nogakhen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jamieblaikie's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
therealsob's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thain's review against another edition
4.0
As one of four survivors of an ill-fated Spanish expedition to the New World, a Moroccan slave dreams of freedom as he struggles to survive on strange continent among its native inhabitants. An absorbing, harrowing tale of adventure and suffering.
saradluffy's review against another edition
The writing is dry, no speech quotes, big chunks of that-then-that happened, events didn't grip my interest even with such a great premise.
salve58's review against another edition
1.0
This was so boring! There characters were one dimensional and the story read like a list of 'and thens'. Even the cannibalism was boring! Not sure when this has gotten such good reviews. AVOID!
carolynf's review against another edition
2.0
I'm surprised I didn't enjoy this more. The Moor's Account is the story of Estebanico's voyage from Florida across the southern US. The story alternates between his experiences on the expedition, and the circumstances that made him a slave. Unfortunately both stories are just too depressing. They are well written with lots of good historical detail, but just knowing that nothing good was going to come out of either story took away my motivation to finish the book.
eclectictales's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/09/17/review-the-moors-account/
I don't know anything about Panfilo de Narvaez' expedition, so I was intrigued by this novel. The choice of telling the story from Mustafa’s perspective was what intrigued me about the book, and provides the author with creative room to approach the expedition and the experiences of these characters from another angle.
The storytelling itself was very interesting, initially going back and forth between the exploration in the New World and flashbacks to Mustafa’s story prior to his inclusion in the expedition. I honestly found his backstory more interesting than present events in the New World, which in the process revealed the realities of slavery and the times in which he lived in. But his story in the “present day” of the exploration was also revealing and just as gritty: the hunger they experienced, disease, the in-fighting amongst the survivors, the uncertain terrain they faced…It was all quite realistic and brutal.
Overall,The Moor’s Account was a fascinating look at 14th century Spain and the experiences of being on a New World expedition from a different perspective.
I don't know anything about Panfilo de Narvaez' expedition, so I was intrigued by this novel. The choice of telling the story from Mustafa’s perspective was what intrigued me about the book, and provides the author with creative room to approach the expedition and the experiences of these characters from another angle.
The storytelling itself was very interesting, initially going back and forth between the exploration in the New World and flashbacks to Mustafa’s story prior to his inclusion in the expedition. I honestly found his backstory more interesting than present events in the New World, which in the process revealed the realities of slavery and the times in which he lived in. But his story in the “present day” of the exploration was also revealing and just as gritty: the hunger they experienced, disease, the in-fighting amongst the survivors, the uncertain terrain they faced…It was all quite realistic and brutal.
Overall,The Moor’s Account was a fascinating look at 14th century Spain and the experiences of being on a New World expedition from a different perspective.
rebdhar's review against another edition
5.0
Lalami's fascinating novel is an excellent example of what historical fiction does so well. It tells the story from the perspective of those who would have been discounted in their own day. Through meticulous research coupled with imagination, Lalami offers us another version of what happened in an actual Spanish expedition that ended in disaster. By reinterpreting the story that had originally been told by those who had shaped it to benefit themselves, Lalami gives us another possibility of how things actually unfolded. The power of story is a recurring theme in the novel, and one which The Moor's Account powerfully exemplifies.