by Jo Roybal Izay (Author)
What a delightful book Jo Izay is an able story teller, which is quite an art. The book had me in stitches with mi Mochito's recitation of "history." The character mi Mochito is unique and shares an incredibly hilarious view of historic events. The book takes place in the northeast mountains of New Mexico where a few hundred years ago Sephardic Jews went to escape the inquisition. Although the book is ostensibly fiction, it does give much very interesting accurate historical information about what happened to these people and how they intermarried with, e.g., Indians, other Jews, etc, yet kept the rudiments of their religious practices to this very day. There is so much to be learned about, e.g., the penitentes, Indians "Los Mormones," language (Spanish, Ladino, English, Latin, Hebrew, etc), that anyone interested in cultures will find the book fascinating. The relationship between the Catholic priest and the Rabbi is fascinating and humorous. In my opinion, the book should be in the library of every synagogue and every student of cultures. And, it's funny Bert Robinson - Baton Rouge, LA