And heres the Booklist review of The Moors Account! In her acclaimed previous work, including Secret Son (2009), Lalami depicts in exquisite prose the tumultuous, complex lives of contemporary Moroccans. In her second novel, she delves into history, landing among treacherous Atlantic voyages and the lavish, imagined riches of New Spain in 1527. In this tale of adventure narrated by a Moorish slave called Estebanico by his master, the opportunist Andrés Dorantes, Lalami reimagines one infamous expedition to Florida led by the Spanish conquistador, Pánfilo de Narváez. The ill-fated journey results in hundreds of men obsessed with promises of gold and glory dying horribly by disease, hunger, and brutal clashes with indigenous tribes. Only Estebanico and a few others survive the initial incursion, and they are soon taken captive by natives. Estebanico’s account alternates between this disastrous mission and his past as a merchant, with the two threads combining to create a deeply layered, complex portrait of all-too-familiar characters in an unfamiliar world. The result is a totally engrossing and captivating novel that reconsiders the overlooked roles of Africans in New World exploration.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:39:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015