While it starts off slow and leaves you wondering if you're going to like it...it picks up speed and interest just a little way in and becomes so good you don't want to put it down. The main character is an excellent narrator and a man of integrity. The author's writing is very good. It was smooth sailing all the way and so very different from anything I've read in a long time. In some ways reminded me of Robinson Crusoe.
This book was a Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2015) and a Pulitzer Prize Nominee for Fiction (2015), and received some awards. I do not agree with these distinctions. The frist 250 pages were fascinating. After that the novel deteriorates and it was necessary to plod through the final pages. I found myself checking to see how many pages and how many chapters remained. I believe the editors may have failed in editing more than one hundred remaining pages to make it a really remarkable effort.
The novel revolves around documented historical events by Spanish conquerors. Since there is no report from the inhabitants of the New World, the characterizations of the key players and the inhabitants may or may not be realistic. They are, the author admits, a product of her imagination. The slave who tells the story is mentioned but briefly in research she acknowleges. How anyone could enter his mind to tell such a tale is a farce.
Yes, I enjoyed part of [book:The Moor's Account|20262502] and through those pages was delighted with the tale and the author's portrayal of the characters. Perhaps others can ignore the observations I made and enjoy the story as written. I could not. Thus, the rating stands. It's just an OK read.
The novel revolves around documented historical events by Spanish conquerors. Since there is no report from the inhabitants of the New World, the characterizations of the key players and the inhabitants may or may not be realistic. They are, the author admits, a product of her imagination. The slave who tells the story is mentioned but briefly in research she acknowleges. How anyone could enter his mind to tell such a tale is a farce.
Yes, I enjoyed part of [book:The Moor's Account|20262502] and through those pages was delighted with the tale and the author's portrayal of the characters. Perhaps others can ignore the observations I made and enjoy the story as written. I could not. Thus, the rating stands. It's just an OK read.
