Cathrine ☯️ 's Reviews > The Moor's Account

4.5★
In 1527 ships with six hundred men sailed from Castile across the Ocean of Fog and Darkness with the goal to claim the land and riches of present day Florida and the gulf coast areas of the United States. They were searching for a kingdom of gold but encountered instead, hurricanes, shipwreck, starvation, disease, alligators, murder, cannibalism, and mutiny, while decisively squandering any opportunity to endear indigenous tribes to their cause. Only four would make it out alive.

Their conquest would later be documented by one of them, Cabeza de Vaca. From his testimony, as well as many other sources, the author has composed a fascinating novel based on historical events. The first person narrative is told from the unique perspective of one survivor, Mustafa Zemmouri, aka Estebanico, a black Muslim from northern Africa.
Lalami alternates the first half of the tale with an imaginative story set in his own country and life as a free man prior to enslavement and conscription into this life-altering expedition.
In his praise of this work, writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o wrote “She gives name to the unnamed, agency to the sidelined; she takes them from footnotes into the footprints that make up the pages of this remarkable novel [giving] voice to the silences of history.”

Upon finishing I dug deeper and was pleased to learn that Cabeza de Vaca would return to Spain eight years later and argue for better treatment of the Indians. It was a wasted effort of course, how could needed slaves and riches come from that? It was my belief that the legacy of all Spanish conquistadores was completely merciless so he deserves a shout-out.
I thought I might struggle with this Pulitzer prize finalist. While not exactly a page turner and heavy with historical fact, her prose kept me engaged and it was smooth sailing on a rewarding book adventure. Historical literary fiction at its finest; entertaining, educational, and obviously deserving of the accolades received.