Tinisima (Paperback)

by Elena Poniatowska (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Using quotations from actual letters, characters under their actual names, and events straight out of history, Mexican novelist Elena Poniatowska has reimagined the life of actress and Communist agent Tina Modotti. Modotti was the lover of photographer Edward Weston, the friend of Diego Rivera and other artists, and an agent for the Soviet Union during the murky events of the Spanish Civil War. Poniatowska brushes aside questions of morality and politics to present Tina Modotti as an impetuous romantic, a heroine regardless of the rightness of her cause. The Spanish Civil War forms the backdrop for the last and most dramatic stage of Modotti's life: she was the lover of Vittorio Vidali, who specialized in assassinating anti-Stalinist leftists. Regardless of the stature of the book as literature, it gives a portrait of one of the most fascinating characters on the world stage between the World Wars. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
An intensely imagined, sensuously detailed account of the extraordinary life of photographer and militant revolutionary Tina Modotti (1896-1942), this compelling novel reflects the political and social turbulence of the 1920s through the '40s as experienced by a brave and vibrant woman who was an intimate of some of the leading poets, writers, artists and politicians of her time. Modotti lived various roles in her passionate life: she was a seamstress in San Francisco, an actress in silent films, a student and lover of photographer Edward Weston, a model for Diego Rivera's murals, an agent for the Soviet Union and always a cultural, intellectual and political vivant whose sensuous spirit captivated men and, for a time, the entire Mexican population (they called her Tinisima, a diminutive of her name but also an endearment). Tracing Modotti's footsteps to California, Mexico, Berlin, Moscow and Spain, Poniatowska adroitly interprets history without marginalizing the lyricism of Modotti's tragic quest for identity and true love. In Mexico in 1929, young Cuban revolutionary Julio Antonio Mella is assassinated while walking arm-in-arm with Modotti. Eager to rid the country of communist sympathizers, the government accuses Tina of his murder. Rivera and other prominent Mexican intelligentsia eventually help win her freedom. Expelled from Mexico, Modotti lives for a time in Moscow, becomes an agent for Red Aid, the international revolutionary organization, and works for the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War. Tired and ill, in 1939 she returns to Mexico, where she remains unrecognized until her death, when Pablo Neruda immortalizes her in a poem. One of Mexico's leading writers, Poniatowska (Dear Diego) has made an art form of blending journalism and fiction. She tells this novel in an urgent present tense, segueing among short, vivid scenes with cinematic virtuosity. Ten years of research and a thorough knowledge of the currents of history contribute to this portrait, but equally important is Poniatowska's intuitive appreciation of a woman shaped and destroyed by her tumultuous times.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140268766
• ISBN-13: 978-0140268768
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,231,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars !VIVA TINISIMA!, July 7, 2003

By	W. MONTGOMERY (WASHINGTON, DC - U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before reading this novel, what I knew of Tina Modotti came from a single Edward Weston photograph. A beautiful woman with penetrating eyes.

Once I began to read "TINISIMA", I became utterly captivated with the life of Tina Modotti. Elena Poniatowska has a way of making the narrative read as if Tina Modotti herself were relating various happenings from her life to the reader, while the author adds her own commentaries as a supplement.

The more I read of this novel, the more I found myself curious about this woman and her life. It got to the point that I could hardly tear myself away from finishing this novel, though it pained me to see how Miss Modotti was manipulated and abused both by some of her friends/compatriots and the Stalinist system she once served so faithfully. I believe it was a mistaken faith, but I respect Miss Modotti for the courage of her convictions. She had good intentions, a big heart, but was prone to blind herself to the evils of Stalinism. Therein lies the ultimate tragedy of her life.

Tina Modotti could have gone on to become one of the greatest photographers of the last century had she not threw herself wholly into Marxist/Stalinist politics. Perhaps it is for that reason that she is not widely known today.

I wish I could have known Tina Modotti. I would have loved to have had lots of conversations with her in some café or small restaurant. While I'm sure we would not agree on a number of issues, I like to think we would have become close friends.

Thank you, Elena Poniatowska, for a beautiful book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars El personaje ideal, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

Tina Modotti es el personaje ideal para una novela fascinante. Eso es en realidad lo que Elena Poniatowska, con su prosa bella y precisa nos brinda con esta biografia. Su abarcador andar por la vida, sus vinculos con la vanguardia artistica, cultural y social de la epoca, son narrados afable y certeramente en este libro. Un panorama de epoca increible se nos brinda en estas lineas que nos traen una Tina llena de pasiones, ardiente amante, luchadora incansable, humana y trascendente: asi es tambien su historia.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Una Novela", December 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tinisima (Hardcover)

Elena Poniatowska calls her beautiful biography of Tina Modotti "a novel". She, in fact, has probably interviewed more people who knew Tina and were there than anyone else. Her novel is a moving compilation of all of this.