Customer Reviews

Heart of a Jaguar

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I thought that the book was not the best I have EVER read, it was NOT a book I would recommend to people and that I would like to read again. I don't recommend it because it is VERY graphic in details about sacraficing. The ending was my favorite part was the ending. If you want to know something about the Maya

The Heart of the Jaguar was a very graphic novel with many gruesome and sometimes racy parts. Otherwise it was very realistic and gave you and omnipresent view of what it was really like in the Mayan culture. I like the plot a lot, and it hooked me and kept me wanting to read it more and more. The story was somewhat sad, when people were killed and or just died. I enjoyed this book.

I think that this was a really cool book, but I don't think it's my favorite. I don't mind the gore or gruesome details, and it's a realistic story that could help people get a perspective of the everyday Maya civilazation. I learned a lot of new mayan word like palapa, milpa, cha'chac. I'm glad I read and learned from this book.

Heart of a Jaguar book had an O.K. plot, and there were some good parts. However, the gorey parts made the whole book unenjoyable for me. Since many of them are not appropriate to discuss on the internet, I will not give examples - but they were disgusting. Occasionally the characters did inappropriate things, or used profane language. I know this was how people acted in Mayan days, but the discription of some things was a little bit much. So if you love reading about bloody and gorey things, you would enjoy this book.

This book was an... interesting view into a proposed Mayan village, and the author used too many gross parts and too many adult analogies, as this is classified as a "children's book." This book may be historically correct, but it should NOT be classified for children.

Heart of a Jaguar is about Balam, a Mayan boy. His village is experiencing a severe drought. They give a lot of blood to the gods, but it still doesn't rain! In the process of giving blood, there are some very disgusting parts. Meanwhile, strange things happen to Balam. A fish from Xibalba (the underworld) appears, and he meets his dead twin brother and mother. Eventually, they decide someone must be sacrificed. I didn't really like this story because some parts were disgusting, and I didn't like the plot either.

Heart of a Jaguar is well written with reasonably good descriptions, but does not have a good plot. On the back of the book, it talks about how the city is having a bad drought and they try sacrificing a dog, but it doesn't bring rain, and will they ask Balam to make the greatest sacrifice of all? When I read this it told me exactly what would happen in the end, but I won't give it away. None of the stuff on the back of the book happened until some time near the end. Random events occured up to the ceremony that weren't that important to the story. This book is accurate with what the Mayan culture was like, but has a very bad plot. Also, this book gets very descriptive with the bloody descriptions when it is not incredibly important. Overall, I didn't really like this book

Have you ever been through an extreme drought? Or wrestled
with a jaguar? If not you should read, Heart of a Jaguar. Writing this story Marc Talbert vividly describes Maya going through a difficult time in their civilization. The problem was, Lack of rain.

Crys rang out from among the camp.
A baby was being born, twin infact. Balam does not remember this
day, but his father has told him about it many times. The day when his mom died giving birth to him and his brother who also died. His father is married again, and Balam is now 14. He is a boy who is longing to become a man. Giving up playing with the little boys, he hopes that the bachelors will recognize he is no longer a kid, and will allow him to come and live with them in the baclelors hut.Falling in love with a girl named Ixbacal, he is forever watching her. He knows that he is going to marry her. Suddenly his dreams are shattered when Ixbacal is kidnapped by an enemy while she was going to the cenote. Later they find out that she was sacrificed to there gods. Balam immediately fell apart.

Longing to become a man, he followed the bachelors into the woods. They were going to spy. Quietly and cautiously, he
followed them. Then all of a sudden they got out of site. Where did they go? Balam was scared, he was now lost in the wood alone. While standing there he heard a noise which startled him. Looking around, he spotted a viscous jaguar. Castings his spear the jaguar died. After killing it, he then got the pelt and the heart and wandered back home. Walking up to the camp, he removed the pelt from his head. In doing so, the little white bead which
symbolized he was a child was ripped off. Back at camp the
leaders were deciding who to sacrifice, they chose Balam. Balam
was to fast for ten days to purify himself. On the tenth day Balam was sacrificed to the gods for rain.

Reading this book, you would go back in time and experience the Mayan civilization first hand going through an extreme drought. Although the ending was different, surely many would enjoy this book. You should defiantly read Heart of a Jaguar if you were studding Maya.

I think that Heart of a Jaguar is a very good novel. There are only a few places that it could be improved. Especially in the fight of the bachelors, it was a bit too gruesome. The violence in the fight could have definitely been removed. Even though that probably happened in the Maya civilization, Marc Talbert did not have to include it in the book.
Heart of a Jaguar was a very vivid book, especially in the dreams of a young boy. Marc Talbert was able to create a very real story that was very clear and plausible (within the Mayan empire). The ending was very detailed also though it was expected.
The author's note in the beginning sets the scene of the story very well. The book takes place two days away from the collapsed Mayan city. The book is written about the 1200s in the Post-Classic Mayan period. It greatly develops the story of the novel and prepares you for this excellent book.

I think that this book is an ok book. The author describes the characters and scene well. He uses vivid words to describe the setting. He created a good plot and you could never set the book down. The characters are very adventurous. All the characters have their own personality with different characteristics.

There are scenes in which you feel like you are really there. He makes the violent parts dramatic and scary. The author can get carried away at parts but he keeps you hooked through the whole book. You could almost cry at the end. He makes you terrified at violent parts, like you are watching everything happen. There are also some gross parts, when you wish you never read.