Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 7/14/2015 + 1223 more book reviews

I really enjoyed this one! Allende tells the story of Diego de la Vega who becomes Zorro from his childhood growing up in a hacienda in Southern California, to his 5 years in Spain where he learned his skills and first took on the role of Zorro, to his return to California where he is able to usurp his rival from Spain and free his father from prison. This Zorro is in many ways very familiar but in others different. He is very similar to the Zorro of the Disney program from the 50s which included some of the same characters such as Sergeant Garcia, the mute Bernardo, his horse Tornado, and even the secret passageway that connects the hacienda to a secret cave. But this novel is mainly about how Zorro came to be with a half-native-American mother, and growing up with Bernardo who is also native American and considered to be Zorro's milk-brother (they were both born at the same time and nursed by the same mother). On the way back from Spain, he also encounters the pirate, Jean Lafitte who ends up marrying the girl he is in love with. Overall, a very engaging novel by Allende. I have read a couple of her other novels and enjoyed them as well. I also have a copy of the original Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley that I plan on reading soon to compare with this novel.

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