suoerstitious nature of the Aztcs and how this was manipulated by the Spanish. One of the best parts of the book is the telling of "La Noche Triste", where the Spaniards were nearly slaughtered andchased from Teotihuacan. This a magnificent book.

[Gevera Piedmont · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of like a summary version of Gary Jenning's Aztec. It does a good job of showing the mindset of the last of the Aztecs (although there are many factual errors, such as double-numbering calendar days). If you like this book, you will love Aztec--kind of like those old perfume clones.