kaaatherin3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
canadiyank's review against another edition
I've read other Allende books, but it was probably over 10 yrs. ago and I don't remember much about them, so I can't compare her writing style to this retelling of the Zorro story. I enjoy historical novels in general, so I did like it from that point of view as I learned a lot about late 18th-c. and early 19th-c. Spain and California. I've seen some TV shows about Zorro and had the general idea about the plot line, so it was interesting to me to fill in some of the backstory of the development of the Zorro character. Not a particularly great literary work, in my opinion, but definitely a fun summer read, which is exactly what I was looking for.
carollouise03's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eb00kie's review against another edition
4.0
This novel consigns canon to the devil. The main narration surrounds the legend of Zorro, but, intertwined, is the story of Pocahontas, the classical pirate bodice-rippers and even a little of Tamora Pierce's Alanna. And the narrator makes fun of all of them. This isn't a parody, its humor is to dry, but I have to say, I had yet to find entertaining a novel with so few dialogues. Actually, you know what? My input is not needed. Have fun.
"The Indians’ insistence on clinging to their customs had to be the work of Satan there was no other explanation which is why the friars went out to hunt down and lasso the deserters and then whipped their doctrine of love and forgiveness into them."
"It took three husky men to milk one of them, and often the cow won." Them good, reliable animals...
The first impression the fiery warriors had was that the mission was deserted: there was nothing in the courtyard but a pair of bone-thin dogs and a distraught hen.
“May God forgive me!” exclaimed Padre Mendoza, who was wielding a musket by the muzzle, landing blows right and left with ferocious pleasure.
“He’s a woman!” he shouted, horrified. Bwahahahaha...
“What name shall we give him?” he asked when he placed the baby in his father’s arms.
“Alejandro, like me, my father, and my grandfather,” he replied.
“He will be called Diego,” Regina interrupted, drained by fever and by the steady trickle of blood soaking the sheets.
“Why Diego? No one in the de la Vega family is named Diego.”
“Because that is his name,” she replied.
Several sailors swore they saw at least one of the living dead. Instantly, word traveled that the ship was bewitched, and they laid that at the door of the auditor’s daughter, who had to be possessed by a devil, since she never used the chamber pot.
...Isabel observed him openly, taking a rigorous inventory of his antiquated suit, his strange accent, his manners as out of date as his clothing and of course his protruding ears. She concluded that this young man from the Indies was mad if he thought he would impress her sister, a conviction underscored by his comical behavior. Isabel sighed, thinking that Diego was going to be a long-term project; he would have to be remade almost entirely, but fortunately she had good raw material to work with...
As a last try, Diego challenged the pirate to a duel to the death, “to defend the honor of Senorita de Romeu,” as he said, but Lafitte informed him that that very morning they had been married in a Creole church in strictest privacy, their only witnesses his brother Pierre and Madame Odilia. They had done it that way to avoid the talk that would inevitably circulate among those who did not understand the urgency of love. There was nothing Diego could do, the marriage was legal. And so he lost his beloved forever and, a prisoner of immeasurable anguish, swore to remain celibate for the rest of his days. No one believed him.
"The Indians’ insistence on clinging to their customs had to be the work of Satan there was no other explanation which is why the friars went out to hunt down and lasso the deserters and then whipped their doctrine of love and forgiveness into them."
"It took three husky men to milk one of them, and often the cow won." Them good, reliable animals...
The first impression the fiery warriors had was that the mission was deserted: there was nothing in the courtyard but a pair of bone-thin dogs and a distraught hen.
“May God forgive me!” exclaimed Padre Mendoza, who was wielding a musket by the muzzle, landing blows right and left with ferocious pleasure.
“He’s a woman!” he shouted, horrified. Bwahahahaha...
“What name shall we give him?” he asked when he placed the baby in his father’s arms.
“Alejandro, like me, my father, and my grandfather,” he replied.
“He will be called Diego,” Regina interrupted, drained by fever and by the steady trickle of blood soaking the sheets.
“Why Diego? No one in the de la Vega family is named Diego.”
“Because that is his name,” she replied.
