Gateway to the Moon
Written by Mary Morris
Narrated by Luis Moreno
4/5
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About this audiobook
Mary Morris
Mary Morris is the author of twelve books (including Acts of God, The Night Sky, and House Arrest), three collections of short stories, including The Lifeguard, and three travel memoirs, including Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone and Angels & Aliens: A Journey West (all available from Picador). Her numerous short stories and travel essays have appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times, and Vogue. The recipient of the Rome Prize, Morris teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
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Reviews for Gateway to the Moon
25 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Family saga of conversos [Jews who forcibly converted to Catholicism in Medieval Spain], expelled from that country. The novel starts with a translator who sailed with Columbus on his first voyage reaching down through the centuries to a present-day teenager living in the small town, Entrada. New Mexico. The inhabitants still follow Jewish customs only they don't know why. Fascinating. Apparently there is such a place, according to the author in her Notes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Morris is an exemplary storyteller! Told in alternating time periods (1992 and the late 16th century) about the community of Entrada de la Luna (New Mexico) and the history of crypto-Jews. High schooler Miguel loves the stars, and science, but not much else about his life in Entrada. As the story unfolds we learn that his Jewish ancestors were forced to leave Spain during the Spanish Inquisition, and eventually settled in present day Entrada. Pick this book up if you enjoy stories about identity, community, faith, and family.
Another thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This novel follows the family line of a crypto-Jewish family from their arrival with Columbus in the New World to small town New Mexico in the modern day. At first the New World seemed like a good place to escape the Inquisition. It didn't stay that way for long. Miguel Torres lives with his single mom. Although he's too young for a license, he drives a car his father gave him to get to a babysitting job in a nearby town. The family he works for is Jewish, but their customs remind him of some of his Catholic family's customs.The novel has a strong sense of place, whether it's 16th century Europe or 20th century New Mexico. While both story lines are strong, Miguel was the most interesting character to me, and I was always eager to get back to his story. I wasn't tempted to rush through this book. I wanted to linger with its characters and setting as long as I could.This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Took way too long to have something happen. I stopped at page 125.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In 1478 the Spanish Inquisition was established. The year that Columbus went on his first voyage of discovery, 1492, was also the year that all Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain. Unless they converted to Christianity--or preferred to be burned at the stake.The Christian Jews outwardly lived like Christians, attending mass, but secretly clung to their way of life, lighting candles on Friday, avoiding port, and circumcising their sons.So, the Conversos were targeted, massacred, imprisoned, tortured, and burned. The Jews fled to the New World, but the Inquisition followed to Mexico and the Jews moved into New MexicoGateway to the Moon by Mary Morris imagines the story of one Jewish/Converso family whose ancestor, Luis de Torres, came to the New World with Columbus, following the Torres family through the 15th and 16th centuries and into the 20th century. Living in Entada de la Luna, the Torres are good Catholics who traditionally light candles on Friday night, disdain to eat pork, and circumcise their sons. The cemetery holds generations of their ancestors. The townsfolk know that their ancestors came from Spain but no longer remember what brought them there.The story is told in two timelines, telling the contemporary story of Miguel Torres, a teenager with a passion for astronomy, and that of his ancestors beginning with Luis de Torres, a secret Jew born Leni Halvri before the Alhambra Decree. The horrific history of the Inquisition is revealed through the lives of the Torres family, providing drama and intrigue to the slower, more introspective story of Miguel. Miguel's world has also has its violence and sorrow; his father became an alcoholic while in the armed service, his parents divorced, and his aunt was gang-raped by fellow high school students before she fled to New York City to pursue a dance career.Morris's beautiful writing is a pleasure to read. Miguel is a wonderful, memorable character. And it was interesting to learn about this part of history. I very much enjoyed this novel, a combination of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and family history.I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.