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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I really, really liked this story from point one. It starts right from the start and goes right to the end. There were some moments of near-Hollywood shoot-em-up towards the end that I thought were a little beneath the rest of the book's tone, but it was a really good read. I'm a little confilcted about the glorification of narco-trafficking, but I still dug Theresa Mendoza a LOT!
This was quite the ride. A bit slow-moving at the beginning, Perez-Reverte's writing eventually grabs hold of you and takes you on the ride of Teresa Mendoza, drug transport....queenpin? While Teresa is never quite a sympathetic character, you still end up rooting for her as her life is revealed on the pages, told in alternating "journalistic investigation" and narrative style.
The crowning achievements of this book were the descriptions of characters - the author has an AMAZING knack for distilling physical characteristics and small nuances of character in less than a few sentences. He does it so well that despite the large cast of characters, when people were reintroduced I remembered them perfectly, and if you all know my shitty memory, this is quite the feat.
There is a certain psychology to this book, of take or be taken contrasted with the contrasting images of Teresa Mendoza she keeps in her own head, that serve as central themes and guide the story. It's a means of pulling things together that sometimes worked and sometimes bored tf out of me. It is those slow moments that dragged things down for me, the esoteric inaction. Still a fantastic read that I 1000% can see why it was made into a tv show.
The crowning achievements of this book were the descriptions of characters - the author has an AMAZING knack for distilling physical characteristics and small nuances of character in less than a few sentences. He does it so well that despite the large cast of characters, when people were reintroduced I remembered them perfectly, and if you all know my shitty memory, this is quite the feat.
There is a certain psychology to this book, of take or be taken contrasted with the contrasting images of Teresa Mendoza she keeps in her own head, that serve as central themes and guide the story. It's a means of pulling things together that sometimes worked and sometimes bored tf out of me. It is those slow moments that dragged things down for me, the esoteric inaction. Still a fantastic read that I 1000% can see why it was made into a tv show.
This was interesting. I thought it would be a thriller, but it reads more like literature.
slow-paced
It took me two weeks to read this book - for a variety of reasons. As someone who doesn't speak Spanish and isn't familiar with southern Spain, the translation kept Spanish words sprinkled into the text (turns out most were swear words) and the nature of the book describes a lot of locations in southern Spain, Gibraltar and Morocco. Once I resigned myself to consulting a map and a translation tool, I fell into a better reading rhythm.
I did persist in finishing the book because I did enjoy the story. Teresa Mendoza flees Mexico for Spain after her boyfriend, Güero Dávila is killed for double crossing his drug-smuggler boss. In Spain, she falls in love with Santiago Fisterra, who transports/smuggles tobacco & hashish from Morocco into Gibraltar & Spain. But with Santiago, she didn't want to be the naive girlfriend. Good with numbers, she manages the books and eventually goes out on jobs with him. They become true partners. After Santiago is killed and she spends time in prison, she decides never to rely on men again.
Teresa's prison cellmate is Patty O'Farrell Meca, the black sheep of a rich Spanish family. Patty introduces Teresa to the world of books - providing Teresa an education she never had growing up. After they are released, Patty bankrolls Teresa's entry into southern Spain's drug smuggling market. With Teresa's contacts from her time with Santiago and Patty's contacts in the money laundering world, the two become the biggest transportation system of drugs in the Mediterranean. Teresa soon becomes know as the Queen of the South. Eventually, her past catches up with her and she must decide how to confront it.
The story is told alternating between the voice of a journalist investigating Teresa Mendoza, hoping to write a book about her, and the third person. The journalist is interviewing people that interacted with Terese in both Mexico and Spain. That perspective gives more insight into her motivations, or perceived motivations.
Teresa evolves from a young, poor, naive girlfriend to a cultured, powerful, realistic illegal-business owner. She is driven by the need to control her own life, image & destiny. While I believe she truly loved by Güerra and Santiago, she chooses not to let love control her choices ever again.
There are many references to The Conte of Monte Cristo, a book she reads in prison and refers back to often. I have never read the book, but it makes me wonder if The Queen of the South is a loose retelling of that classic.
The three star rating reflects my opinion that knowing Spanish and Spain would make this a much more enjoyable book. While I enjoyed the story, I find it hard to justify all the work I put into reading it.
I did persist in finishing the book because I did enjoy the story. Teresa Mendoza flees Mexico for Spain after her boyfriend, Güero Dávila is killed for double crossing his drug-smuggler boss. In Spain, she falls in love with Santiago Fisterra, who transports/smuggles tobacco & hashish from Morocco into Gibraltar & Spain. But with Santiago, she didn't want to be the naive girlfriend. Good with numbers, she manages the books and eventually goes out on jobs with him. They become true partners. After Santiago is killed and she spends time in prison, she decides never to rely on men again.
Teresa's prison cellmate is Patty O'Farrell Meca, the black sheep of a rich Spanish family. Patty introduces Teresa to the world of books - providing Teresa an education she never had growing up. After they are released, Patty bankrolls Teresa's entry into southern Spain's drug smuggling market. With Teresa's contacts from her time with Santiago and Patty's contacts in the money laundering world, the two become the biggest transportation system of drugs in the Mediterranean. Teresa soon becomes know as the Queen of the South. Eventually, her past catches up with her and she must decide how to confront it.
The story is told alternating between the voice of a journalist investigating Teresa Mendoza, hoping to write a book about her, and the third person. The journalist is interviewing people that interacted with Terese in both Mexico and Spain. That perspective gives more insight into her motivations, or perceived motivations.
Teresa evolves from a young, poor, naive girlfriend to a cultured, powerful, realistic illegal-business owner. She is driven by the need to control her own life, image & destiny. While I believe she truly loved by Güerra and Santiago, she chooses not to let love control her choices ever again.
There are many references to The Conte of Monte Cristo, a book she reads in prison and refers back to often. I have never read the book, but it makes me wonder if The Queen of the South is a loose retelling of that classic.
The three star rating reflects my opinion that knowing Spanish and Spain would make this a much more enjoyable book. While I enjoyed the story, I find it hard to justify all the work I put into reading it.
La "biografia letteraria" di una regina del narcotraffico, molto ben scritta, piena di colpi di scena, eppure lineare dall'inizio alla fine nel descrivere la caduta, la resurrezione e la definitiva nemesi della protagonista, con tanto di possibile assunzione nell'empireo.
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
