I have been "reading" this book for almost a year and I'm still only halfway through it so the likelihood that I'm going to finish it are diminishing by the moment.

I love the idea of this book. The story of Zorro from his childhood? Wow, what's not to like? Except the story is "told" rather than "shown." There are paragraphs that take up full pages (in a *trade* paperback no less) and pages and pages between bits of dialog. This is ungodly slow reading. How anyone can take a swashbuckling hero like Zorro and make him dull is beyond my imagining. Except I don't have to imagine it. I've seen it. Right here.

Zorro is one of my guilty pleasures. I have always loved the story. I grew up watching reruns of the old TV series. I no longer remember much of the series, but I still watch the Errol Flynn Mask of Zorro any chance I get.

What I enjoyed most about this telling was the the novel experience of listening to a swashbuckler written by a woman. Not just any woman, but a woman who can write beautifully. Listening to the pen that gave us House of Spirits interpret a pulp fiction hero is really fun and interesting. There is a fun nod to the question of narrative truth in the epilogue.

For Zorro fans, this is not a re-telling of the Errol Flynn movie, nor the Banderas/Hopkins film from 1998. Allende offers a narrative of how Zorro came to be. This lets her introduce new dimensions into the character of Diego de la Vega, and that in turn makes Zorro a more interesting figure. It's a fun read.

There are some moments that I found uncomfortable. The discussion of Spanish colonial and Native American interaction is far more nuanced than in the older material, but still had some moments that seemed cringe-worthy to me. Similarly, I found the handling of racial tropes in early 19th century New Orleans very uncomfortable. I could see that in both cases, Allende was subverting much of the traditional Eurocentric narrative, but at times, it still feels like the book accepts the Eurocentric understanding somewhat too readily. Given the story and the narrator (revealed at the very end), this makes sense on one level, and yet. And yet. I wonder if it is good enough.

This was the Branigan BookClub selection for November 2005.

Reading ZORRO confirms Allende's well deserved reputation as a brilliant, passionate story teller. She takes the legend of the masked man and fleshes it out into a fullblown historical novel with a depth and sweeping panorama fully the equal of the greatest epics of world literature. This is the work of an unquestioned master of story telling at the top of her form. There is not one false note, not one flawed plot line in the entire work. You learn how Zorro came to be Zorro and the tremendous personal cost involved. Get your hands on this book and read it if you thirst after a truly great story that will leave your head spinning!

Once again, the felicitous choice of Margaret Sayers Peden as Allende's translator has given us a true literary gem. Just as Allende's work is a Master's Class on writing, so Peden's is on translating. And it just doesn't get much better than the two of them together!
--Mark Pendleton
http://chile.las-cruces.org/search~S1...

Īstenībā tiešām nevaru pateikt, kas man īsti līdz galam nepatika, bet nevru ielikt vairāk, jo Zorro piedīvojumam būtu jāaizrauj tā, ka izrauju cauri grāmatu pāris piegājienos, bet es to lasīju pa maziem gabaliņiem 9 dienas, visu laiku dodot priekšroku citām laika pavadīšanas alternatīvām. Jā tas ir tas pats zināmais stāsts par Zorro - maskēto apsiesto aizstāvi, kas citiem zināms kā augstākās sabiedrības sprukstiņš (un kurš nav Betmens, nejaukt). Rakstniece piedāvā savu versiju par viņa bērnību un kļūsanu par Zorro - un tieši bērnības daļa ar indiāniem man likās interesantākā.

I really enjoyed this one! Allende tells the story of Diego de la Vega who becomes Zorro from his childhood growing up in a hacienda in Southern California, to his 5 years in Spain where he learned his skills and first took on the role of Zorro, to his return to California where he is able to usurp his rival from Spain and free his father from prison. This Zorro is in many ways very familiar but in others different. He is very similar to the Zorro of the Disney program from the 50s which included some of the same characters such as Sergeant Garcia, the mute Bernardo, his horse Tornado, and even the secret passageway that connects the hacienda to a secret cave. But this novel is mainly about how Zorro came to be with a half-native-American mother, and growing up with Bernardo who is also native American and considered to be Zorro's milk-brother (they were both born at the same time and nursed by the same mother). On the way back from Spain, he also encounters the pirate, Jean Lafitte who ends up marrying the girl he is in love with. Overall, a very engaging novel by Allende. I have read a couple of her other novels and enjoyed them as well. I also have a copy of the original n  Mark of Zorron by Johnston McCulley that I plan on reading soon to compare with this novel.

