Zorro: A Novel (P.S.) by Isabel Allende Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Zorro: A Novel (P.S.)
Book Review: The Fox So Cunning and Free
Summary: 5 Stars
In this version Don Diego De la Vega is the son of a Spanish don and a Native American warrior woman called Toypurnia, which means Daughter of Wolf. Her mother, Diego's grandmother, is a shaman. And Bernardo is Diego's milk brother. As a child Bernardo saw his mother raped and killed and has been mute ever since.
The boys are sent to Spain when Diego is sixteen to be educated and on the voyage over he learns slight of hand from a crew member and while there he is taught how to use the sword, by Manuel Escalante a member of a secret society that protects the poor and innocent that Diego joins. And because this is the Spain of Joseph Bonaparte, Diego often gets to put his skills to the test.
Back in America he is captured by the Jean Lafitte and Diego learns much from the pirate. When he eventually gets back to California, his Zorro persona has been perfected, mask, cape, cabellero hat and, of course, the sword with which he makes the sign of the Z. He is now ready to fight for the poor and down trodden who suffer at the hands of the Spanish dons.
This story is about the Zorro we don't know, how he came to be, "the fox so cunning and free." Diego is so well drawn that when I finished the book, I felt I knew him, mysticism and all. Everybody knows that Isabel Allende does serious fiction, but this book was so entertaining that I couldn't put it down. Who knew a swashbuckler could be serious fiction.
Book Review: Well-written swashbuckler
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the first "superheroes" to appear in fiction was Zorro, the masked avenger who served as an inspiration for various other characters such as Batman. In comic book terms, Isabel Allende's Zorro is an origin story which discusses the early life of Diego De La Vega and what made him become the hero he would be.
I admit I approached this book with some trepidation. I am not overly familiar with Allende's work, but always pictured her as being a very serious, literary type of author. My initial thought was that her book on Zorro would be an ironic, rather revisionist take on the character that would make him seem more like a villain than a hero, perhaps a 19th century terrorist upsetting society. It was to my delight that I found this was not the case; her book is a well-written adventure story which solidly embraces the traditional, heroic Zorro.
The story begins with the courtship of Diego's father, a Spanish soldier and his mother, an Indian version of Joan of Arc, leading her troops in battle. Unlike Joan, however, she will have a happier (though by no means totally happy) fate. Diego winds up being raised on a vast estate in the Los Angeles area, growing up with his best friend and "milk brother", the Indian Bernardo. Together the two will go as teens to Spain for further education at the time of Napoleon's dominion over the country.
It is in Spain that Diego begins to develop his Zorro persona, an identity taken from the Indian rituals he went through as a child. It is also where he crosses swords for the first time with his arch-enemy Rafael Moncada, an unpleasant individual who is also Diego's rival for the affections of Juliana de Romeu. Zorro, however, would not be fully developed until Diego's return to California.
This story has all you could want out of an old-fashioned adventure novel: heroes, villains, romance, action and exotic settings (not to mention war, pirates, gypsies and secret passageways). Allende's writing (or at least the translation) is high caliber, making this easily a five star book and a really fun read.
Book Review: Zorra, the Dull Blade
Summary: 1 Stars
I'd have thought it impossible to write a dull Zorro story. A bad one, sure, but one that's dull as well?
Allende's Zorro is a harmless, ineffectual, hormone-hobbled fop. The story has a few bold moments, but I soon began to wish the hero would grow up. I wonder if Allende had any respect left for her character when she finished writing. If you want to know Zorro's origins, read Mark of Zorro, McCulley's original serialization. It, like its hero, is bolder, more daring, and less pathetic than Allende's Zorro, who is somehow made less interesting than a mute character. McCulley recalled the basic principle: heroes should be admirable. Allende's Zorro is a narcissistic adolescent who would be more at home in the mall, or endlessly reading self-help books.
The paperback has this going for it: the cover is more appropriate to the story.
Book Review: Zorro
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never been disappointed by Isabel Allende and she has once again supplied just the right amount of entertainment and historical facts to keep me interested.Book Review: Zorro
Summary: 3 Stars
Zorro is an epic of a novel. Beginning in the years before Diego De La Vegas birth, it chronicles his aristocratic father falling in love with a half Indian-half Spanish warrior woman, who later gives birth to the timeless hero know as Zorro. While it is a beautiful read it does get a little tiresome. Paragraphs can go on for pages, and the timeline of Diego De La Vegas life is very slow. Halfway through the book, he is only about nineteen years old and there has been little to no action. This being said, it is the only flaw i can mention as everything else is so astounding. Allende's descriptions really make you feel as though you are standing right beside our hero and his loyal friend Bernado. It is a read that definitely deserves your full attention, and you will not be disappointed.