Woman of a Thousand Secrets

I won't give you a synopsis of the book, but what I will tell you is that not only is my mind opened to the amazing Aztec and Mayan cultures, I was delighted by how easily the story came to me. Even as detailed and voluminous as the book is, I never once was confused or over-whelmed. I found myself unable to put it down, wanting to know what would happen next to Tonina and Kaan. The narrative kept me on the edge of my seat, and I felt very satisfied at the end, which a lot of storytellers struggle with. I am not a history buff by any means, but I found the historical significance here fascinating and easy to follow. It made me excited to connect the story with real history. I would definitely recommend this to any book-lover!

WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a saga of one woman's journey in the New World, long before the Conquistadors' time. Tonina, delivered to Pearl Island as a baby by dolphin spirits, considers Pearl Island her home, though she has always been an outsider. As much as she wishes she could fit in with the Islanders, there has always been something different about her, and the time has come for her to leave Pearl Island and find her own people. Tonina's adoptive grandparents, Guama and Huracan, devise a scheme to convince Tonina to leave the island. They tell her that Huracan has an awful sickness that can only be cured by a mysterious red flower with magical healing properties. Immediately, Tonina sees it as her duty to find this red flower and bring it back to Pearl Island, curing Huracan, a man who has loved her all her life and given her a home. While her journey is perilous and Tonina encounters villains and treachery along her way, she also finds friends and companions that she grows to love. From Prince Balám, an embittered ballplayer who has lost everything in life, to One-Eye, an unscrupulous dwarf who ends up falling a little bit in love with the naïve and pure Tonina, every character is memorable and exceptionally developed. Perhaps most significantly, she meets Kaan, a Mayan ballplayer who is a hero of the games, regarded more highly than a king or holy man. Since Tonina and Kaan first laid eyes on each other, there has been a strange bond between the two. Struggle as they might to fight their feelings for each other, their futures are inexplicably intertwined. Both must fulfill a quest that has been thrust upon them - Tonina to find the ever-elusive red healing flower, and Kaan, to complete a pilgrimage to Teotihuacan to pray for his wife's soul. Balám proves to be an unworthy adversary for the ever noble Kaan and Tonina, and occasionally the twists and turns in plot bog down the pace of the story as opposed to enhancing the mystery and suspense. However, overall WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a tale of honor worth reading. In a superstitious world where destiny is determined by the gods and any bad luck is evidence that the gods are unhappy, the Mayans spend the majority of their time appeasing the gods, to ensure a peaceful afterlife. Barbara Wood crafts an extravagant world of love and deceit, mixing history and fantasy to create a story of the same epic proportions as LORD OF THE RINGS. Reviewed by: Amber Gibson

The other reviews already featured here have covered the storyline, so I won't (besides, I'm always afraid of giving away the ending!). But I've read nearly everything that Barbara Wood has written (including her books as Kathryn Harvey), and she just gets better as she goes. I was enthralled with this story. The only thing missing from it were illustrations; based on Barbara's descriptions of people and landscape, they'd have made gorgeous artwork. This book definitely had a pull to it that made me not want to put it down.

Her parents adopted Tonina as an infant although her much lighter skin meant she came from another land. She grew up tall, much taller than all the women and most of the men. Tonina was also competitive; rather than allow a potential suitor to defeat her in athletic contests; she participated and usually won especially in swimming. Finally her family worries that she has no man so they believe she must go from their tiny island to the nearby mainland seeking people just like her. Her journey takes her to the Mayan Empire where she meets a barbarian outsider Kaan. They are attracted to one another, but he is married. When his wife dies, he begins the quest to insure her soul is cleansed. Soon Tonina joins him as they travel together to Mayapan bringing along an entourage of followers. However, Mayan Prince Balam has raised an army of many people with one battle in mind; destroy Kaan, who he holds culpable for all that has failed in his life. That means killing every follower who are both genders and all ages including elderly and children, but few soldiers. WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a superb pre-Columbus Central American tale. The story line brings to life several cultures especially the Mayan, but to a lesser degree the islanders. Tonia is a fabulous central figure who holds the insightful plot together from the island to the mainland. Barbara Wood provides an entertaining Mayan Era historical. Harriet Klausner

The year is 1323 and this historical novel begins on a small island off of the coast of Cuba called Pearl Island. Tonina is twenty-one years old and lives with her Grandparents, but she is not related to them. When she was a baby she was found floating in a watertight basket by the islanders and has been raised among them. Unfortunately, as much as her foster Grandparents love her they cannot protect her from being ostracised from the rest of the group because of her differences. They are short and dark-skinned, she is tall with golden skin and light hair. She will never find a mate on the island where she is considered ugly. So, in order to encourage her to leave the island, her Grandmother makes up a quest and sends her in search of a mythical healing red flower. Her journey will take her to mainland Central America and plunge her into the Mayan culture. She meets other travellers and forms friendships and bonds but always remembers her quest. Along with new friends and making some enemies, she travels in the ancient jungles and high mountains of Guatemala and Mexico. She survives many trials but along the way learns about her family and her heritage. I found the descriptions of Mayan cities and people fascinating. The myths of the cultures of the time, as described in the book, bear a striking resemblance to Christianity. It was interesting to read that an early group of people, before the time of Columbus, had myths including a legendary bearded white man whom they belived would return at the time of their greatest need. I really enjoyed this book, the first I have read by Barbara Wood. I look forward to reading more of her novels.