by Luis Alberto Urrea
This review has been revised on completion. Teresita, the Hummingbird's daughter, existed. She is an acknowledged saint. In this book you learn about her life in Mexico, until she was forced to leave at the age of 19. You learn about Mexico (food, lifestyle, religious beliefs and customs) and about...
Highly readable with a lovingly rendered title character. Not sure it made a lasting impression on me, but I will likely read the follow-up as well.
Rating: an irritated single star.Someone needs to explain to me why this book is great. I don't think it's even good. It's The Song of Bernadette for the 21st century, written in prose as flat and featureless as the deserts it describes.So very, very, very not recommended.
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 ...
I officially give up. This one has been on my "currently reading" list for too long. It is so rare that I don't make it through a book. This one started out so strong and then got so bizarre so fast that I just had to put it down and I have no desire to pick it pack up!
A narrative which is part myth, part religion, part history, and true in the sense all great fiction is true. Urrea takes on a character (a real life relative) who could easily be lost in a variety of directions, yet manages to make her both saintly and human all at once. I was reminded of Nikos Kaz...
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