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The Gold Eaters A Novel Ronald Wright 9781594634628 Books

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The Gold Eaters A Novel Ronald Wright 9781594634628 Books

I love historical fiction, and this was a good one. As someone who's been lucky enough to visit Peru, including the Inca trail, Machu Picchu and other wonders, I found Wright's tale fascinating and sad, as a great civilization is destroyed by the arrival of the conquistadors and their diseases, not necessarily in that order. I don't know that the Incas were as civilized as Wright paints, but the decline and fall of any civilization makes for great drama.

I give "The Gold Eaters" four stars rather than five, because (1) the plot slows down from time to time and (2) the characters and the dialogue occasionally come across as flat and stereotyped, making me wonder if this was really intended as a YA book rather than an adult novel. However, it's a worthwhile and enjoyable read, particularly for fans of historical fiction.


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The Gold Eaters A Novel Ronald Wright 9781594634628 Books Reviews

Wright uses the personal story of an Incan intrepreter, Waman, to describe the Spanish conquest of the Incan empire. Waman is kidnapped at sea by the conquistadors and is forced to become Pizarro's translator. Through his eyes we view the great Incan Empire with its massive fortresses, palaces, terraces and canals. Wright draws on historical accounts to paint the portrait of an accomplished civilisation both in its achievements and in the way it treats its citizens, that is, until the Spanish invade.
Pizarro, inspired by the riches Cortez brought back to Spain, is financed by the Spanish crown to find and conquer this land. Spurred by greed, these "Gold Eaters", as they are referred to by the Incas, launch a brutal, ruthless, campaign to subjugate the Incas. Wright's descriptions of the atrocities committed in the name of Chritianity are vivid and bloody. His use of Waman as someone who has a foot in both cultures allows him to compare the religions and customs of both worlds in a very effective way. Wirght adds flesh to his historical account by following Waman as he lives among both the Incas and Spaniards and seeks to reunite with his childhood friend and mother.
I'm a big historical fiction fan and while Gold Eaters isn't a fast moving barn buster, it is a novel that explores the Spanish conquest of the Incan Empire in a profound and historically acurrate way. Wright would have had to immerse himself in the history of Peru for years to write such a descriptive account of the customs and daily life of the Incas and I applaud his effort.
Rating 3.5 stars

Having spent my childhood in Peru, it was natural that I'd be interested in reading a novel about the conquest of the Inca Empire. But the central story in Ronald Wright's book is that of Felipillo, the Indian interpreter whom some blamed for the murder of the Inca Atahualpa.

Felipillo was one of three youngsters (the other two were nicknamed Francisquillo and Martinillo) who were captured by Francisco Pizarro during his second trip to South America while he and his men searched for the golden kingdom of Viru. We don't know Felipillo's real name, but Ronald Wright named him Waman in his book. It's mostly through Waman's eyes that readers see how the conquistadores made their way into the Inca territory, captured Atahualpa, and defeated a whole empire. But Mr. Wright also gives us a look into Waman's mind and heart as he becomes an interpreter for the Spaniards and serves as a bridge between two cultures. His loyalty is divided not only between the conquistadores and the Incas, but also between the Incas and his own people because Waman is not Inca but Tallan, a group who was subdued by the Incas. It is these conflicts of loyalties that seemed to explain Waman's see-sawing attitude toward Spaniards and Incas and the choices he made when he translated for both parties.

In spite of Mr. Wright's use of the present tense to narrate the story (and I confess that because of the present tense, I found that I could not read the book for long periods of time; otherwise, I would end up with a feeling in my head similar to the one caused by fingernails scratching on a board), I found the book interesting and even educational because it dispels some of the myths that surrounded the conquest of Peru, such as the idea that the Incas thought the Spaniards were gods or that even though they were outnumbered, the conquistadores won because of their firearms and horses. Instead the book lays out the real reasons the Incas were defeated civil war between the half-brothers Atahualpa and Huascar, the decimation of the population by small pox and other illnesses brought by the Spaniards, and the dislike and resentment felt by many of the tribes and cultures conquered by the Incas. I also appreciated that recent findings have found their way into the book. One example is the character of Lady Sia, whom to me looks like a nod to the Lady of Cao, a Moche female mummy buried with weapons and symbols of power.

In the book, Mr. Wright admits to modernizing the spelling of Quechua words. As somebody who grew up seeing the names of Atawallpa spelled as Atahualpa, and Waman as Huaman, it took me some time to get used to Mr. Wright's spelling. I'm still using the more conventional spelling here in the review. But that's a matter of personal taste and should not be a reason to dismiss the book. The one thing I feel ambivalent about Mr. Wright's story is the quasi happy ending of the book, where Waman escapes with his life. The historical Felipillo was hunted down by Diego de Almagro and executed in 1535. We will never know what really motivated Felipillo's seemingly double-dealings, but in Mr. Wright's book, Waman represents a Felipillo who's absolved of all the wrongdoing his historical counterpart was accused of or rumored to have done.
I absolutely loved this book
Good read !!
Good story for a historical novel. Plot moved along at a nice pace, but not suspenseful or compelling to keep turning pages.
Outstanding book based on history. Made me disgusted with the Euro invasion of Latin America, especially with the self-serving bigoted and hate-filled military adventurers and Catholic Church leaders. Unfortunately, that is the way it was. Very well written!
I was hesitant about this book, but it is a great read. Much better than the average "historical" novel. A true sense of history from a relatively obscure time and place. Everyone thinks they know about Pizzaro's Conquest of the Incas, but it was not as simple as shown in survey courses on history. This novel brings home the first 15 or 20 years of the horrible time of the coming of the Conquistadors. Plague , War, Death, Rape, Violence a whole society thrown into anarchy. The competing desires of Kings, Incas, Priests, Peasants, Warriors, all thrown into a wonderfully written and researched novel.
I love historical fiction, and this was a good one. As someone who's been lucky enough to visit Peru, including the Inca trail, Machu Picchu and other wonders, I found Wright's tale fascinating and sad, as a great civilization is destroyed by the arrival of the conquistadors and their diseases, not necessarily in that order. I don't know that the Incas were as civilized as Wright paints, but the decline and fall of any civilization makes for great drama.

I give "The Gold Eaters" four stars rather than five, because (1) the plot slows down from time to time and (2) the characters and the dialogue occasionally come across as flat and stereotyped, making me wonder if this was really intended as a YA book rather than an adult novel. However, it's a worthwhile and enjoyable read, particularly for fans of historical fiction.