Teresa Urrea was a Mexican girl with healing powers who was anointed to sainthood by her legion of followers. Whether or not she was a saint or a pawn in the Mexican Revolution is not important to the enjoyment of this book. It can be read as a beautiful story containing elements of Mexican history woven into an epic that mesmerizes the reader.

Urrea writes with skill and passion about his ancestors. The miracles Teresa is credited with may or may not be true, but her reputation gave such hope and courage to her followers that she was deemed a threat to the Diaz empire. Urrea recreates the suffering and spirit of the Mexican people in the 19th century in a way that magically embraces the reader. This is a book that I will be pondering for quite some time. ( )

Someone needs to explain to me why this book is great. I don't think it's even good. It's The Song of Bernadette for the 21st century, written in prose as flat and featureless as the deserts it describes.

So very, very, very not recommended. ( )

I didn't realize until that this was historical fiction until I got to the end and read the author's note. I did wonder though since the author's last name was the same as some characters in the book.

I thought it was a little long in some chapters, and I'm glad I have basic Spanish to understand some of the phrases that weren't translated, but I did enjoy it on the whole.

Although the book is centered around Teresa, who later became known as Santa Teresa of Cabora, and her development from a child under tutelage of Huila to a resurrected woman performing healing miracles, I really liked some of the other characters, her father, Aguirre the engineer, Secundo who became her protector, Beneventura her stepbrother and Cruz Chavez, all of whom added a great deal of color to the story.

In my opinion, her father, Don Tomas Urrea was one of the best characters in this book.

This review doesn't do the book a smidgeon of justice, but I'm finding it hard to review it without retelling the entire story. It's simple, and the richness of the character details are what really makes this story one that will sit with you for a while. ( )

It’s the early 1880’s, in Mexico, and a girl is born to a poor Indian worker. Her name is Terisita and her father is the rich landowner Don Tomas, although he is unaware of her birth. Early on she proves to be a “gifted child” and is taken in by the local healer, Huila, to learn the duties of midwifery. In her later teens, after a horrific event, she finds herself able to produce miracles. She quickly becomes Saint of Cabora or the Mexican Joan of Arc and thousands of people flock to the ranch, to witness and be cured. It is a dark time in Mexico, revolutions are brewing and there is rampant hunger and violence. This is a beautifully rich story, impeccably researched and populated with unforgettable characters. Enchanting and highly recommended! ( )

An excellent tale, made all the more amazing and interesting by the fact that it is true. The vivid portrayal of the setting put the me right there. What most captured me, however, was my empathy for all of the characters. I'm a bit too skeptical to believe the miracles but am willing to accept that Theresa was a amazing awe inspiring person. ( )

I am sorry to say that after ten chapters I am putting down Luis Alberto Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter. The novel itself is beautifully written and promises to be incredibly powerful and meaningful for those who are able to make it to the end. I picked up the novel at the suggestion of several LibraryThing members, and I do not deny that their praise is well-deserved.

So why am I abandoning the book before I finish it? Personal difficulty - I find myself less and less able to focus on the narrative itself as I trip over foreign dialog, words I don't understand, and names I'm afraid I'm mispronouncing. While I am confident that Urrea's use of native dialog is quite appealing to many readers, I personally find it to be a stumbling block that has grown harder to ignore as I continue the book. However, because I recognize that as a flaw in myself, as opposed to a flaw on the part of the author, I still feel confident giving (what I read of) The Hummingbird's Daughter four stars. ( )

I loved this book. I can give it no higher recommendation than once finished with it, I immediately wanted to begin it again. You owe it to yourself to read it. ( )

The author, at the end of this work of wonderous and beautiful fiction, this history, tells us it is the result of 20 years of historical and cultural research for the this book. It is the story of Teresa Urrea, also known as The Saint of Cabora. It is a story that was carried down through his family for many generations.

It takes you from the days before her birth, a fatherless child, in a hut with a dirt floor through her childhood, her life and so much more. This is a work of history, of spirituality and religion, of war, love hate and betrayal. It is a story of God, and healing and deep humanity.

Teresita, as she was called was eased from her mother's womb by Huila, a midwife and healer. At the moment of her birth, she was recognized as a gifted child. One who would be a healer in her own right, in the years to come.

Abandoned by her mother, she lived a life of poverty and abuse with her mothers sister and that sister's own children. It was only after an episode of extreme abuse that Huila took the child under her own protection, and saw to it that her life would be eased. Huila not only looked into her eyes and saw a gifted girlchild, but knew who her father had been.

Circumstances forced her to leave the only home she had ever know, and follow Don Tomas' Urrea to a new home, and a new life. Her aunt chose another path, which freed her to live with Huila, whom she learned to love and respect. Huila was free to become the teacher the child Teresita was waiting for.

