The Right Hand of the Sun by Anita Mason
Historical fiction, that should be a good change. This author also wrote an award winning book called The Illusionist. I wonder if it is the book of the great movie by the same name? This looks like a good choice from the pile. Did I ever get a surprise.
The concept for the book is excellent. Geronimo was shipwrecked on the Mexican coast in the early 1500s. He is enslaved by the people there and works with them for 8 years, gradually learning their language. Then Cortez arrives and offers him the chance of rescue in return for his skills as a translator. As the language changes and different cultures are encountered, very quickly a second translator is required, a young woman who speaks two native languages and Geronimo makes the final translation into Spanish. This causes problems as Geronimo becomes suspicious of Cortez’s motives and methods and the young woman begins to fall in love with the Captain.
This is essentially a very human story, set against a backdrop of one of the most dramatic events in the history of the New World. That is one of it’s problems. I certainly do not know enough Aztec history or geography to make sense of this story easily. I needed a map and even an encyclopedia at hand to make sense of the story. And that is not the way I prefer to read fiction.
Parts of this book are excellent. The retreat from Technotitlan was brilliant. The chaos and confusion of the escape was riveting. The character of Moctezuma was also incredible. I loved the way he made a victory out of his imprisonment.
But I believe that this book would benefit from more logical editing. Why on earth did the author put in a whole section about Geronimo’s shipwreck and language acquisition two-thirds of the way through the book? And frankly, the final 100 pages are boring. The story is over, Cortez has won, it doesn’t take all that space to let us know that Marina became one of his harem and Geronimo went back to the native people who had cared for him for 8 years.
Sorry, but mostly I found this book to be a slow and difficult read. A map would have helped greatly, but the publishers failed to provide one. Instead the reader is expected to independently research to make sense of the story. That is not my idea of an entertaining read.