Several sailors swore they saw at least one of the living dead. Instantly, word traveled that the ship was bewitched, and they laid that at the door of the auditor’s daughter, who had to be possessed by a devil, since she never used the chamber pot.
...Isabel observed him openly, taking a rigorous inventory of his antiquated suit, his strange accent, his manners as out of date as his clothing and of course his protruding ears. She concluded that this young man from the Indies was mad if he thought he would impress her sister, a conviction underscored by his comical behavior. Isabel sighed, thinking that Diego was going to be a long-term project; he would have to be remade almost entirely, but fortunately she had good raw material to work with...
As a last try, Diego challenged the pirate to a duel to the death, “to defend the honor of Senorita de Romeu,” as he said, but Lafitte informed him that that very morning they had been married in a Creole church in strictest privacy, their only witnesses his brother Pierre and Madame Odilia. They had done it that way to avoid the talk that would inevitably circulate among those who did not understand the urgency of love. There was nothing Diego could do, the marriage was legal. And so he lost his beloved forever and, a prisoner of immeasurable anguish, swore to remain celibate for the rest of his days. No one believed him.
jdglasgow's review against another edition
4.0
Before reading this book, I was only dimly aware of the Zorro character. I may have watched the television series occasionally as a child, but if I did I don’t have any strong recollection of having done so. I therefore went into Isabel Allende’s ZORRO knowing very little about the character, except that he is sort of a super-hero – strong, quick-witted and quick on his feet, and an expert swordsman who leaves “the mark of the Z” as his calling card. Allende’s novel is essentially the origin story of the character; think of it like ‘Batman Begins’. It’s Diego de la Vega as a child and teen, and as the book progresses he learns about secret passageways into and out of the hacienda where he lives, for instance; he has reason to learn acrobatics; he acquires the iconic black cape and mask. Each of these moments, even if you aren’t necessarily familiar with the ins and outs of the character, are apparent. They’re tinged with significance. And that is often thrilling.
Diego’s history is being told by an unnamed narrator who assures that they are a participant in the tale, though it is not until the end of the book that the author’s identity is revealed. This affectation called to mind the Lemony Snicket books in that there are hints in that series (I’ve read 4 of the 13 books) that the author is a character as well. This leads to the occasional bit of humor, as when the writer ends a section stating that their quill is running low on ink and then commenting that some scientists envision a future where pens are mechanical, though that would rob writing of its intimacy.
I will admit that I was somewhat frustrated by the early parts of the book because I was eager for Zorro to make his appearance. That said, the highlight of the book for me was when Diego and his friend Bernardo, pre-teens each, are sent by Diego’s Native grandmother White Owl on what is essentially a vision quest. The story follows Bernardo first. He has not spoken for a year after witnessing his mother brutally raped and murdered in an attack on the de la Vega hacienda. While stumbling, hungry, through the forest Bernardo recognizes that something is following him. After some time, he recognizes it to be a foal—black as night—and he pauses to chew some grass for the little horse and holds it out as a peace offering. The pony cautiously approaches and takes some of the grass from his hand. Bernardo names the steed Tornado and even knowing little about Zorro it’s obvious this horse will remain pivotal to the story. As the foal feeds, Bernardo says aloud, “It’s not as good as your mama’s milk, but it will do.” This is the first thing he’s said aloud in months. Hearing himself speak, the reference to mothers, it finally lets him release all of his pent-up emotion. He screams and wails in anger and grief. It’s a wrenching moment.
Meanwhile, Diego has gone in the opposite direction and is lost in an endless plain. He worries he’ll never find his way back and that he’ll die out here. As night falls, he builds a campsite and a fire, albeit a little one. He can hear coyotes crying in the distance and worries that his miniscule campfire won’t be enough to ward off any attacking animals. He slips into an uneasy sleep but awakes in darkness, two red eyes staring unblinking at him across the fire. It’s a fox—a zorro. Each night after that, the same event occurs. Each night, he awakes to find the fox’s glowing red eyes watching him. This is the first reference to Zorro in the book and it’s so exciting when it comes.