L'impressione che ne ho ricavato è che Isabel Allende si sia divertita a scrivere questo romanzo. È una rivisitazione del classico cappa e spada, ma l'autrice scombina i generi e diventa lo stesso tempo un picaresco e un romanzo di formazione. Il trionfo della mescolanza e del meticcio, con l'autentico Hidalgo spagnolo insidiato da mezzosangue indios, creoli, zingari e napoleonici. La scrittura è un po' lenta all' inizio ma poi prende il ritmo. Gli uomini sono descritti, compreso il protagonista, fin nei loro difetti. E anche le donne. Donne che dovrebbero essere solo comprimarie ma che in realtà dirigono la storia, ognuna a suo modo, con la saggezza oppure a volte con la propria volubilità.Tutto il testo è pervaso di una tenue ironia Diego de la Vega ha le orecchie a sventola e la mascherina serve a nasconderle, è innamorato di una donna onesta ma sciocca, ed è principalmente un vanitoso, pur mosso da un forte senso di giustizia; mentre un capolavoro è la figura di Isabel, ragazza brutta ma intelligente e poco femminile per i canoni dell'epoca, intetessata a materie di studio maschile come la scherma e la navigazione, che ama segretamente Diego de la Vega e avrà il suo trionfo, tutt'altro che classico, alla fine della storia. Una lettura leggera eppure con un senso, un romanzo che fa un po' sognare e un po' sorridere, denso di avventure e di mascalzoni da combattere, che parla d'amore e un po' di sesso ma in modo discreto, e che prende in giro il modo consueto di vedere gli eroi e gli avvenimenti.

Zorro is an important figure in American (and particularly Latin-American culture) since he was once of the first "super-heroes", Latino, and fought against injustice rather than thwarting conventional criminals. However, Isabel Allende has turned out a rather mundane prequel to the story of Zorro which is more Danielle Steel than anything else. Granted, she writes very well but action is not her genre and this was just flat most of the way through. Not boring but the heart didn't soar, the triumphs seemed more amusing than heroic, and I just never got into it. In this case, the "Z" stands for "zero" (as in the amount thrills, action, excitement or just truly interesting reading.) in the end, a lesson in how to take a swashbuckling adventure story and make it boring. Forget the action, this is by-the-numbers romance and intrigue without the passion. Ni pena, ni gloria. This is Zorro sin cojones.

Quattro stelle e una punta di nostalgia.

Bella iniziativa, quella della Allende (assumendo l’identità di Isabel de Romeu), di raccontare la nascita e le prime prodezze di un personaggio che per lungo tempo è stato l’eroe dei nostri pomeriggi davanti alla tv.
Penna magistrale, come ormai ci ha abituati con i suoi romanzi; così la storia scivola via e ci ritroviamo prima nel rancho dei de La Vega alla periferia di una neonata Los Angeles, in California, poi in una nobile tenuta nella bella città di Barcellona, in Spagna.
Ed è proprio qui che Diego riceve dal Maestro Escalante le prime nozioni di scherma, per poi - ormai abile spadaccino - trasformarsi in Zorro, la volpe, il suo animale totem, in nome della giustizia, a protezione dei più deboli.

Bella anche la figura e la storia di Bernardo, Indios, amico fraterno di Zorro, fidato consigliere e compagno di avventure, ma - diversamente dall’altro - molto più assennato e concreto.

Il coraggio e l’affetto li accomunano.

Beniamino dei bimbi (ma anche i “grandi” non disdegnavano, ne sono sicura), per parecchi anni ha alimentato la fantasia dei più e le maschere di carnevale sono la testimonianza, nel tempo, dell’effetto che le sue avventure hanno prodotto nell’immaginario collettivo.

Con questo romanzo torniamo indietro, torniamo alle origini, torniamo a sognare, almeno per un po’.

