Book Reviews – francisco reyna

Book reviews of LIBERTAD

Book review by culture journalist
© Michaela Schabel
www.schabel-culture-blog.de

Francisco Reyna is passionate about the history of his Mexican homeland. In “Revolucion” (2024), he tells the story of the Mexican Revolution from the perspective of two wealthy families; in “Libertad”, the second volume of this rebellion,…

from the perspective of the indigenous population in the next generation, with Juanita, a valued domestic worker, and her son Paquito, who has worked his way up to become a lawyer, playing the central roles.

1921 marks the turning point. After 10 years of bloody conflict, the people demand the “Libertad”, the longed-for freedom, to realize the most important goal of the revolution. Intrigue and corruption, violence and flight still dominate everyday life. During a bomb attack on the relic image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, the indigenous housemaid Juanita is injured and saved, but she realizes how dangerous the socio-political situation in Mexico is.

In an exciting interplay of love and political dangers, “Libertad” in the next generation of “Revolucion” revolves around the complex political situation against the backdrop of the encroaching US oil mafia and the problematic situation of the indigenous population in a country characterized by racism in order to preserve their own dignity.

As in the first volume, Reyna’s fascination with his homeland is particularly evident in the passages in which he describes Mexico’s magnificent landscapes and historic buildings concisely and enthusiastically. As an authorial narrator, he offers the thoughts of his protagonists, changing the focus from chapter to chapter on the various constellations of people and fates, which he repeatedly links in a dramaturgically clever way and condenses through political background knowledge, so that the reader gradually grasps the complexity of this family history as a mirror of Mexico’s social development. As in the first volume, a graphic family tree makes it easier to identify the characters. The authorial narrative style enables Reyna to offer the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists and to comment on and evaluate them through his counterparts.

Franzisco Reyna: “Libertad”, p. 292, Amazon ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book reviews of REVOLUCIÓN

Book review by book blogger
© Christian Träger

(Unpaid promotion / review copy)

Now you can read why “Revolución” is something special for me and why I can definitely recommend it.

Review:
“Revolución” by Francisco Reyna is a historical novel set during the Mexican Revolution. Francisco describes the lives of two families and how they experience the revolution. With a wonderful eye for detail he takes the reader into and through that time. The whole thing is rounded off with historical images from days gone by, allowing you to completely immerse yourself. Add to this a fluent writing style, a wonderful font size, and some Spanish sentences that are translated right after the book.

The story told here not only creates great images in your mind, but also literally transports you to the scene of the action.
There was no shortage of suspense and twists and turns, so as a reader, I just wanted to find out more and more. This book was never boring. I was so caught up in the drama and the special ending of the book that I couldn’t believe it was over. In fact, it is far from over. The characters are all super authentic, so you can understand every decision.

Conclusion:
This book accompanied me on my deployment and clearly inspired me from the beginning.
I can definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history and beyond.
As mentioned above, it is very enjoyable to read. For me, it has the potential to be made into a movie.

I really don’t have to think about it for long.
This book gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

The philosophy of wealthy gold miner Gustavo Fernandez is simple. God created people, some are privileged and “others are destined to work hard and remain uneducated. Even 100 years after Spain’s declaration of independence, social injustice still causes resentment. The fact that Paquito, the son of a simple worker, is friends with Gabriel, the son of the wealthy Castro family, is still an absolute exception. The revolutionary Zapatistas are scaring Mexico. In the course of this unequal friendship, Francisco Reyna vividly and excitingly develops the history of Mexico, whose political system is falling apart faster than expected. At the same time, the novel is a tribute to the beauty of Mexico and Mexican women, regardless of their social class. Francisco Reyna portrays them as beautiful, intelligent, and very strong.

Francisco Reyna takes the reader back to his native Mexico, his first novel “Revolución” is a historical family epic, very simply and clearly formulated, atmospherically accentuated by the view of Mexico’s beautiful landscapes and European-influenced culture, excitingly expanded by Mexican legends, by battles against hurricanes and crocodiles, contemporary by a lesbian love and US-American imperialism.

The years of childlike innocence were soon over. In 1914, the revolution breaks out with the “realization” that Gustavo, who has shot a protesting miner, must flee to Spain to escape the vengeance of the revolutionaries who have already killed his wife and youngest son. The two oldest siblings accompany their father. Castro takes in his two younger daughters. His son, Gabriel, joins the army. In this way, Francisco Reyna leads the reader through the horrors of revolutionary Mexico from different perspectives, using his contrasting characters to convey the political drama of human greatness. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In Revolución, Francisco Reyna impressively describes the effects of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1921 on two influential families from Mexico City. A family epic that I devoured in a few days. On the one hand, the Fernández family, whose patriarch is in the mining business and enriches himself at the expense of the indigenous miners, whom he does not value, but accuses of being uneducated and will remain so because God made them that way. On the other hand, there is the Castro family, which values the indigenous population and shows them respect and dignity. This historical novel conveys historical facts about the Mexican Revolution as well as Mexican culture, which is characterized by indigenous superstitions, European influences and American imperialism. The book is very entertaining and exciting. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys family chronicles or is interested in history. I also like the design of the book, it contains many historical photos from the time of the revolution and makes the whole thing very vivid. ⭐⭐⭐⭐