A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de Las Casas

This book contains Las Casas's plea to the Spanish throne that they investigate and curtail the cruelties practiced by Spanish citizens on the native peoples of the Americas. Organized geographically first, and then chronologically, the book uses several rhetorical strategies to emphasize the mistakes, cruelties, and horrors the Spaniards have committed in the New World. The book at times details individual actions but denies its ability to recount all the horrors--it will either fall silent or say this example is but one of many. There's a point where Las Casas shows some of the natives' willingness to embrace the Christian religion when it isn't accompanied by violence and cruelty. Las Casas seems to attack these bad actions not only because they show the Spaniards to be more interested in gold than God (and thus leave Spain liable to divine retribution), but also because they are inhumane actions. At times, the book seemed a bit repetitive, but this repetition only drove home the horror of the conquest of the New World.

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

In this mystery Maisie Dobbs investigates the sudden death of an artist just before he mounts a large exhibition. I thought the parts where Maisie shows mystic psychology were reduced in this book and that made the reading experience much more pleasurable for me. I had more trouble than usual assembling all the pieces during the course of the mystery, but as it finished, I thought the solution was elegant and moving (although quite sad). I thought Maisie's personal life was dragged into the story in odd ways. I was also intrigued by the growing interest in class issues (who deserves money? is it fair to spend a fortune on art?) and on the rise of Hitler (as indicated by patterns of art smuggling).

Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston

In this book Wedge Antilles continues to direct the last-ditch defense of Borleias as Luke Skywalker leads a team to infiltrate Coruscant and Leia and Han move around the galaxy setting up resistance cells. I thought this book did a nice job of wrapping up the plot lines of the previous story. I liked all of the subplots, and I think things are looking better, strategically, now that the New Republic has all but collapsed. As I said before, I think this series is too long, but I'm pleased to say that these characters, as always, look best when the odds are against them.

Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa

This book is a hodge-podge of forms and ideas. In its mixtures of form (essays, poetry, history, memoir, and myth are forms that come most immediately to mind) and of languages (English, Spanish, and Nahautl) it both demonstrates the problems of living in the borderlands and starts to demonstrate ways that we--by code-switching, by listening, by acceptance--can live best. I particularly liked the sections on the borderlands and on language. Anzaldúa doesn't hold any punches, and a working knowledge of Spanish will help the reader.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

This book resembles a found auto-biography: it purports to be a collection of writings by and about the fictional Harrison William Shepherd. He's practically an orphan from a very young age, but he develops a striking friendship with Frida Kahlo and Lev Trotsky, and, after Trotsky's assassination, makes a new life for himself in Asheville, North Carolina--at least until he's caught up in the Communist witch hunts following WWII. This book is both a delightful bildungsroman and a beautiful, if imaginary, glimpse into the lives of some remarkable historical figures. I would highly recommend this book.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I give this book credit for dealing in fallen archangels instead of in vampires. But otherwise, you've got a Twilight-copycat type of book here. There were some mild surprises throughout the story, but I felt like the situations rang false and the characters' actions even more so. Vee, the sidekick/best friend, was a cardboard cut out, and I thought the mythology/powers of the angels was neither clear nor well thought out.

Bilingual Games: Some Literary Investigations edited by Doris Sommer

In this collection of essays contributors begin with a rigorous theoretical exploration of bilingualism and then move to specific examples of how it plays out. The first three essays take as a starting point that in some senses monolingualism does not and cannot exist. Then, essays begin reading various locations and texts to investigate questions of bilingualism in practice. Most helpful to me were the essays dealing with John Sayles's films Lone Star and Hombres Armada and Malinche. I also appreciated that the essays went beyond English-Spanish binaries. Although not all the essays were equally good, it was a great collection