Stagliata contro la luna piena videro la sagoma nera del misterioso uomo mascherato sul suo magnifico destriero.
“Alla prossima, signori!”
n  Zn

If I could give this book 10 stars I would. I read it in Spanish on the recommendation of several of the people in my Spanish conversation group. Over the following year I read the entire book through at least 3 times, and some sections 5 or 6 times, and I don't reread books. I introduced it to a group of students and kids who hadn't wanted to read anything before were suddenly competing to read aloud. This book has so much action, so much history. It's kind of like The Count of Monte Cristo or one of the classics of that era. The day we finished reading it in class, the kids were silent for a minute or two and then got up and high fived each other and started all talking at once about whether or not they liked the way it ended. For many of them, it was the first time they had ever read a complete novel, much less a novel in a foreign language. How much more wonderful can a book get?

Da Isabel Allende mi aspettavo molto di più, nonostante i suoi romanzi da La figlia della fortuna" in poi non mi avevano entusiasmato più di tanto. Se dovessi dare un sottotitolo a questo romanzo, gli affibbierei "Il festival degli stereotipi: tutta la banalità letteraria racchiusa in poco più di trecento pagine".

3.5 stars really that I’ve downgraded to 3 here.

This felt a little like a written telenovella, maybe that was Allende’s intention, but I just felt like it dragged on with irrelevant detail for too much of the book. There was some good swashbuckling fights which is what I was in it for, but they were few and far between. The book as a whole unfortunately wasn’t constructed as well as, say, The Count of Monte Cristo, which I love but also has bits that drag on.

For me, it got interesting right at the end when de la Vega has finally returned to California. His mother’s storyline was interesting and if there was a book written with more on her I’d probably read that.

Also, it appears the editor slacked off toward the end because I found a few instances of grammatical errors which have probably come through the translation process - such as use of the word “waked.”

But for the rest, I could take it or leave it. While the book is not actually related at all to the 1998 film production, this is a rare case where I’d take the movie over the book.

Is it fair to give only 3 stars to such an exceptionally talented writer as Allende? In my defense, I have to say that my judgement only applies to this particular novel. Otherwise, I am very much a fan of her work and in my eyes she will always be five star writer. As you might guess by my marking, this is my least favourite novel by Isabel Allende.

I'll get straight to the point. It just doesn't seem to flow as effortlessly and naturally as her other novels. I'm assuming that it is because here, Allende had to face certain restrictions. She couldn't let her imagination run completely free because she had to adapt it to the legend of Zorro. True enough, she gave this story her flare. Nevertheless, it didn't feel fundamentally Allende, I didn't get the same feeling I got while reading her other works.

It it is still a good book. It is imaginative, it is lyrical and it is beautiful. However, I think she is one of those authors that works best starting from a blank page. I’m not saying that it was a bad decision on her part to write this one. I don’t regret reading it, so it could be said I’m actually satisfied that she was brave enough to tackle the Zorro legend and tried to make it dance to her beat. The way Allende vowed her story around the legend of Zorro is very interesting, but that all being said, I just don’t think this is her best work.

The whole concept of the book is pretty cool- inhaling new life into this hero. I was looking forward to reading this one. Moreover, Allende certainly did shad a fascinating light on this legend. In some ways her portrayal does adds some depth to Zorro. She makes him come to life. Nevertheless, Allende achieves this more by filling in information and vibe around him, than by really developing the Zorro himself. I have to say, that having read this novel, Zorro remained an enigma for me. Not in a way that Lord Jim did, because here I didn’t have a feeling that it was intentional. For example, in Conrad’s Lord Jim, the protagonist retains a sense of mystery about him. You’re never completely sure who he is, but in the context of the novel, it makes perfect sense.

In this case, I didn’t have a feeling that Zorro was supposed to remain a mystery, here it seems more like a weakness in the story telling. While I was reading this novel, I felt like Zorro was restricting Allende. She was getting on, doing her thing, working her magic, but this larger than life character, would somehow disrupt her incantations and cause her magic to retreat. What am I trying to say? Perhaps simply, that my opinion is such: it's a good novel, but it has its flaws.

