The books in this section are usually hardcover and in decent shape, though we'll sometimes offer hard-to-find books in lesser condition at a reduced price. Though we often put images of the book with their original dust jackets, the copies here won't always (or even often) have them. If that is important to you, please call ahead or say so in the order comments!
This is the story of the Cristeros of Mexico who fought for freedom of religion in Mexico in the 1920s when the Mexican government came up with yet another disastrous idea to inflict upon its citizens—this time, to remove religion from a country whose citizens are intensely Catholic.
If she had stayed with a single point of view, de Trevino might have produced in The Fourth Gift, the Mexican version of Gone with the Wind. The elements are there—the proud, arrogant character of the beautiful Chava, who loves the land and rides with her father on horseback, and the gentile timid Bibi who is afraid of everything—characters who are reminiscent of Scarlett and Melanie of Gone with the Wind.
But de Trevino did not add a Rhett counterpart, and her book is not all about Chava. Rather, she chose to let Chava speak first and tell her story, but then the narrative voice changes, so that we hear from Bibi and from others—all of whom tell a story that tangles with that of Chava and Bibi.
The Fourth Gift is not an epic romance, but rather an epic tale of the love for Mexico and the truth that a government can outlaw a religion but cannot remove it from the hearts of the people.
—review by Debra Ann, found on Goodreads.com
Did you find this review helpful?