Zorro

I have really enjoyed Zorro; it was definitely a huge change from Satanic Verses. It was interesting that the book focused on Zorro’s childhood, which the author, Isabel Allende, said in a question and answer section in the back of the book, that this was the first novel to do so. What interested me the most as I read the book was to see Zorro’s humanity and vulnerabilities. Allende said herself that “Zorro is not a magical character. He is not like Superman, Spiderman… he is a human being, a man who loves life, who is willing to take risks to defend the underdog.” When I pictured Zorro before I read the book, I did see a Superman like character, not necessarily with supernormal powers, but at least with abilities that no other human could match. In this book however, Zorro’s skills are explained through hard work and practice, along with some natural ability. He wasn’t born with these abilities, and most of the time luck helped him just as much as his earned skills. I enjoyed adding another dimension to the Zorro I previously knew, and since Allende’s book is full of adventure as well as history, it was a really entertaining read.