As I explained, the main problem I had with this book was the protagonist. I just don't think he was portrayed that well, he remained a bit one dimensional. He is supposed to be the centre of the novel, but it doesn’t feel like it. I did like the story created around him and I already alluded to that. Trust to Allende to develop a great family saga anytime and anywhere. I liked how Allende made Zorro biracial, that added a new layer to his personality and made him, somehow, even more quintessentially South American. That whole concept of his mixed origin was extremely interesting, but it wasn’t enough for me, as a reader, to get into his character. Something was missing.

Actually, it is the Zorro's mother and grandmother that, as characters, impressed me the most and those two have certainly got stuck in my memory. The other characters that caught my attention were the friar at the start of the novel and Zorro’s best friend. Another thing that surprised me is how often he, the Zorro's best friend, takes attention from Zorro himself. I know Allende meant to make the Zorro more human, but she needn’t have made him so depended on others. Is it good to have a hero that's not really sympathetic although he is in the focus of the story? Zorro was often – well I have to say it- lame. It is not that he was an anti-hero, he just didn’t seem very proactive or interesting. I think that is probably what bothered me the most. Could it be that Allende writes best when she centres her stories around female characters? I would have loved to read more even about Zorro’s mother and grandmother. Speaking of female characters, Zorro’s love interest is a well written female character, but she also takes the spot light from him and they don't really interact well together.

I really enjoyed the first part of the novel and while the second part left me a bit confused, I can’t say that I minded terribly the process of reading it. At times I felt that the story was getting out of hand, but if I will be honest, I can’t really say that I minded all the digressions and the parallel story telling. Allende certainly employed the magic realism well enough in this one as well. It is just that I lacked a sense of groundless. My personal opinion is that the novel would be better if it was told from perspective of a woman, or even if it was titled differently. With the Zorro title, we’re expecting it to be about Zorro and learning that is not really about him when you’re half a way into novel is confusing. Everything is centred around Zorro ( the narrative, the plot, the characters) yet he proves to be elusive and not in the pyschologal/phylosophical way that Dorian Gray or Lord Jim are, it is more like she is not sure what to do with him.

So, Zorro is not the novel's strongest point. Still, there are many things I liked in this novel. Here are some of the novel's perks that I particulary enjoyed:

-an interesting introduction into Indian culture
- the well-played dynamics of the relationship between Zorro's parents
- personal relationships reflecting the relationship between the natives and the Spanish
- the fascinating story of Zorro growing up
- many wonderful stories parallel to the main narrative
- a large cast of interesting characters.

The idea of Zorro's being torn between cultures is quite exceptional if you ask me. In many ways, its potential was fulfilled. I did enjoy reading this novel, yet I must admit there were times when my attention wandered. Maybe because of the fact that a lot of things that happen didn't seem very plausible, but this one didn’t keep me glue to its pages, not in the way other Allende’s novels have.

The novel has many things going for it, for instance, there are plenty of funny moments in the story and I quite enjoyed those. Certainly, there's a sense of humour in the novel. Perhaps I’m too harsh in my reflections upon Zorro. Perhaps the author did mean for him to be in the background, maybe the moral of the story is that everyone is a hero.

I can understand why perhaps Allende wanted to make the story less about Zorro and more about people. That being said, as the story progressed I kept losing my interest because of the way the story was composed. The narrative is structured around Zorro and if he as character isn’t interesting, what is there to keep our interest? Yes, there are other stories and other character, but we still need something to hold it all together. As the novel progressed, it continued to be filled with actions and events. Even if here was enough going on to grab my attention, there certainly wasn’t enough going on to make me emotionally involved in the story. Yes, there were some good episodes, but that's about it until the end of the novel.

To conclude, I would recommend this novel to Allende's fans because I think there is enough of 'her' in it to be enjoyable. The writing in this one is pretty decent, all of its flaws set aside. On the other hand, if you haven't read anything by Allende, don't pick up this one, because it is not her finest hour, if you know what I mean. Instead, pick up The House of Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, or Daughter of Fortune, any of those should be able to blow your mind away. Not this one I'm afraid! This one is a case of a good novel that didn't quite live up to its potentional.