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A review by peripetia
Malinche by Laura Esquivel
3.0
This books tells an interesting story but not in an interesting way. We are fully in the head of the main character, but don't really get a look into her inner life. Malinche or Malintzin was at one point probably the most powerful woman in what is now Mexico, but instead of showing her intelligence and power, she drifts around from situation to situation passively.
Instead of showing us the development of Malinche's character, the author tells us constantly what she is feeling, but Malinche herself remains an empty vessel.
Still, the story was very interesting, so I don't regret reading it.
I did not enjoy the audiobook, though. The narrator hired for this project is, for whatever reason, a Cuban who can't pronounce important words, like Quetzalcoatl or Nahuatl. Her melodramatic reading also started to feel jarring. Lastly, I don't know if it was the recording or what, but her wet mouth sounds... I got used to it, but it was not great.
Instead of showing us the development of Malinche's character, the author tells us constantly what she is feeling, but Malinche herself remains an empty vessel.
Still, the story was very interesting, so I don't regret reading it.
I did not enjoy the audiobook, though. The narrator hired for this project is, for whatever reason, a Cuban who can't pronounce important words, like Quetzalcoatl or Nahuatl. Her melodramatic reading also started to feel jarring. Lastly, I don't know if it was the recording or what, but her wet mouth sounds... I got used to it, but it was not great.