Malinche: A Novel

Written by Laura Esquivel

Narrated by Maria Conchita Alonso

Bestselling author of Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquivel returns with Malinche, an extraordinary retelling of the passionate and tragic love affair during the conquest of the Aztecs between the conquistador Cortez and his Indian interpreter Malinalli.

When Malinalli, a member of the tribe conquered by the Aztec warriors, first meets the conquistador Hernán Cortés and becomes his interpreter, she—like many—believes him to be the reincarnated forefather god of her tribe. Naturally, she assumes she must welcome him, and help him destroy the Aztec empire and free her people. The two fall passionately in love, but Malinalli soon realizes that Cortés's thirst for conquest is all too human, and that he is willing to destroy anyone, even his own men—and even their own love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 2, 2006
• ISBN: 9780743564557

Laura Esquivel

Laura Esquivel was born in Mexico City in 1950. Her first novel, Like Water for Chocolate, has sold more than four and a half million copies around the world and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year. She currently lives in Mexico.

Reviews for Malinche

[jessiqa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Biographical fiction has the ability to give humanity to historical figures who are often painted as villains or at least show how complicated those individuals are. Such is the case with Malinche, about the life of Malinalli, a slave girl who became the voice of conquistador Hernán Cortés. Much of the book focuses on her deep spirituality and her love of her grandmother who engendered this love of the gods. She believed that Cortés with his corn-blonde hair was the emissary of Quetzalcoatl, the Nahua god credited with giving corn to humankind. It seemed the Aztec ruler of Mexico, Montezuma, also believed this when he abdicated in favor of Cortés. By this time, Malinalli had been sold into slavery by her mother at a young age, given to the Spaniards, and become Cortés’ translator. As his translator, she learned quickly that he was not sent by the gods, but found herself furthering his cause anyway. Partly because he wanted to tear down Aztec rule (and she belonged to an ethnic minority oppressed by the Aztecs), and partly because she was safer doing as she was told, rather than rebelling. I confess, that I didn’t know enough about Mexican history to know of Malinalli. In this book, Cortés alone is known as Malinche, but historically, the name belongs to both, since he spoke through her. I enjoyed learning about this period of Mexican history, and the incredibly complex Malinalli. Esquival has great sympathy for Malinalli but doesn’t hesitate to show her weaknesses and shortcomings. Those who enjoy historical fiction will like this book.

[joririchardson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After having discovered this book brand new at Border's for only $2, I believed that I had just found a treasure. I love the Aztecs, but unfortunately not very many books have been written about them.So, I eagerly began reading.This book is about how the conquistadors, led by Cortes, destroyed the Aztec's way of life. Malinalli is a beautiful young woman in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Cortes is drawn to her, and the two fall in love. However, Malinalli becomes torn between her lover and her people when she begins to realize that Cortes cares little for preserving their way of life.The plot is an amazing one - and I have often wished that history knew more about this tragic romance.However, I was very disappointed by this book. The language was heavy and weighed down, very stiff and formal. There was constant talk of the Aztec deities and gods. I understand that these were a prominent, historically accurate part of their lives, but they were mentioned everywhere. By the end of the book, I felt that I knew their gods far better than I knew the main character herself.Scenes that could have been exciting or interesting were nothing but boring and tedious due to Esquivel's toneless writing style.And of course, if a writer cannot even give their reader an idea of what a character is like - she cannot write a passionate love story. And no - she didn't.I was never sympathetic towards Cortes and Malinalli's supposed romance at all. They did not even seem to be very much in love at all. When Malinalli is forced to marry another man, I felt no sadness for her. Also, their "romance" begins with Cortes raping the main character. Malinalli thinks to herself later about Cortes "forcing himself on her." Cortes does not ask, and the book specifically says that he did not care that he was hurting her or if she didn't want to.This sounds like rape to me.From then on, Malinalli is very attracted to Cortes, and they become lovers. Why on earth a woman would fall in love with the man who raped her, I do not know.This and a very flat, dry writing style led me to dislike this book. I was glad to finish it, and it will not be staying on my shelves.

[marse_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of Cortes' interpreter, Malinalli, known to history as Malinche. She was from one of the tribes conquered by the Aztecs, was adept at languages and hoped that Cortes would destroy the Aztec empire. An interesting and thoughtful retelling of Cortes' conquest from the point of view of a native woman.

[reallifereading · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story of Malinche is a rather interesting one.

And yet it was also a book I didn’t quite enjoy reading. But somehow managed to finish. I don’t know – was I already too far into the book to give it up? Or am I just reluctant to give up books, unless I really detest it? I didn’t hate reading this book, it had some interesting moments. Partly because it is based on a historical figure. One I hadn’t heard of before, but has such an iconic status.

And she is the almost mythical character of Malinalli, a Nahua slave turned interpreter turned lover of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire.

We meet Malinalli at her birth, her maternal grandmother, a key figure in her childhood, acting as midwife. She is sold into slavery at age five, after her grandmother’s death, and eventually lands up in the Spaniards’ hands. Now baptized and with her aptitude for languages, she becomes the Spaniards’ translator, known as ‘The Tongue’. She quickly catches the eye of Cortes, resulting in their son Martin, one of the first mestizos (person of mixed European and indigenous ancestry). It’s not really a love story though, as he is obviously the one in charge, and pretty much delivers her over to one of his underlings when he’s done with her.

