Incognito: Journey of a Secret Jew

by Maria Espinosa

This gripping novel of adventure, love, and religious persecution follows the life and flight of a Jew under the Spanish Inquisition. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093032479X
• ISBN13: 9780930324797
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Wings Press (TX)
• Length: 198 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Universal themes emerge from a unique view of history

The intriguing subject matter of this novel was woven into its narrative quite skillfully. I could appreciate the amount of research that went into the creation of a story depicting details of such a dark historical period. Through the eyes of Alfonso, a sympathetic young protagonist, one can envision the intensity of religious persecution and the consequential struggles of daily life. A host of memorable secondary characters added substance to the delineation of living during the Spanish Inquisition. The universal themes of this book resonate, especially in today's climate of political unrest: the ramifications of bigotry and prejudice can be disastrous; humanity must learn from its mistakes. My only criticism (and it's a minor one) is that one or two scenes were foreshadowed in such an obvious way as to deprive them of their full impact. Otherwise I enjoyed the inclusion of symbolic omens and superstitions since they made the suspicious atmosphere that much more tangible. Furthermore, the pacing of action sequences helped to maintain a level of suspense throughout the plot. I look forward to reading other work by this talented writer.

A novel about the Crypto-Jews or Marranos of 16th century Spain

In 1492, the year Columbus reached the New World, financed by Spain, that country carried out massive ethnic and religious cleansing at home. It expelled all Jews (and also Muslims, known there as Moors), who refused to covert to Christianity. Maria Espinosa, a descendant of Spanish Jews, has combined extensive research and her skills as a novelist to recreate this period in an action-packed, sensitively written historical novel. The main character,Alfonso, lives in the southern port city of Cadiz, where his father owns a fleet of trading ships. At age seven Alfonso watches a boatload of Jews depart in misery in 1492. Gradually Alfonso learns that his own Catholic family are in fact Marranos, Jews who converted to save their lives but practice Judaism in secret. The Inquisition, which since 1391 has been trying to force Jews to covert, has a vast network of spies who ferret out secret Jews, torture and kill them, and seize their property for the Church. As Alfonso's life unfolds, the narrative brings out many experiences of Jews in Spain and Portugal at that time. Thus the book gives readers little-known information as well as telling an engrossing story.

INCOGNITO: A FASCINATING HISTORICAL NOVEL

Incognito: Journey of a Secret Jew Of all Maria's novels (and I have read most of them), I was most intrigued by her handling of this historical material. She is a master at creating three dimensional characters, and she manages to make the trials and tribulations of her characters deeply personal. We care about what happens to them. The book has a compelling story line and keeps the reader engrossed in the plot until the final page. I closed the book with a sigh, feeling enriched by the way in which Ms. Espinosa's careful research recreated a long-ago world.

Incognitic

I truely enjoyed the novel. It is a subject that has long been forgotten and tucked away...it is a history lesson of great importance..it is the truimpt of the human spirit..in amass of lycrical dialouge, the readers finds themselves set in the 14th-16th century with a love story,a story of family,culture and religious hate. Maria takes her readers to the Spanish Inquistion with all her heart body and soul...We feel the energy of the writer's passion for her work. It is well researched and documented. I loved the novel, it has opened up another dark side of world history and the human struggle for religious and cultural freedoms. A book for all times and all people to read. This is not just a book of Jewish history. It is much,much more. I would be rank it with Angela's Ashes.Irene of Berkeley