Night of Sorrows

April 3, 2006
In her newest novel, Sherwood (The Book of Splendor) vividly recreates the resounding collision between Spanish and Aztec civilizations in 1519 that helped shape the New World. Ambitious and ruthless conquistador Hernn Corts leads an expedition to the gates of Tenochtitln, the Aztec capital, where the outnumbered Spanish troops are welcomed by empororer Monctezuma, who mistakes Corts for the god Quetzalcoatl. The natives, however, rise up on the famous Noche Triste (Sad Night) of the title and drive out the Spanish. The Aztecs win the battle, but the Spanish return to win the war. As Corts's conquest is interwoven with memories and reflections from Aztec slave Malintzin-who serves the Spanish as translator and adviser and is taken as a mistress by Corts-Sherwood captures both Spanish and Indian perspectives. She also manages to avoid the trap of presenting the Incans as wholly noble victims of the rapacious Europeans. Her conquistadors are cruel, but the natives are hardly righteous-Malintzin witnesses ritual human sacrifice, slavery and cannibalism while growing up in Tenochtitln. Sherwood draws on solid research, keen imagination and descriptive prose to deliver a triad of history lesson, adventure saga and love story in one seamless narrative.

April 15, 2006
Following the death of her beloved and indulgent father, ten-year-old Malintzin, an Aztec princess, is sold into slavery by her mother. Over the next few years, she is passed from master to master, until she is given as tribute to the Spanish conquistador, Hernando Corté s, in spring 1519. Corté s, a minor government functionary in Cuba, arrives in the New World with 300 men, almost all driven by an unquenchable lust for glory, gold, and conquest. Malintzin quickly learns Spanish, falls in love with Corté s, and becomes the translator for the vastly outnumbered Spanish invaders as they make their way to Tenochitlá n (Mexico City) and June 30, 1520 -the Night of Sorrows -when the Aztecs almost succeeded in wiping out the Spaniards. Set in a turbulent period, this novel by the author of the National Book Critics Circle Award -nominated Vindication brings the people and the times vividly to life. Though mostly unlikable, Sherwood's characters are, however, disturbingly unforgettable -violent, cruel, immoral, and greedy. Even Malintzin, for all her professed love for Corté s, has little remorse for her part in the conflict between her people and his. For a more controversial and villainous version of Malintzin, see Colin Falconer's best-selling Feathered Serpent. Recommended for larger public libraries or where there is an interest in the history of Mexico." -Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK "

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2006
Most novels about the Mexican conquest--or, indeed, any historic invasion of one culture by another--either glorify the conquerors or sympathize wholly with their unfortunate victims. Sherwood's latest novel (after " The Book of Splendor," 2002) defies the stereotype by presenting both sides, resulting in an account that is much more tragicomic than heroic. Both cultures are equally barbaric: while the Mexicans practice human sacrifice and cannibalism, the Spanish, coarse and filthy, are mostly self-important adventurers in pursuit of gold and glory. Hernan Cortes, their leader, is a master of Machiavellian intrigue, slyly playing the Mayans and Aztecs against each other as he and his eccentric band of conquistadors slowly march on Tenochtitlan in the years 1519 and 1520. The action is seen primarily from the viewpoint of Malintzin, the courageous and controversial Aztec princess who becomes Cortes' translator-slave-mistress. The novel delivers plenty of authentic Mesoamerican exoticism, and Sherwood's lively humor carries the story through the slower middle sections. This colorful literary adventure paints a realistic, well-rounded portrait of a famous historical event.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)