Writing about a historical figure must be tricky. And with Malinalli, controversy is no stranger. She has been blamed for betraying her people by some, yet praised by others for saving many lives. She has been portrayed as a victim, a symbolic mother of Mexico’s people, a woman of authority. Today the term malinchista refers to a disloyal Mexican.

While there are some absorbing details about life in 16th century Mexico, the awkward speech and the odd pace of the book (tedious at parts, rushed at other times) as it shifts between past and present makes for a difficult read. The chunks of spirituality strewn throughout the book resulted in my flipping through the pages, eyes a bit glazed.

Perhaps what is most telling about my experience with this book is that as I was about to return it to the library, I realised that I had another ten-odd pages to go. I thought I’d finished it already!

Originally posted on my blog Olduvai Reads

[cbl_tn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I knew this was fiction when I picked it up. I hoped it was historical fiction, and that I would learn something of Mexico's history by reading it. I was profoundly disappointed. Instead of historical fiction, I felt like I was reading a mixture of New Age spirituality and a Harlequin romance. The book primarily describes Malinalli/La Malinche's spiritual reflections on life, with occasional breaks of a paragraph or two to describe historical places, people, or events. I'm not convinced that the religious beliefs portrayed in the book were authentic to Malinche's time and culture. Malinalli/La Malinche seemed more like a 21st century adherent to New Age beliefs than a 16th century Nahua woman.The book's one redeeming feature is its bibliography of sources about La Malinche, Cortés, and the Spanish conquest of Mexico. I've developed an interest in this topic since becoming close to several of my brother's Mexican in-laws. Maybe I'll find what I'm looking for in one of the books in the bibliography. I certainly didn't find it here.

[carmenere_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Malinche is best described as a novel of historical fiction. The title character, Malinalli also known as Malinche or Dona Marina was actually very real and played an integral part in Cortes’s conquest of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Malinalli was purchased by Cortes to be his translator and to interpret the many dialects he would encounter during his trek towards Tenochtitlan especially important were the words of Montezuma whose city of gold Cortes so desired. Malinalli knew she was in a very precarious situation, one in which she held much power in her words but in translation brought death and destruction to a powerful and proud group of people whose blood she shared.For any fan of Laura Esquivel who expects lyrical prose, magical realism and vivid depictions of love and nature, I must warn you, you will not find it between these pages. The supposed love affair between Cortes and Malinche comes off more like a lust affair on the part of Senor Cortes. Other than Malinalli’s vivid dreams of the four elements of nature and images of her gods there is little else in this novel that resembles Like Water for Chocolate or The Law of Love. Granted the conquest of Mexico is a very serious and complicated subject but it seems Esquivel’s style of writing does not do it justice. Trying to include historical, cultural and personal information only produced a disjointed and incohesive product.

[sharongoforth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The theme of storytelling and its importance to people's lives carries on in my second read for 2009.  In Malinche, author Laura Esquivel explores the correlation between beliefs and the story of a people and their culture through the world of the Aztecs in Mexico and their initial encounter with Spaniards.Malinalli is a young girl of 5, raised by her beloved grandmother, when she is given away as a slave by her mother.  She works very hard, yet does not understand when she is given away two more times.  Eventually she is noticed by the Spaniard, Hernan Cortes, who has just realized the immense wealth and fortune of the Aztec priests.  Malinalli serves as his interpreter.  Together, Cortes and Malinalli are known as Malinche.  Malinalli does this willingly at first, because she disagrees with the Aztecs' practice of human sacrifice and feels that the Spaniards will hasten the return of the Mexica's god Quetzalcoatl.  It is Malinalli who arranges  the meeting between Cortes and the Aztecs in the temple at Cholula which ends in the slaughter of the Aztecs.  She is horrified by this and begins to realize that Cortes may not be Quetzalcoatl after all.Esquivel incorporates a lot of history into her story, both cultural and religious.  I found it to be confusing at times, but it was still fascinating.   The Aztecs told their stories in the form of a "codex", drawn pictures in sequence, much like a comic book strip.  Esquivel included codices at the beginning of each chapter that depicted the story and which were drawn by her nephew.  Storytelling was so important to the Aztecs and Malinalli - it was intertwined with their religion and their beliefs.  This book is another good example of the power of storytelling and the effect it can have on a culture.

[janeajones · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting but seriously flawed novel about the conquest of Mexico and the woman who was Cortez's slave/translator/mistress/ -- the person who probably most aided his conquest of the Aztecs by not disabusing Montezuma of the notion that Cortez was Quetzacoatl reincarnated. Obviously this is a translation from Esquivel's Spanish, which is probably also laced with the Nahuatl of the Aztecs. There is evocative description of the Mexican landscape and climate intimately connected with the worship of the old gods, but there are also disturbing lacunae of events and some really flat prose passages. Esquivel is heavily invested in making her protagonist, Mallinalli/Marina/La Malinche, the mother of mestizaje.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book doesn't live up to the authori's first book,"Like Water for Chocolate". In that novel, the writing style changed and mirrored the feelings of the main character. This second book, "Malinche" tells the story of a Mexican woman, sold into slavery by her mother, and her affair with Cortez. It is very much a book about the thoughts and feelings of the central character, Malinalli, and provides a good portrait of her inner growth.