The words to describe the terrible beauty of this book fail me. It is a book filled with love, with hate, with food and music, with worship and heresy ( but not where you expect it to be). It is a tale of opportunities, war , betrayal and martyrdom, joy and earthiness. This is a book that should sit on a shelf in every readers home. It is one to read again and again. IT is a book with no need for a sequel, as to read it again is to read more, learn more and see more. ( )

Wow. It's only been a few times when I can say a novel has changed me. I can say in now after reading this one. The book mixes all my favorite genres into one beautiful work--historical fiction, mysticism, class issues, latino culture, strong leading women, and magical realism. I have heard of Luis Alberto Urrea, the 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist, for his book "The Devil's Highway." It is so well researched. The young illegitimate mestizo girl went from sleeping on the dirt floor to her father's house to being the "Saint of Cabora." I was not surprised that this book took twenty years to finish. I can't wait to read more by this author. ( )

I just finishedThe Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea, an excellent piece of researched fiction telling the story of Teresita Urrea, aka the Saint of Cabora, a town in Mexico. Teresita Urrea (1873-1906) was a real person and a relative of the author, Luis Alberto Urrea.

This story of an abandoned child who grows up to have alarming power and influence is both interesting and well-told. I didn't realize that it was based on a real person until I was over half-way through; this added greatly to my appreciation of the book.

Here is a link to a more detailed and well-written review over at AmoXcalli and a link to the Luis Alberto Urrea's site. If you enjoy magical realism and/or historical fiction, you will enjoy this eloquent novel.

see more book reviews on my blog: :: Adventures in Daily Living :: ( )

This is a fictionalized biography of a real person, the author's great aunt, Teresa Urrea (1873-1906), otherwise known as the Saint of Cabora, Mexico. It follows the period from her illegitimate birth to Cayetana Chavez, a Tehueco Indian otherwise known as "The Hummingbird," who was impregnated by her employer, wealthy rancher Tomas Urrea. Teresa is eventually recognized by Tomas and becomes part of his family. After a near-death experience, she develops healing powers and a following that threatens the dictator of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz. The book ends when she and her father are deported to the United States in 1892.

The whole story was fascinating (and mostly true as written), but I actually thought Tomas Urrea was more interesting than his daughter - he was such a dashing reprobate!

Some reviewers have criticized this book for its use of untranslated Spanish. I didn't have a problem with this, perhaps because after eight years of Spanish from grades 5-12, I understood most of it (a lot was cuss words), or I could figure out the meaning from the context. This code-switching is actually quite common among Latino writers.

See more in my review at Bookin' It. ( )

The epic tale of a Mexican-Indian girl with healing powers (the Saint of Cabora) who lived on a ranch with her father. This novel is full of magical realism and beautiful writing. I enjoyed the wonderful dialog and the detailed characterization of Thomas Urrea and Teresa Urrea. I found the plot to be a bit wandering at times. ( )

This is set in Mexico in the late 19th century, at the time of an uprising against President Porfirio Diaz. The hero is a young woman who learns to be a healer then becomes known as a saint and a fomentor of rebellion even though she espouses peace. It's brilliant writing with spare but evocative prose and wonderful characters. Hard to recommend, though, because there are lots of untranslated Spanish phrases. ( )

read for book club,it's a bit weird but it grew on me interesting historical view of Mexico ( )

A beautifully rich tapestry woven from historical research, magical realism, and the astonishing life of Teresita, this novel about the life of Urrea's great-aunt, born in Mexico in 1873, is epic in scope, magical to its core, and as real as the sky. Teresita, born to a 14-year-old Indian girl and the Mexican land owner for whom she labors, becomes both a Western-educated young lady invited by her father into his household and a curandera taught by one of the most powerful curanderas in Mexico. As such, she goes on to defy a near-deadly rape, raising from her coffin, to become one of Mexico's unique legends. Her miraculous recovery brings thousands of pilgrims to the Urrea ranch, where Teresita inspires Indian uprisings and revolution.
Recommended by Candice, June 2007
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Staff Picks

A family legend becomes a finely spun epic reimagining the life of a Mexican peasant girl who has the ability to perform miracles.

I won't go into the details of the plot and the story line, the history of the author and his relation to Teresita Urrea - you can get that on Amazon's rave reviews...

I will say that this was a beautiful story - where the magical realism doesn't distant one from the characters; where plot and people he writes become alive. So much so that I want to meet them. The story reminds me in part of Alverez's "In the Time of Butterflies" - without the tragedy (though you do get oppressive government and revolutionary vision) and Garcia's "100 Years of Solitude," with more reality.
It took Urrea twenty years to research and write this book. As a life's work; it is a masterpiece. ( )

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