Sandwiched between an introduction by Bontemps's son and a biographical and analytical afterword is a never-before-published story, innovative for its time, written in 1935 by two icons in the history of African-American literature. The story, which has not aged well, will find its most appreciative audience in readers familiar with the authors' other works. As Hughes's hand-painted pasteboard bandit, Tito (six inches high, with a ``furious little rabbit beard'' and raised fist), looks on with interest, Juanito introduces Kenny, the son of vacationing New York artists, to his small Mexican town, the surrounding hills, and Christmas and Easter festivities. The plot is loosely constructed—Juanito takes an entire chapter to nod off after a Christmas Eve posada—and, despite the authors' efforts to depict an international friendship among equals there is still some overt cultural relativism: After several local children fail to break the pi§ata, Kenny succeeds, then drowsily remarks on the way home, ``A pi§ata's almost as good as a Christmas tree.'' In a dozen full-color, full-page paintings, Turley uses a vibrant palette and stylized figures reminiscent of some Mexican folk art, creating lush scenes of flowers and toys. Consider this a long-lost literary relic, available at last, more for study than pleasure. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 20, 1997
ISBN: 0-19-511476-0
Page Count: 93
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The son of a Spanish conquistador and an Indian woman, 15- year-old Miguel VillacÇ Y¢totl, leaves his home in conquered Mexico to join an expedition in search of the golden realm of the high priestess Yupaha. The journey is a treacherous one through unexplored territory where the group is often set upon by unfriendly tribes. Their leader, Don Pedro, is killed in one such assault, and the future of the venture is left in the hands of his courageous bride, Do§a Ana. Reaching Yupaha's realm, they find an old woman with little gold to offer. As dissention mounts in the ranks, Do§a Ana reluctantly agrees to let the party split up and take different routes back to the ship, a move that nearly spells death for them all as the greed of some leads to an attack on Yupaha's tribe; salvation is possible only with the help of GinÇs, the group's Indian interpreter. Ironically, the last, arduous leg of the return journey does lead to treasure. In a matter-of-fact style, well translated by Lane, the Spanish author portrays with honesty and power the peculiar mix of religion, glory, and greed that marked his country's conquest of the New World; acts of violence are presented in graphic but unsensationalized detail that conveys their commonplaceness in the 16th century. A gratuitous bit of melodrama when—the party happens on a tribe headed by none other than Miguel's long-lost father—but it hardly detracts from the fine quality of the whole. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Feb. 3, 1992
ISBN: 0-374-32692-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992
The latest entry in the fine ``Black Americans of Achievement'' series introduces an evangelist who was so well known in his time that a postcard from overseas addressed to ``God/Harlem/USA'' was (properly—according to many of his followers) delivered to him. At the height of the Depression, Father Divine established a wildly successful ministry, informally known as the Peace Mission, that not only gave thousands of people jobs and a sense of purpose and community but also provided millions of hearty meals, set up scores of small businesses, and openly and peacefully promoted civil rights and racial integration. Weisbrot (the longer Father Divine and the Struggle for Racial Equality, 1983) paints an admiring portrait of a flashy, savvy, incorruptible preacher and social activist whose personal integrity and confrontational but nonviolent style won many friends and quiet victories. As Father Divine aged, the Peace Mission became less active; the author closes with a few words about its postwar activities and an analysis of Divine's place in the history of the civil-rights movement. Plenty of b&w photos; chronology; bibliography; index. (Biography. 12+)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-7910-1122-4
Page Count: 120
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992
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