The Queen of the South

I've read this book twice, and it was as good the second time as the first. It really gets your attention and keeps it. It was very informative also. It was based on a true story. I just loved it. I saw the TV series too. I loved it as well. If you want a story that will hold your attention, then get this book.

Much different than both series the telenovela and tv series. It is still a great read.

The telephone rang, and she knew she was going to die. Talk about a line to draw a reader into a story! And it did pull me into the first chapter. Then I paused. What, he's making drug-scum into heroes and heroines? I didn't really want to go on. Yet, I couldn't resist the appeal of Perez-Reverte's prose. I'm glad I didn't. Because "The Queen of the South" is another winner by an author I'm really beginning to like. "Queen" is a look into the sordid world of drug smugglers on two continents and, despite my distaste for the real thing, it's an engrossing romp. As I did, you may not find Teresa Mendoza appealing at first. But, she'll grow on you as you watch her grow from a teenaged narco's morra into a sophisticated woman worthy of her own corrido as she and her faithful bodyguard Pote facedown their enemies alone. Perez-Reverte even throws in a surprise late in the book, which puts another light on his hero and heroine. But, I can't get into that without spoiling the story for others. The author employs a technique in which the tale is told in alternate chapters by Teresa and an anonymous reporter, a method which adds a sense of reality to the tale.

He leído varios libros de autores españoles recientemente. Y La Reina del Sur y La Sombra del Viento, sobresalen por la mezcla de creatividad literaria y entretenimiento que muchos lectores buscan y que los autores han sabido magistralmente imprimir en sendas obras. Si lo que quiere es un libro de aventuras bien planeadas, en locales exóticos y comunes, con una exquisita visión literaria que no sacrifica en nada la continuidad de la lectura, con pasajes cinematográficos difícil de olvidar en el idioma español, La Reina del Sur es, por mucho, ejemplo de la literatura que sin dejar de serlo, atrae a quienes gustan de la ficción popular. Un logro extraordinario por un autor consagrado.

I remember reading an article in the New York Times a little while ago in which a writer said that he decided whether or not to read a book based on the first sentence. He would continue reading only if he was hooked by this small sample. When I started reading this novel I thought to myself that Perez-Reverte must be of similar beliefs. The start of this work is so strong that it is hard to put it down after reading its first sentence, "The telephone rang, and she knew she was going to die". The phone call Teresa Mendoza receives is a signal that Guero Davila, her lover, is dead and that she needs to run away. Thus starts a spectacular adventure full of twists and turns that will have the reader looking forward to the next development every step of the way. Guero was a drug dealer that was betraying his bosses, so when they discovered him, he was murdered and they proceeded to go after Teresa. An anonymous writer who is doing research and writing a book on the life of this mysterious woman tells part of the story. As usual, Perez-Reverte goes back and forth in the story, mixing elements from different time periods relating to the main character's life. In this case, we soon learn that the writer meets Teresa twelve years after Guero's death when she is involved in a difficult situation with the Federales in Culiacan, Mexico. Therefore, the author is letting us know that the ending may be in line with his usual pattern: bitter-sweet. After that interlude, Perez-Reverte goes back to the moment in which Teresa is forced to run and we are taken along in a magnificent roller-coaster ride that will show us how this character changes and evolves, fighting with her destiny and trying to survive. The author's great writing skills help in making us feel as if we were right in the middle of the action, and we find ourselves rooting for a woman that ends up involved in the world of drugs. Perez-Reverte also does a very good job in describing settings and people in places like Mexico and the US, immersing the reader in the ambiance of these locations. As to our main character, one thing is certain, Teresa learned her lesson from her experience with Guero, and now she decides to take control of her life: "She was never going to wait for anybody again, watching telenovelas in some house in some city somewhere". This is the essence behind this main character, and whether you like the book or not will depend on how much you like Teresa, a strong and focused woman, who takes life as it was dealt to her and who has a significant amount of inner conflicts. As far as I am concerned, this character has enough interest by itself so as to make this one of the best books of 2004.

Perez Reverte es el maestro de la literatura espanola. En "el maestro de esgrima" consiguio fundir a Galdos, Conan Doyle, Conrad y Dumas en una elegante novela sobre los valores perdidos. "La Tabla de Flandes" es el primer thriller moderno (y culto)publicado en Espana. "El Club Dumas" es tal vez el mayor ejercicio de metalenguaje y relectura desde "El Nombre de la Rosa" y su perfecta trama es un puzzle literario y una paseo nostalgico por las lecturas de juventud (cuando en la juventud aun se leia). Las pocas paginas de la "Sombra del aguila" provocan mas carcajadas que los mejores humoristas. "Territorio Comanche" es el libro de cabecera de los aprendices de reportero belico y las aventuras del Capitan Alatriste han resucitado en muchos la pasion por el folletin, por la aventura en estado puro, ademas de contribuir al estudio del lenguaje del siglo XVII.Tal vez "La piel del Tambor" sea algo mas lento y topico (el cura atractivo, fuerte y ligon me produjo la misma verguenza ajena que la mujer torero de Hable con Ella) pero los personajes secundarios son oro en pano. "La Carta Esferica" contiene algunos tics (las repetitivas descripciones del corte de pelo de la chica, p.e.)pero tambien atesora (nunca mejor dicho, pues va de buscar tesoros)lo mejor de Conrad y Stevenson.Y finalmente llegamos a "La Reina del Sur", tal vez una de sus obras mas ambiciosas. De nuevo el maestro utiliza el esquema de relectura del Club Dumas sustituyendo Los Tres Mosqueteros (la novela guia en el Club) por la otra gran obra de Dumas, "El Conde de Montecristo." Como hiciera en el Club, Reverte utiliza y actualiza el esquema del Conde de Montecristo, tansforma al Dantes pescador en mujer mexicana de frontera, la hace descender a los infiernos y su caida la lleva a un hispanico castillo de If donde un abate Farias lesbico y macarra la ayudara a renacer de las cenizas (merced a la educacion y al preceptivo tesoro)convertida en una todo poderosa Condesa (o mas bien Zarina) de la droga.Reverte utiliza los americanismos con un virtuosismo que ya hubiera querido Valle Inclan para su Tirano y muestra las cloacas del mundo criminal internacional (el nacional ya lo ventilo en "Un Asunto de Honor"), los "barrios bajos" del planeta tierra (la frontera mexicana, Algeciras-Gibraltar-Melilla, Marbella) y sus heroes y villanos: los pilotos (los narcos y los aduaneros), los mafiosos (rusos, mexicanos, gallegos y banqueros), los proxenetas, los corruptos) como quien lleva una vida paseando por esos barrios bajos, por ese territorio comanche, no como un juez que da certificados de bondad o maldad, no como un turista que va a la guerra o a la miseria para matar el tedio, sino como alguien que sabe que para entenderse a si mismo y al mundo que lo rodea debe ver lo blanco y lo negro, lo limpio y lo sucio, siempre siguiendo un propio codigo personal.Reverte: un genio.

This book can be praised from every possible angle. The Narrative technique is spotless; the definition of the characters, fantastic; at some point the reader is not sure whether this is the description of real historical events, because the care placed into every detail its so well tuned that the concept of "fiction" does not sound appropiate to the work. Additionaly is fascinating to read a Spanish author writing in "mexican". The great use of mexican slang through the novel shows how deeply the author went to make its characters realistic. While you read you can almost hear the accent of Teresa Mendoza.On the external part, this book also shows you how the war on drugs is more like a cruel and sad game if not a joke that is played by victims, criminals and governments without really knowing why.