Song of the Hummingbird [School & Library Binding]

Graciela Limon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

From Aztec princess to slave and concubine, Hummingbird--or Huitzitzilín in her native Nahuatl--recounts her life during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Expressing a confidence and freedom that women have strived for centuries to attain, Huitzitzilín passionately relates her tale to Father Benito, the priest who seeks to confess and convert her, to offer her an absolution she neither needs nor wants. Instead, she forces him to see the conquest, for the first time, through the eyes of the conquered.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Like Limon's two previous novels, In Search of Bernabe (LJ 8/93) and The Memories of Ana Calderon (LJ 8/94), this work explores the endurance of the human spirit in a world of political, social, and emotional violence. Hummingbird?Huitzitzilin in her native Nahuatl language?recounts her life story, 82 years that transcend the Spanish conquest of Mexico, "because I will soon die, and someone must know how it was that I and my people came to what we are now." Born an Aztec princess in the court of Montezuma, she ends her life in a convent. A bewildered young priest expects to hear her final confession but instead becomes engrossed in her tale, and, in so doing, is himself converted to some acceptance and sensibility of the freedom and passion of her indigenous culture. For public and academic libraries with an interest in Hispanic culture.?Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., Mcminnville, Ore.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Downright hypnotic." -- The Washington Post Book World

"This work explores the endurance of the human spirit in a world of political, social, and emotional violence." --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: San Val (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613997697
• ISBN-13: 978-0613997690
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,425,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a real eye-, mind-, and heart-opener!, January 13, 2000

By 

toni (maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of the Hummingbird (Paperback)

--- a blend of fact and fiction that is bound to make even historians reconsider their previously learned "facts" to date.

graciela limon, with her Song of the Hummingbird, has created a thought-provoking literary masterpiece! deep from within its lyrical pages we hear huitzitzilin (hummingbird) as she sings the songs of her ancestors. she sings to set the record/s straight, "to break the silence that has broken her people's spirit" and to tell a story that demands to be heard.

as her appointed confessor, father benito finds himself forced to sit and listen to what he, at first, considers to be mere "ramblings" of an old mexica -- who proceeds to quickly and surprisingly engage him - as she proudly, passionately and, at times even playfully re-tells the past as she knows, remembers and has lived it. after many hours, that carry over into days, spent with the outspoken and intelligent woman, the priest slowly begins to see things from a different "i" -- and not only hears huitzitzilin's words, but also begins to feel the pain of her cry -- as she paints for him a picture of a past that had never before been imagined by his foreign eyes.

although at times shocked and often astounded by hummingbird's "warblings," the young man of the cloth begins to question that which he was, as a naive school-boy, taught, and he, as a novice, learned -- and finds himself conflicted and curiously "torn" .... why had he never before conceived of the natives as having families? how is it that he never believed them to shed tears? who was more savage and barbarian? -- the bearded warriors who spilled blood in the name of the cross and salvation -- or the mexica lords with their crimson-stained sacrificial slabs -- both the practices and preachings led to torture, suffering, death and .... annihilation -- of individuals, masses, cultures and entire civilizations; losses to be mourned.

with their songs, both hummingbird and limon help to open closed hearts and broaden narrow minds by reminding listeners and readers that there is often a fine line between fact and fable; and that one must look to the past, not only with a discerning mind, but with an understanding and human heart -- as, in the end, did father benito; who, in a sense, as he re-wrote history, was reborn. thanks to his, and limon's efforts, hummingbird's song "will live on forever - because her words have been captured on paper!"

absolutely beautiful! a refreshing new perspective on the culture clash, conquest and coming together of an old and the new worlds. a book that makes a strong statement and argument (several) about and for, above all things,: understanding differences, accepting diversity and "forgiving" the most incomprehensible behaviors.

written in tenderly touching, humorously entertaining and educationally engrossing ways.

i highly recommend it to - and for - everyone!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read Gary Jennings Instead, March 14, 2002

By 

Snooki (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of the Hummingbird (Paperback)

If I hadn't already read Gary Jennings "Aztec" I probably would have liked this book much better. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The main character, Huitzitzilin, is great, but the the Priest was AWFUL. One minute he'd be shocked and appalled by what she said, and the next, all of a sudden and lo and behold! he was feeling compassion and understanding for her. Completely not believable.

On the other hand, the Gary Jennings book is basically the same story (written PRIOR to Song of the Hummingbird) about an elderly Mexica man, and really built up the characters, made you a part of their lives and was a truly entertaining way to digest the history of this subject.

Read Jennings instead.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The confession, October 29, 2002

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Song of the Hummingbird (Paperback)

An old Mexica woman confesses her "sins" to a Spanish priest and the clash of cultures is retold and relived by the two characters once again. For my tastes this book lacks a punch and hence is less than riveting reading. There are several reviews here, including the editorial feature that give a synopsis but most fail to see the transparency of the writing. I did enjoy the book but could never feel so engrossed that I had to read bunches at a time but rather heard the "confession" of Huitzitzilin, or hummingbird, as she delivered it , in sessions. Since this is a novel I feel more liberty should have been taken to enrich the story although the "factual" information that was from an indigenous pespective was interesting. I would recommend this book for someone who is just beginning to learn about the conquest of Mexico because there is nothing Earth shaterring here. If you'd like more in depth perspectives of the conquest from an indigenous point of view I would recommend "The Broken Spears" , also "Aztec Thought and Culture" and "Native mesoamerican Spirituality" by Miguel Leon- Portillo. Also you might try the excellent history "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico" by Bernal Diaz del Castillo which is an eyewitness account(1568) from a sympathetic Captain. All in all the book was entertining but less than satisfying. Since the language is not too challenging it is appropriate for young readers. School age kids, either middle or high school children, especially those who are bilingual might really enjoy this story that is part fact and fiction