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rageofachilles's review
4.0
Premise: Cabasa de Vaca mentions a Moor survivor of the Navarez campaign in La Florida. Here, Lalami offers his versions of events to counter the account given by Vaca.
The result is an intriguing tale of oppression, power, stupidity, and love. What really makes this novel works is the author’s insistence that Mustafa’s origins are as important the story of the campaign. The events of the campaign would not make sense with Mistafa’s backstory—as we see the events through his eyes.
The result is an intriguing tale of oppression, power, stupidity, and love. What really makes this novel works is the author’s insistence that Mustafa’s origins are as important the story of the campaign. The events of the campaign would not make sense with Mistafa’s backstory—as we see the events through his eyes.
lukewarm_ravens's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Read for a class. Phenomenal.
mg_in_md_'s review
5.0
This review is based on the FirstReads copy I was lucky enough to win. Based on the ill-fated 1527 expedition of Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narvaez, the book is told from the perspective of an educated Moroccan Muslim slave who is one of only four crew members to survive a year after arriving in the New World. Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori recounts his life and travels from the city of Azemmur to the Land of the Indians. Mustafa, who is called Estebanico by the Spaniards, survives a shipwreck, disease, fighting with hostile tribes, starvation, storms, and enslavement, and travels for 8 years from Florida to Mexico where he and his fellow survivors are reunited with Spanish colonists they struggle to relate to. He experiences love and loss, and continually seeks a way to secure his freedom to return to his beloved Azemmur and the family he left behind. The writing evokes the oral storytelling tradition while presenting an alternative perspective to history, with each chapter focusing on a particular event in Mustafa's life. The book was incredibly well-researched and felt as if it was a real memoir written by an early explorer. It would have been helpful to have either a map or a legend of some sort to equate the place names used to locations today. I appreciated the author's note, which included many of the sources she used and plan to check out the full bibliography on her website since this book rekindled my interest in this period of history. Thanks again to the FirstReads program for another phenomenal offering!
ahobbitsreadinglist's review
challenging
tense
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
4.0
dcliz's review
3.0
An interesting concept, but I didn't enjoy this novel, especially the first third. I found the narrator's backstory bogged down the plot, and the parts about the conquistadors' encounters with Florida's Native Americans were really difficult to read (and not because this was new or shocking information to me).
Ultimately, the book is about a storyteller, and that storyteller isn't very good at his chosen vocation!
Ultimately, the book is about a storyteller, and that storyteller isn't very good at his chosen vocation!
filiparferreira's review against another edition
4.0
Este livro tem vários atrativos, ganhou vários prémios e por isso me interessou. Depois é baseado em factos reais: uma expedição aventurosa (como o Terror que li há uns meses) e estive quase sempre de Google maps aberto a ver se percebia por onde andavam. Depois tem o lado 'romantico' ou 'exótico' de ser narrado por uma personagem improvável, o escravo mouro de um capitão castelhano. Curiosamente, tive alguma dificuldade em 'entrar' no livro mas depois entusiasmei-me. 4,5 estrelas
vorpalblad's review against another edition
5.0
In 1527 the Narvaez expedition, numbering about 600, left Spain to explore and settle "La Florida" in the new world. In 1536 the four survivors of the expedition walked into Mexico City. One of these survivors, Cabeza de Vaca, would write about the journey, leaving this single line about the one enslaved, non-Spaniard to survive: "The fourth [survivor] is Estevanico, an Arab Negro from Azamor." And it is from this single line that Lalami imagines an entire fictionalized history for this little remembered explorer.
The Moor's Account is a gripping tale of adventure, and stupidity. Narvaez's group met with ill-luck in the form of storms and desertions, but many of the troubles they brought on themselves through mismanagement and poor judgement. If we didn't have the history to compare it to, it would seem almost unbelievable that Narvaez would make so many disastrous decisions. Once Estebanico and the few survivors finally integrate with the native people, the story becomes one of the shifting alliances and views of the men, where Estebanico is no longer treated as a slave, but as an equal, while on their return to the Spanish outpost, he finds himself once again relegated to his former position.
The story took me a few chapters to get into, but once it started moving, the plot was interesting and well-paced, and the shifting relationships of the characters were fascinating. I would highly recommend if you are a fan of historical fiction or adventure stories in general.
The Moor's Account is a gripping tale of adventure, and stupidity. Narvaez's group met with ill-luck in the form of storms and desertions, but many of the troubles they brought on themselves through mismanagement and poor judgement. If we didn't have the history to compare it to, it would seem almost unbelievable that Narvaez would make so many disastrous decisions. Once Estebanico and the few survivors finally integrate with the native people, the story becomes one of the shifting alliances and views of the men, where Estebanico is no longer treated as a slave, but as an equal, while on their return to the Spanish outpost, he finds himself once again relegated to his former position.
The story took me a few chapters to get into, but once it started moving, the plot was interesting and well-paced, and the shifting relationships of the characters were fascinating. I would highly recommend if you are a fan of historical fiction or adventure stories in general.