Reviews for Tonatiuh's People: A Novel of the Mexican Cataclysm

The average rating for Tonatiuh's People: A Novel of the Mexican Cataclysm based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-02-15 00:00:00 Jameel Black Edith Wharton read #1 Published in 1900, The Touchstone is a novella that takes readers to the city that Wharton would most enjoy setting her tales-New York City. As always Wharton puts the lives and morals of upper class on display. To give up things in order to marry the woman one loves is easier than to give them up without being brought appreciably nearer to such a conclusion. Our main protagonist, Stephen Glennard wants more than anything to stop his beloved from leaving for London, but he is too poor. When he decides to anonymously publish the letters of a former lover, a deceased author, it gains him the riches he desires, but what will his wife do, if ever she were to find out what he's done? he had lived beside his wife unaware that her individuality had become a part of the texture of his life, ineradicable as some growth on a vital organ; and he now felt himself at once incapable of forecasting her judgment and powerless to evade its effects. Although I have watched a few films based on her books, I have never actually read an Edith Wharton novel. Over the next few months, I hope to change that and have set out to read fourteen works written by the author. The Touchstone was a good place to start as it shows the promising future that Wharton would have as a novelist. You will notice based on my description that the novella passes from courtship to marriage, given that it's only 124 pages, Wharton had to be swift in carrying the tale along. As much as I wanted to give our protagonist a good shake, I did enjoy the tense atmosphere of the novel. But what's even more interesting is the discussion of public versus private sphere. Does the public really have a right to read the letters that a person means to be private? I think I am going to enjoy the Wharton journey! Goodreads review published 23/08/20

Review # 2 was written on 2008-04-05 00:00:00 Amanda Alverez ★★★★✰ 4 stars Having read a few works by Edith Wharton, I've become familiar with her beautifully articulated style. Still, I was nonetheless impressed by just how accomplished The Touchstone is considering that it is Wharton's first published novella. The story revolves around Stephen Glennard, a New York lawyer, who doesn't have enough money to marry his sweetheart, Alexa Trent. It just so happens that Glennard comes across an advertisement seeking information relating to a figure from his past, the famous and recently deceased novelist Margaret Aubyn. Because Margaret was once in love with Glennard, and the two kept a correspondence, he's accumulated hundreds of her letters. Although Glennard is fully aware that to sell these private letters would be to betrayal to Margaret, he worries that Alexa won't wait for him much longer. After editing his name out of the letters and with the help of an acquaintance of his, who happens to be a rich collector, Glennard sells them. The money from the publisher, and from Glennard's own subsequent investments, enables him to marry Alexa. This being a work by Wharton however we know that marriage does not equal happiness. Guilt, shame, and endless waves of remorse mar Glennard's days. Unable to reconcile himself with his actions, knowing that his wife, and the rest of his social circle, would condemn him for the sale, Glennard finds uneasy solace in his memory of Margaret. Through her elegantly precise prose Wharton renders all the nuances of Glennard's disillusionment'with himself, his wife, his marriage'as well as evincing his inner turmoil. Wharton complements this character study with a piercing social commentary (focusing on the customs and niceties of the so called 'polite' society'). I particularly appreciated the narrative's engagement with notions of privacy. Why should an author's private life be made 'public'? Can one retain a degree of privacy or autonomy over one's life if they are considered 'public' figures? Glennard's story seems a cautionary tale. He infringes Margaret's privacy, exposing her personal letters'which were written for the audience of one'to the world. When he comes across people, mostly women, discussing Margaret's letters, he's sickened, as much by them as by himself. Wharton is a master of the trade and The Touchstone is as sophisticated as her later and more celebrated works. In spite of its historical setting The Touchstone is also a strikingly relevant novella (a public figure's right to privacy vs. the public's interest) one that explores the ethical and moral repercussions of Glennard's violation of Margaret privacy and trust. Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads