Isabel Allende
Zorro (2005)
translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
As I've mentioned before, I love swashbuckling adventures, and as swashbuckling adventurers go, Zorro is one of my favorites.
Last summer, when "The Legend of Zorro" was out, I saw this book, but assumed it was related to the movie, and didn't pick it up.
My mistake.
Isabel Allende tells the story of Diego's childhood and youth--the events in his life that turned him into Zorro, while allowing him to play the fop to keep his identity secret. We learn of his birth, and the birth of Bernardo, and how the two grew up together, and influenced each other. It also tells of his time in Spain, where he continued to learn to fence--and where he fell in love.
I really enjoyed this book. Fencing, fighting, pirates--and just a touch of romance. I loved seeing how Diego and Bernardo grew into the men they became. And I especially liked Bernardo's character. One of the things I remember most clearly is a scene with Bernardo, and I always wanted to know more about him. And there is lots in this story about Bernardo.
In many ways, this is the book that I wanted The Mark of Zorro to be. Diego is intelligent, athletic, daring, and romantic. Bernardo is strong, loyal, and wise. Plus, she has added in some strong female characters--an added bonus.
The pacing of the story was very good. It moved quickly--as a swashbuckling adventure should--but there were lots of details about the time and place. Bits of the story reminded me of Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste. Maybe there's something about the time period; pistols were not yet reliable and convenient, so swords were still commonly used (although pistols made a nice ace in the hole.)
Diego is, of course, interesting. He has to grow into the man that we know he becomes, and we see the start of the conflict between Diego and Zorro--how he learns to keep them separate and to hide the truth, and also how he relies upon Bernardo to temper his wilder impulses.
Isabel Allende's Zorro is a worthy heir to the Zorro tradition, providing background and depth to one of the original superheroes--only a superhero whose feats came from athleticism and cunning rather than special powers and technology.
Rating: 8/10
Daughter of Fortune (1999)
My thoughts on this book are that perhaps I read too many fantasies and mysteries, so I have certain expectations about how a story should start. I'm still waiting to see if something is going to happen. There's been nothing yet to really pull me into the story. I'm to page 31, and mostly I've just gotten background on Eliza (the main characters) childhood. No one has been murdered or robbed or kidnapped or stabbed (not that I was necessarily expecting any of those things), however, the back cover promises a "rough-and-tumble world of panhandlers, prostitutes, immigrants and aristocrats..." Maybe those bits come later, once I get through learning about Eliza's childhood.
So really, I haven't completely abandoned this book yet, but at the rate of reading only a page or two before falling asleep, I can see it might take me awhile.
Zorro (2005), Daughter of Fortune (1999)
