Synopsis: This book does not flinch away from the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition era and depicts many of its horrors and challenges faced by those whom it effected. Estrella lives a comfortable life as a Catholic in Spain around 1500 in a small beautiful and very old city. She and her best friend, Catalina, are close and have grown up together since early childhood. The anti-Jewish riots that sweep through her town barely touch her life at all until she discovers that her family is keeping a terrible and fatal secret. Simultaneously she finds herself falling in love with Andres, Catalina's cousin who is expected to marry Catalina. Estrella very suddenly is put into very difficult situations attached with decisions that mean life or death to those she loves most.
Review: I loved this book. It is written very poetically and was well written. You can tell that Alice Hoffman put much thought into it and organized it extremely well, weaving symbolism and understanding into every paragraph. I will read this book again, I'm sure I will read it several times in my lifetime. I felt deeply touched by this characters experiences and felt my curiosity spark towards the Spanish Inquisition as I found myself falling in love with their peculiar culture. I want to learn more about the Inquisition and about Spanish culture during the time period. Alice Hoffman's elegant, beautiful and fluid style of story writing is enchanting and left me wanting more.
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