A review by jobatkin
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

5.0

Definitely up there with Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Louis de Bernieres as one of my favourite authors of Latin American stories. The author is descended from the Urrea family featured in the story and took the story of Teresita from family records of his great-great-great (or something) aunt. She was abandoned by her mother and raised grudgingly by her aunt on a rancho in Mexico before being acknowledged as the boss's illegitimate daughter and trained as a healer and medicine woman, developing her talents and skills to the point of performing all kinds of miracles. Her theology is a surprising mix of Catholic and traditional Mayo beliefs with peace and love as the centerpoint, but unfortunately corrupt land-stealing politicians and violent local men disrupt her healings and label her a revolutionary. I loved the bits of Spanish scattered throughout and the rich visuals painted of the landscapes as well as the story and eccentric, passionate, full of life characters. So well-written, loved it.