Zorro

I was able to finish Zorro an hour before the new year started.

I believe I have already done a review for another work by Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia, and have overall been a big fan of her writing. Zorro was different from Allende’s other books, though.

I have always been a fan of Zorro; I remember watching episodes on Disney Channel when we first got cable. The Antonio Banderas movies were ok, but I went and got the John Carroll TV series because I am also a fan of John Carroll. Anyways, when it came to reading the book, I was not expecting the story that takes place where you learn about how Diego de la Vega grew up and his time in Barcelona where the character of Zorro is created. I was thinking it would be like the shows and movies where everything takes place primarily in California because that is where all of Allende’s other works take place. Now that I reflect back on it, that piece should not have bothered me as it did.

I think the main thing that stood out to me was that the writing style was a little different, given the subject matter. In other books, the writing is much more mature and, I guess you could say, more dramatic. Zorro is written with more adventure and a more masculine tone, which now that I think about it, that is how it should be. I was busy being stuck on “this is not how she has written others books… blehhh” when really I should be praising Allende on her being able to adapt to fit the nature of the content. I like how she made Diego into someone who is incredibly smart despite how he may put himself off as, and being incredibly caring of all people because Allende took the time to focus more on Diego’s mother and her background, which is something not talked about in the shows and movies.

To me, as good as this book was, it was also a one-time read for me. If Allende were to do more with the Zorro universe, I would absolutely be down for that. I think anyone could read this and enjoy it, regardless of your age. If interested, you can find it here.

9/10