Customer Reviews

Tortuga

Jan Hutson has created a masterpiece of literature with her new book, "Tortuga." It is beautifully written, and held my attention to the end.

Tortuga is the story of the Flores family, whose ancestral beginnings included a Moorish prince and a Spanish peasant woman. The name, meaning flower in Spanish, was adopted by their first and only surviving descendant who was a master of horse breeding and horsemanship.

The main story begins with his descendant, Antonio, his self-centered wife, Feliciana ("Fez") and their son Gil, and their adventures in getting to and settling in Texas when Antonio's moorish blood creates an intolerable situation for him in Spain with the Spanish inquisition, brought on by his perverted and greedy half-brother, a Jesuit priest.

I don't wish to give away too much of the story, because it is a delight and you will want to read it for yourself. The author, Jan Hutson, though, in her introduction, says that the facts, figures and events portrayed are historical, and the Flores, Ybarbos and other colonial families in the story are based on real people and events related to her by family members, although the specific characters in the story are fictional.

In any case, this is a truly wonderful book, a delicious story, and one that I have greatly enjoyed. I hope that Jan Hutson writes more, as her talent for story telling is great, as demonstrated by this and her other book, "The Chicken Ranch," the story of which led to the great movie starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

Joseph H. Pierre