The Hummingbird's Daughter

I have thoughts about so many books stored in my head now and they are busting to get out. But if I keep waiting until I have time to write about them, they will be forgotten before they see the light of day. So.... I'll just write (briefly) about the book I just finished, which was an excellent, satisfying read.

The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea tells the fictionalized true story of Teresita Urrea, who lived from 1873 until 1906 and was known as the Saint of Cabora. Teresita was the "illegitimate" daughter of a 14-year old Indian peasant called Cayetana the Hummingbird and a wealthy rancher named Don Tomas Urrea. After being abandoned by her mother and left in the care of an abusive aunt, Teresita was taken in by her father who raised her as his own. She came under the tutelage of Huila, a midwife and healer who worked for Tomas."She lived in a room behind the patron's kitchen, from which Tomas believed she directed the domestic staff, but from which the People believed she commanded spirits." By the time she was a teenager, Teresita's powers had far surpassed Huila's, but she remained essentially a girl who craved love, despite the People revering her as a saint.

The story itself is exciting and compelling, rich with the colors, smells, and sounds of indigenous Mexico, with a good dose of magical realism, romance, and tragedy. Against the backdrop of the years leading up to the Mexican revolution, it provides complex, well-developed, and unforgettable characters, many of whom played important historical roles in Mexico. At 495 pages in the paperback version, it seemed like a daunting challenge, but the pages seemed almost to turn themselves and I was finished in short order. I highly recommend this book. It was chosen by the City of San Francisco for the 2006 One City One Book program.