The central tension of most of the rest of the book comes from a rival for a woman’s affection in the form of one Rafael Moncada. Although it’s quite obvious from the start that Diego has no future with Juliana, with whom he is smitten, he spends most of his time during a trip to Spain trying to woo her. During this section, there is an exciting duel sequence, then later scenes of Juliana’s father being accused of treason and sentenced to an awful fortress of a prison not unlike the Bastille before eventual execution. This part of the book drew shades of A TALE OF TWO CITIES for me. Moncada thinks he’s won Juliana as she has no security without her father’s money, and this leads to a great fight sequence in which Diego, not yet outfitted in the Zorro costume, nevertheless bests his nemesis by leaping around the room to evade his blade. Once Moncada is defeated, Diego, Juliana, and her sister Isabel (hmm…) join the crew of a ship to flee back to Diego’s California home but are overtaken by pirates who hold the women hostage. The portion of the book which takes place on the high seas put me in mind of the OUTLANDER series, and a subsequent plot point where Diego—now fully Zorro—has to break into another highly fortified prison in California to rescue his wrongfully incarcerated father definitely also called to mind the end of the first in that series.
Although it only comes at the very end, the full Zorro scenes are rewarding. Tornado makes his triumphant return, as he must, and Diego does the Clark Kent thing of appearing to be a weakling when acting as himself the better to obscure his identity as a crimefighter. He one-ups Moncada (back again) by having Bernardo act as a second Zorro, then gets one-upped himself when a third Zorro shows up to save the day! It’s all very enjoyable.
As mentioned, though, some of the time I was impatiently waiting for Zorro to arrive. I know this is an “origin story” book, but I felt at times bothered by the delay, in part because it seemed there were a number of side stories which didn’t really contribute to the book overall. The Juliana stuff, frankly, aside from a couple of explosive action sequences inspired by her, grew tiresome because of how clear it was that she was not a long-term romantic prospect. There were also some questionable stuff about African slavery in the pirate portion of the book which made me uneasy. It was meant to be resolved by Juliana convincing her pirate beau (oh yeah, she ends up marrying a pirate instead of Diego, sorry) to give up the slave trade but that didn’t really feel like a satisfactory way to handle the topic, especially as it ends with two Black girls holding umbrellas over the heads of Juliana and her new husband, despite being putatively “free” now.
So yes, I can’t say that I was totally on-board and loved ZORRO every step of the way, but for the most part I did find it kinetic and engrossing.
Diego’s history is being told by an unnamed narrator who assures that they are a participant in the tale, though it is not until the end of the book that the author’s identity is revealed. This affectation called to mind the Lemony Snicket books in that there are hints in that series (I’ve read 4 of the 13 books) that the author is a character as well. This leads to the occasional bit of humor, as when the writer ends a section stating that their quill is running low on ink and then commenting that some scientists envision a future where pens are mechanical, though that would rob writing of its intimacy.
I will admit that I was somewhat frustrated by the early parts of the book because I was eager for Zorro to make his appearance. That said, the highlight of the book for me was when Diego and his friend Bernardo, pre-teens each, are sent by Diego’s Native grandmother White Owl on what is essentially a vision quest. The story follows Bernardo first. He has not spoken for a year after witnessing his mother brutally raped and murdered in an attack on the de la Vega hacienda. While stumbling, hungry, through the forest Bernardo recognizes that something is following him. After some time, he recognizes it to be a foal—black as night—and he pauses to chew some grass for the little horse and holds it out as a peace offering. The pony cautiously approaches and takes some of the grass from his hand. Bernardo names the steed Tornado and even knowing little about Zorro it’s obvious this horse will remain pivotal to the story. As the foal feeds, Bernardo says aloud, “It’s not as good as your mama’s milk, but it will do.” This is the first thing he’s said aloud in months. Hearing himself speak, the reference to mothers, it finally lets him release all of his pent-up emotion. He screams and wails in anger and grief. It’s a wrenching moment.
Meanwhile, Diego has gone in the opposite direction and is lost in an endless plain. He worries he’ll never find his way back and that he’ll die out here. As night falls, he builds a campsite and a fire, albeit a little one. He can hear coyotes crying in the distance and worries that his miniscule campfire won’t be enough to ward off any attacking animals. He slips into an uneasy sleep but awakes in darkness, two red eyes staring unblinking at him across the fire. It’s a fox—a zorro. Each night after that, the same event occurs. Each night, he awakes to find the fox’s glowing red eyes watching him. This is the first reference to Zorro in the book and it’s so exciting when it comes.
