This book was a Pulitzer Prize finalist which is what piqued my interest. This is a story about the New World told through the eyes of a Moorish slave. Discovery, exploration, death, violence and the terrible themes of the Spanish invasion of the continent. Disease, slavery, bigotry, etc.
But, the single most important thing I took from this book was the idea that once an official story has been told it is nearly impossible to rewrite that narrative. People begin to believe regardless of how far from the truth something is.
I have to say, this book allowed me to create a solid mental picture of place, people and situation. For some reason I kept thinking of Morgan Freeman as the main character.
The last thing I’ll mention is the parallels still happening today. The evil of the past hasn’t yet become the past, sadly. If you look at what is happening on Native American lands here in the US, such as Standing Rock, and you look at what is happening to indigenous land in places like Brazil you realize the same evil exists today. And we know FAR more today, and far quicker and yet we still allow it to happen.
Get it, read it.