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| Plot Summary of The Conquest |
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"
HarperCollins, 2002, 24.95, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0060093595
Sara Rosario Gonzales works as a rare-book restorer at Los Angeles' Getty Museum. Her current assignment is to mend a sixteenth century manuscript, the story of “Helen” an Aztec woman Cortez sent as a present to the Pope.
Upset in her personal life as her marine boyfriend is going to marry someone else because she failed to commit, Sara buries her unhappiness inside the restoration project. She soon believes that the story of the Aztec female is authentic, but everyone else insists its fiction. She begins researching clues to this Helen, her baptized name the Aztec received in Rome. For the first time in her shallow life, Sara commits to something with her heart as she seeks the truth whether Helen the Aztec really existed and had these wonderful adventures in Europe.
The contrast between Helen and Sara is startling as the former lives life to the fullest and the latter avoids life to the least degree yet both share in common a feeling of displacement. Obviously Helen's is easier to observe, but Sara's Latino heritage makes her feel out of sorts also. Sara's search for the truth links the two subplots neatly together. Though at times the tale slows down, fans obtain an intriguing character study that compares how two people living centuries apart share the same feelings of not belonging.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Conquest |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- distant past/middle ages
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- slave
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 3 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Mexico
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
Yxta Maya Murray Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Harriet Klausner
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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