Publisher's Weekly Review
Through the eyes of the historical native woman of the novel's title, Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) reveals the defeat and destruction of Montezuma's 16th-century Mexicas empire at the hands of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. Malinche, also called Malinalli, was sold into slavery as a child and later became "The Tongue," Cortes's interpreter and lover-remembered by history as a traitor for her contribution to the brutal Spanish triumph. In her lyrical but flawed fifth novel, Esquivel details richly imagined complications for a woman trapped between the ancient Mexicas civilization and the Spaniards. Esquivel revels in descriptions of the role of ancient gods in native life and Malinalli's theological musings on the similarities between her belief system and Christianity. But what the book offers in anthropological specificity, it lacks in narrative immediacy, even while Esquivel also imagines Cortes's point of view. The author also packs the arc of Malinalli's life into a relatively short novel: she bears Cortes an illegitimate son, marries another Spaniard and has a daughter before her sad demise. The resulting disjointed storytelling gives short shrift to this complex heroine, a woman whose role in Mexican history is controversial to this day. 13-city author tour. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
In this brief novel, the author of 1992's Like Water For Chocolate attempts to repair the reputation of one of Mexican history's most reviled women, the Spanish conqueror Corts's native interpreter, Malinalli. As a child, Malinalli (aka Malinche) is sold by her mother into slavery but retains her beloved grandmother's belief in the beneficent pre-Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, whose return (second coming?) would mean the end of the Aztec conqueror Montezuma's practice of human sacrifice. When Corts arrives, Malinalli believes he is a savior, if not the god himself, and is happy to put her linguistic skills to use as his translator. She becomes known as "The Tongue." She allows herself to be baptized, entwining Christian doctrine with her own belief system, but, although she finds herself sexually drawn to Corts, she begins to suspect that he is not to be trusted to save her people. Nevertheless, she remains his translator, following her instinct for survival despite the possibility she may anger her gods. After Malinalli watches Montezuma give up his kingdom because he has faith in Quetzalcoatl's return, she realizes that Montezuma has experienced a spiritual transformation but has also made a terrible mistake in placing his faith in Corts. As Corts consolidates a murderous stranglehold over Mexico, he becomes more monstrous. Finally, Malinalli breaks with him when he requires her to abandon their son in the same way her mother abandoned her. After Corts marries her off to his captain, she ends up living a happy life and dying a happy death, at one with the gods. Because Esquivel is less interested in fleshing out the plot than in delineating the belief system of the pre-Aztec civilization, everything that happens to Malinalli is swathed in imagery and deep spiritual significance. In contrast, everything Corts does is explained as the psychological consequences of his childhood experience. Despite its lyricism, this odd marriage of spirituality and psychology will be a slog for all but the most devoted New Agers. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The best-selling author of Like Water for Chocolate0 (1992) here turns to Mexico's legendary historical figure of Malinche, Hernan Cortes' Indian interpreter and mistress, for another of her cultural explorations of Mexico's past. In Esquivel's reinterpretation of the story, the woman long regarded as a traitor is cast in a much more sympathetic light and is called Malinalli. Raised by her protective grandmother and given a deep appreciation for her people's customs, language, and religion, Malinalli eagerly awaits the arrival of Cortes, believing that he is the reincarnation of her tribe's benevolent and beloved god Quetzalcoatl and that he will put an end to the barbaric practice of human sacrifice practiced by their ruler, Montezuma. A gifted linguist, Malinalli soon picks up Spanish and becomes an invaluable interpreter, translating between Spanish and Nahuatl; she remains convinced that Cortes' interest and hers are one and the same: the liberation of her people. The two become lovers, but Malinalli grows disenchanted upon realizing that the wily Cortes is obsessed with gold and just as bloodthirsty as Montezuma. This novel is not as accessible as Esquivel's earlier work, and the quality of the prose is uneven, sometimes lyrical and sometimes stilted. Still, Esquivel's many fervent fans will be interested in her latest. --Joanne Wilkinson Copyright 2006 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Malinche (1505-29) is infamous in Mexican history and folklore as a traitor to her people, having sacrificed her Indian heritage to become interpreter-and later, mistress-to the conquistador Hernando Cortes. Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) puts her own twist on the story with her imagined life of a young woman sold into slavery by her own mother and subsequently caught between the worlds of Montezuma and the Spanish conquerors. While the descriptions of Malinche's beliefs in the roles of the ancient gods and her observations on Christianity are fascinating and well written, the novel is too short to encompass the story Esquivel wants to tell us, which makes the narrative at times problematic. Raped by Cortes, Malinche comes to love him so suddenly that there is almost no transition for the reader; later, and just as quickly, she becomes enamored of another man who rapes her. Malinche, a.k.a. Malinalli and Marina, is a remarkable character who deserves more detailed treatment. Recommended with reservations for public libraries. [Malinche appeared earlier this year in Spanish.-Ed.]-Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
