What I Disliked: I would love for Isabel Allende to write a sequel some day.A graceful imagining of the saber-wielding, justice-dispensing freedom fighter of yore.Ĭhildren of the ’50s may happily remember Guy Williams’s TV portrayal of the legendary Zorro, who carved his signature initial into his enemies’ flesh with the point of his sword and kept the entire Spanish army in Alta California busily searching for him.

What I Liked: Great origin story lots of adventure captures the prejudice of the time without condoning it pirates gypsies awkward romantic situations. She had a range of voices for Diego as he aged and also pulled off different yet related voices for a pair of sisters. Her Spanish accent was decent, pronouncing the various difficult names quite well. While I won’t spoil anymore of the plot line, just know there are plenty more surprises in store in this book as Diego and Bernado make their way back to California.īlair Brown had a lovely voice for this novel, as the book is written from the viewpoint of a female chronicler. The antics continue, including performance in a gypsy circus, sword-training by a master of a secret society, and young love. As Diego and Bernado become young men, they have an opportunity to go off to Catalan-speaking Spain to allow Diego to polish off his schooling. The book then takes a more serious turn when pirates attack this California coastal village, leaving a few dead and many scarred for life. An antic with a bear particularly stood out for me. His milk brother (so called because they were both breast fed by the same woman) Bernado, a full blooded Native American, was born in the same week.

This riveting tale continues on from there with the birth of Diego and his antics as a boy. Shortly thereafter, Alejandro proposes marriage. Toypurnia becomes a lady in waiting to a family friend of the de la Vegas and is renamed Regina. Toypurnia is injured in an attack on Padre Mendoza’s mission and while recuperating, Alejandro befriends her. This tale opens in the 1790s with the meeting of Diego de la Vega’s parents, Alejandro de la Vega and Toypurnia (a warrior for one of the local Native American tribes). But this story was the first tale that gave Zorro true seriousness. Yes, I grew up with the black and white TV show and have enjoyed the various movies. Isabel Allende gave the world a wonderful origin story for the legend of Zorro.

Zorro isabel allende review