Zorro and a bit of a wrap-up...

So while not my favorite book out of the four we read, it certainly beats out Satanic Verses for light reading. I finished this book in less than a week - Allende's writing style is easy and draws the reader in, I really couldn't put the book down.

Allende managed to fill in the gaps in the Zorro legend as far as I knew it. Of course, my knowledge of the Zorro legend comes from the films staring Antonio Banderas, but even so, I couldn't help wondering how Anthony Hopkins could whistle his horse right to him (Batman and his Batmobile are one thing...a pony, that's something different entirely). Thanks to Allende, I now know that as a youth growing up in Spain, Zorro trained as an acrobat with gypsies, which totally explains why he's so brilliant on the ponies.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the interruptions in the story line by the narrator. I think the concept of a third-party narrating the story is a great one, but I don't necessarily want to be told blatantly that the "writer" has to stop to refill on ink. That it was the smart yet unattractive girl narrating the story wasn't really a surprise: it couldn't have been Bernardo (he's too busy with his Indian love), nor Zorro (or we'd never hear the end of his amazing conquests), nor the beautiful love of his life (she's too busy with her French ex-Pirate - which, by the way, was a brilliant way to get rid of a character and allow Zorro to continue to be the Latin lover he was in legend).

Unlike the other books, however, I didn't highlight much in this one. I wasn't particularly impressed by her writing, so I didn't have many memorable quotes. All said and done, it was a good story, a fun read, and something I'd revisit when I wanted to procrastinate studying. That, and it made me crave the Zorro movie; so I watched it the other night. :)

Now for the wrap up:


Of all the books we've read this semester, I think "Welcome to the Monkey House" is my favorite. However, if I were to pick an author to continue reading, I'd start with Allende. Hers was the easiest to sink my teeth into, and the best way to escape for an afternoon.

As far as food goes, so the Indian night didn't quite turn out as we expected (but hey, neither did Satanic Verses). El Rod's was ok, but I think the Angel/Devil night was the best by far. But that might just be my sweet tooth talking!