Lianne
Written on Sep 15, 2014
I don't know anything about Panfilo de Narvaez' expedition, so I was intrigued by this novel....Read more
I received an ARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/09/17/review-the-moors-account/
I don't know anything about Panfilo de Narvaez' expedition, so I was intrigued by this novel. The choice of telling the story from Mustafa’s perspective was what intrigued me about the book, and provides the author with creative room to approach the expedition and the experiences of these characters from another angle.
The storytelling itself was very interesting, initially going back and forth between the exploration in the New World and flashbacks to Mustafa’s story prior to his inclusion in the expedition. I honestly found his backstory more interesting than present events in the New World, which in the process revealed the realities of slavery and the times in which he lived in. But his story in the “present day” of the exploration was also revealing and just as gritty: the hunger they experienced, disease, the in-fighting amongst the survivors, the uncertain terrain they faced…It was all quite realistic and brutal.
Overall,The Moor’s Account was a fascinating look at 14th century Spain and the experiences of being on a New World expedition from a different perspective.
I don't know anything about Panfilo de Narvaez' expedition, so I was intrigued by this novel. The choice of telling the story from Mustafa’s perspective was what intrigued me about the book, and provides the author with creative room to approach the expedition and the experiences of these characters from another angle.
The storytelling itself was very interesting, initially going back and forth between the exploration in the New World and flashbacks to Mustafa’s story prior to his inclusion in the expedition. I honestly found his backstory more interesting than present events in the New World, which in the process revealed the realities of slavery and the times in which he lived in. But his story in the “present day” of the exploration was also revealing and just as gritty: the hunger they experienced, disease, the in-fighting amongst the survivors, the uncertain terrain they faced…It was all quite realistic and brutal.
Overall,The Moor’s Account was a fascinating look at 14th century Spain and the experiences of being on a New World expedition from a different perspective.
