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jpeaslee's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. I loved it when I was a teenager and I felt deliciously wrong reading the lurid descriptions of human sacrifice and various sexual practices. I was pleased to discover that I loved it just as much as a slightly jaded thirty-something.
This 750 page epic follows Mixtli, the Forest Gump of the Mexica (more on him later). It is filled with vivid descriptions of Aztec civilization, ranging from people, customs, and territories. That said, it is a product of its time, and certain historical elements are inaccurate. However, it's worth reading if only to glimpse our journey of understanding the historicity of Cortes and Motecuzoma.
As I have mentioned, there's a lot of sex in this book. Like. A lot. We follow Mixtli, a common middle class citizen, through his sixty-odd years of life, approximately half of which is spent engaging in some sexual lewdness or other. There is incest, many different kinds of rape, and the kind of pedophiliac literature you only get by reading the coke-fueled writings of the 80s.
Mixtli also goes on so many adventures that by the end of the book I felt his credibility was tested. He invents monocles. He meets several kings (or the equivalent thereof) and even kills one. Every important historical event in the last fifty years before Cortes landed is attended - or directly influenced - by Mixtli. It's a little much at times.
Although almost all of this book is engrossing, and easy to read, I felt like the last fifty or so pages of the novel drag. This final section goes into the struggle against the Spanish, containing very little dialogue, and I did not find the battles as interesting as the cultural exploration in earlier pages.
That said, it is all worth it. Aztec is funny, romantic, enraging, heartbreaking, and everything in between.
This 750 page epic follows Mixtli, the Forest Gump of the Mexica (more on him later). It is filled with vivid descriptions of Aztec civilization, ranging from people, customs, and territories. That said, it is a product of its time, and certain historical elements are inaccurate. However, it's worth reading if only to glimpse our journey of understanding the historicity of Cortes and Motecuzoma.
As I have mentioned, there's a lot of sex in this book. Like. A lot. We follow Mixtli, a common middle class citizen, through his sixty-odd years of life, approximately half of which is spent engaging in some sexual lewdness or other. There is incest, many different kinds of rape, and the kind of pedophiliac literature you only get by reading the coke-fueled writings of the 80s.
Mixtli also goes on so many adventures that by the end of the book I felt his credibility was tested. He invents monocles. He meets several kings (or the equivalent thereof) and even kills one. Every important historical event in the last fifty years before Cortes landed is attended - or directly influenced - by Mixtli. It's a little much at times.
Although almost all of this book is engrossing, and easy to read, I felt like the last fifty or so pages of the novel drag. This final section goes into the struggle against the Spanish, containing very little dialogue, and I did not find the battles as interesting as the cultural exploration in earlier pages.
That said, it is all worth it. Aztec is funny, romantic, enraging, heartbreaking, and everything in between.
oddskyla's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, War, Child death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Animal death, Violence, and Death
smrbogie's review against another edition
2.0
Badly written Aztec Forrest Gump
I have three complaints about this book:
1) The writing is just awful. It’s belabored, inelegant and just frankly boring. I commend the author for his perseverance in research and laboring through penning 750 pages. But not a single phrase, sentence or paragraph struck me as even mildly evocative or inspiring. It’s the writing of a 15 year old.
2) Its a lazy “Forest Gump” trope in Aztec disguise. By that I mean the protagonist meanders or happens or blunders through all kinds of dramatic episodes that really are just plot devices. Again, it’s lazy storytelling and writing. There is no “force” in the main character. He is also weak of eyesight which again was a needless story arc that also weakens the credibility of future escapades.
3) It is needlessly long. I am more than happy to work through a 700+ page book as long as there is some value in it - whether the writing, or moving characters or a compelling story. This has neither. Many of the divergent storylines don’t add to the experience in anyway.
I had to give it one star so I could write this review.
I added a star because of the historical research and narrative.
This could be a far better read if some charitable “editor” would take it upon herself to rewrite it, cut out the unnecessary fluff (5 pages about how he wishes he had told his wife he loved her sooner? And none of them moving or well written!), and shorten it to maybe 400 pages.
I have three complaints about this book:
1) The writing is just awful. It’s belabored, inelegant and just frankly boring. I commend the author for his perseverance in research and laboring through penning 750 pages. But not a single phrase, sentence or paragraph struck me as even mildly evocative or inspiring. It’s the writing of a 15 year old.
2) Its a lazy “Forest Gump” trope in Aztec disguise. By that I mean the protagonist meanders or happens or blunders through all kinds of dramatic episodes that really are just plot devices. Again, it’s lazy storytelling and writing. There is no “force” in the main character. He is also weak of eyesight which again was a needless story arc that also weakens the credibility of future escapades.