The central tension of most of the rest of the book comes from a rival for a woman’s affection in the form of one Rafael Moncada. Although it’s quite obvious from the start that Diego has no future with Juliana, with whom he is smitten, he spends most of his time during a trip to Spain trying to woo her. During this section, there is an exciting duel sequence, then later scenes of Juliana’s father being accused of treason and sentenced to an awful fortress of a prison not unlike the Bastille before eventual execution. This part of the book drew shades of A TALE OF TWO CITIES for me. Moncada thinks he’s won Juliana as she has no security without her father’s money, and this leads to a great fight sequence in which Diego, not yet outfitted in the Zorro costume, nevertheless bests his nemesis by leaping around the room to evade his blade. Once Moncada is defeated, Diego, Juliana, and her sister Isabel (hmm…) join the crew of a ship to flee back to Diego’s California home but are overtaken by pirates who hold the women hostage. The portion of the book which takes place on the high seas put me in mind of the OUTLANDER series, and a subsequent plot point where Diego—now fully Zorro—has to break into another highly fortified prison in California to rescue his wrongfully incarcerated father definitely also called to mind the end of the first in that series.
Although it only comes at the very end, the full Zorro scenes are rewarding. Tornado makes his triumphant return, as he must, and Diego does the Clark Kent thing of appearing to be a weakling when acting as himself the better to obscure his identity as a crimefighter. He one-ups Moncada (back again) by having Bernardo act as a second Zorro, then gets one-upped himself when a third Zorro shows up to save the day! It’s all very enjoyable.
As mentioned, though, some of the time I was impatiently waiting for Zorro to arrive. I know this is an “origin story” book, but I felt at times bothered by the delay, in part because it seemed there were a number of side stories which didn’t really contribute to the book overall. The Juliana stuff, frankly, aside from a couple of explosive action sequences inspired by her, grew tiresome because of how clear it was that she was not a long-term romantic prospect. There were also some questionable stuff about African slavery in the pirate portion of the book which made me uneasy. It was meant to be resolved by Juliana convincing her pirate beau (oh yeah, she ends up marrying a pirate instead of Diego, sorry) to give up the slave trade but that didn’t really feel like a satisfactory way to handle the topic, especially as it ends with two Black girls holding umbrellas over the heads of Juliana and her new husband, despite being putatively “free” now.
So yes, I can’t say that I was totally on-board and loved ZORRO every step of the way, but for the most part I did find it kinetic and engrossing.
storytimed's review against another edition
4.0
Pure swashbuckling fun, like a nineteenth-century novel with twenty-first century (anti-colonialist!) sensibilities. I loved that it was overstuffed and I loved that Diego was so extra. Not sure how I feel about how the Roma and Native people are portrayed by the narrative, and I could have done with a lot more Isabel.
auronsolo's review against another edition
2.0
How is it that a character, a time period and a story that should be compelling fail to be so in the course of this book. The book is not about Zorro in his prime but more of a "Zorro Begins" story. There are always going to be comparisons between Zorro and Batman and those are on full display here as well although the character predates the latter in every sense of the word. This book serves as an origin story connecting flawlessly to the 1990s film "The Mask of Zorro." I wish this book had been better it had so many things to love historic setting of California, pirates, War of 1812, Napoleonic Wars, swashbuckling, Francisco Goya, secret societies, Romani, & Native Americans. Yet with all of those things this book drags throughout the middle the brief climax at the end isn't enough to redeem this book. I wanted to like this because I really like the movie and the character but this just didn't do it for me.
thereaderintherye's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
4.0
Igual a muchos otros libros de la autora, esta es buenaza.
Corres a terminar de leer este libro.
Me gustó como la autora cambió (o no se pueda ser que reintegró) el cuento del Zorro a la historia de la población indígena de California.
Corres a terminar de leer este libro.
Me gustó como la autora cambió (o no se pueda ser que reintegró) el cuento del Zorro a la historia de la población indígena de California.