Tierra del Fuego

by Sylvia Iparraguirre

Book Overview

Tierra del Fuego is more than a suspenseful seafaring tale in the tradition of Captain Hornblower; it is also a chilling psychological and cultural tale, reminiscent of Heart of Darkness or Lord of the Flies, that probes deeply into human nature. Based on the true story of the Y mana Indian, Jemmy Button (parts of which are recorded in Chapter 10 of Charles Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle), the novel explores Captain...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1880684721
• ISBN13: 9781880684726
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Curbstone Press
• Length: 285 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The trial of Jemmy Button - - and more

Actually it is just one story of a man writing about his father, but includes tales of adventure of both lives. The book is a long letter, written to a researcher years after the times related in the prose. Especially enjoyable if something of Patagonia is known - its history, ledgends, myths. The man "Jack" writes of his friendship with Jemmy Button, the native Fuegan picked up (stolen/kidnapped)on an exploration to Tierra del Fuego by HMS Beagle. Button and other Indians are taken to England - and then returned years later, on the same ship, with the same captain, and this young man, Jack, who has been assigned to shadow Button especially. Jack is now a good sailor and, more importantly, tries to bring Button into modernity - and be his friend, in England and aboard the Beagle. On this return voyage scientist and naturalist Charles Darwin comes along as companion to Captain FitzRoy - a religious assertive and gentleman of unstable mein (who almost dismisses Darwin because of the shape of his nose). The issue between these two (who are not named) is more than just personalities, and is related pretty well. The last quarter of the book is the trial of Jemmy Button for murder of helpless men in November of 1859. A lone witness, Alfred Cole, the cook, gives star testimony - and Parker Snow, captain of an expedition to convert natives before his ship is assigned to another man, sounds a long deserved castigation of the Rev. G.P. Despard, who has only good intentions but lacks a sensible outlook. From official transcripts we hear the sorry excuses men use to justify folly. Deswpard, by the way, adopted an orphan, Thomas Bridges, whose son, Lucas, wrote the best book on T. Del Fuego ever - UTTERMOST PART of EARTH.

REVIEW QUOTES

TIERRA DEL FUEGO has received two major awards: The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Award for the best work of fiction by a woman and The Best Book of the Year Award at the Buenos Aires Book Fair."This brilliant and beautifully wrought work deserves to become a classic." --The Texas Observer"TIERRA DEL FUEGO has won two major Latin American awards, and justifiably so: Iparraguirre has crafted an entrancing novel from the skeleton of facts we know about this ghastly episode in English colonial history." --The Bloomsbury Review"This tale is brilliantly told..." --National Hispanic News"Iparraguirre has constructed a well-documented novel, with strong humanistic feeling, where personal traits and the twists and turns of the plot are skillfully woven through the genre of a novel blended with a historical chronicle. It is a fresh look at those barbarous ancestors who were destroyed by civilization."--World Press Review

why only 5 stars ?

My name is Gerhard, I live in Germany: this book is just great! Maybe you should extend your rate up to 10 stars. If so, please note, that my ranking is TEN stars for this remarkable novel. I hope that sooner or later this book will be available also in German, to a broader the audiance . Again :what a book. Regards GHE