3) It is needlessly long. I am more than happy to work through a 700+ page book as long as there is some value in it - whether the writing, or moving characters or a compelling story. This has neither. Many of the divergent storylines don’t add to the experience in anyway.
I had to give it one star so I could write this review.
I added a star because of the historical research and narrative.
This could be a far better read if some charitable “editor” would take it upon herself to rewrite it, cut out the unnecessary fluff (5 pages about how he wishes he had told his wife he loved her sooner? And none of them moving or well written!), and shorten it to maybe 400 pages.
lucelrod's review against another edition
5.0
Lo amo! Me siento realmente agradecida por libros como este porque me permiten saber más acerca de mis antepasados. La narración es bastante buena quizá por momentos parezca algo lento pero definitivamente en ningún momento lo considere aburrido o tedioso, es una gran obra.
lallie91's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
myopicsquirrel's review against another edition
4.0
Over-the-top sex and violence. Not for the squeamish. But huge historical epic from a rarely explored viewpoint.
michael_benavidez's review against another edition
3.0
The book is captivating, it's written well it really is, and it's that writing that gets you through this long narrative. The premise is pretty good and if you are into cultural wonderings of how they did this and what they did with that, this may be the book for you. I'm into that stuff, and it KINDA is the book for me. It's a guilty pleasure, if ever there was one.
So this is the accounts of an Aztec's life by that Aztec to the Spaniards. Really great premise really great intro. Where it falters is when he's a grown man, or a growing man if I may say. There is incest, which caught me by surprise but didn't deaden the book for me. What did that was the way it picked you up with these hopeful moments of sex and love and just the pure love for the culture that was quickly spoiled by some of a most depressing and outrageous acts of violence. While I'm usually okay with such things, there was just something about the way this book handled the sex and love with the destruction and death that left me at that point where I felt dirty. And still I read on.
It's only now that I'm learning there is more to this series, and I'm not really sure if I'm interested enough to pick them up. Perhaps if it's there in the bookshop I will, but as for the moment where I'd devote myself to reading it all, not really no.
So this is the accounts of an Aztec's life by that Aztec to the Spaniards. Really great premise really great intro. Where it falters is when he's a grown man, or a growing man if I may say. There is incest, which caught me by surprise but didn't deaden the book for me. What did that was the way it picked you up with these hopeful moments of sex and love and just the pure love for the culture that was quickly spoiled by some of a most depressing and outrageous acts of violence. While I'm usually okay with such things, there was just something about the way this book handled the sex and love with the destruction and death that left me at that point where I felt dirty. And still I read on.
It's only now that I'm learning there is more to this series, and I'm not really sure if I'm interested enough to pick them up. Perhaps if it's there in the bookshop I will, but as for the moment where I'd devote myself to reading it all, not really no.
kgfugate8299's review against another edition
Ok. I’m not squeamish. I can handle blood. I love sex. I can even deal with rape descriptions when they add to a story line. I want the truth. But I have to draw the line at pedophilia. Not just pedophilia but in depth pornographic descriptions of pedophilia and often. If pedophilia is part of the history of this culture then, sure, it should not be ignored. But, in this case, out of the numerous sexual events the author describes many are between adults and children. And they are descriptive. Not just sex with a child but why sex with a child was so tantalizing for the main character. I gutted it out for two thirds of this book but finally I thought “no, I do not want to read these descriptions any longer”.
Here is the sentence that ended the book for me: “Also Vi-rijosas was really very young, and small even for her age, and a female child simply cannot spread her thighs far enough that a man’s big body can get close enough to penetrate her to the full length of his tepuli”.
I don’t believe these scenes do anything to add to the “historical” part of this novel or even the main narrative of this story. I am a firm believer that we should not judge historical figures by today’s standards. However, Aztec, seems to celebrate this aspect of the past not merely depict its occurrence. This book is porn (perhaps even child porn) marketed as historical fiction.
Here is the sentence that ended the book for me: “Also Vi-rijosas was really very young, and small even for her age, and a female child simply cannot spread her thighs far enough that a man’s big body can get close enough to penetrate her to the full length of his tepuli”.
I don’t believe these scenes do anything to add to the “historical” part of this novel or even the main narrative of this story. I am a firm believer that we should not judge historical figures by today’s standards. However, Aztec, seems to celebrate this aspect of the past not merely depict its occurrence. This book is porn (perhaps even child porn) marketed as historical fiction.
sirgavmister's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
silviabrochet's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The way in which things are described makes them magical. You get to follow the life of a man and by the end you get the feeling as you know him since forever. The historical part is very accurate and extremely interesting. I recommend this amazing read to everyone.