“If you haven’t read Mary Morris yet, start here. Now. Immediately.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great ThingsFrom award-winning novelist Mary Morris comes the remarkable story of a remote New Mexican town coming to grips with a dark history it never imagined. In 1492, the Jewish and Muslim populations of Spain were expelled, and Columbus set sail for America. Luis … Spain were expelled, and Columbus set sail for America. Luis de Torres, a Spanish Jew, accompanies Columbus as his interpreter. His journey is only the beginning of a long migration, across many generations. Over the centuries, de Torres’ descendants travel from Spain and Portugal to Mexico, finally settling in the hills of New Mexico. Five hundred years later, it is in these same hills that Miguel Torres, a young amateur astronomer, finds himself trying to understand the mystery that surrounds him and the town he grew up in.
Entrada de la Luna is a place that holds a profound secret–one that its residents cannot even imagine. It is also a place that ambitious children, such as Miguel, try to leave. Poor health, broken marriages, and poverty are the norm. Luck is unusual. When Miguel sees a flyer for a babysitting job, he jumps at the opportunity, and begins work for a Jewish family new to the area. Rachel Rothstein is not the sort of parent Miguel expected. A frustrated artist, Rachel moved her family from New York in search of a fresh start, but so far New Mexico has not solved any of the problems she brought with her. Miguel loves the work, yet he is surprised to find many of the Rothstein family’s customs similar to ones he’s grown up with and never understood.
Interwoven throughout the present-day narrative are the powerful stories of the ancestors of Entrada’s residents, highlighting the torture, pursuit, and resistance of the Jewish people. A beautiful novel of shared history, Gateway to the Moon is a moving and memorable portrait of a family and its journey through the centuries.
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This book was haunting in that it stayed with me for a while after I finished it. I’ve always been intrigued by conversos and this book sheds light on them. I was unaware that Portugal also had an inquisition. These parts get graphic, but I think they are important here. I was glad there was a key for characters at the front of the book because the story follows related people over hundreds of years.
An interesting weaving of past and present, with interesting characters this novel provides insight into the Spanish Inquisition and its affects upon its survivors in the “New World.” Starting with the voyage of Columbus and the men who accompanied them it provided a realistic picture of the plight of the Jewish people as they escaped and their ancestors who created new lives in the New World.,
Disappointing. Lots of pages filled with text that doesn’t advance the story.
I liked the historical aspect that brought things together in the end
Having lived in New Mexico and being vaguely aware of the “hidden Jews’ and familiar with the setting, I found this particularly entertaining. The historical rendering of the voyage of ‘discovery’ and the inquisition were hard to read but easy to believe.
I didn’t care for it.
A unique story of the early Jewish diaspora from Spain and Portugal woven with their descendants nts in modern New Mexico. A lovely little story of friendship and the human condition. Good for those interested in the history of the Converso, and Crypto Jewish settlers who fled Southern Europe and settled in New Spain , now New Mexico.
This is one of the best books I have ever read! I loved reading it and had a hard time putting it down. It made for many late nights. I loved that it took place in the Southwest, New Mexico to be exact, though it also took place in Spain and Portugal as well as where Columbus’ ships first landed in the new world. It goes back and forth between the late 1400s early 1500s to today. My only negative about the book is that I wish it hadn’t ended as quickly as it did, that the ending had a bit more to it. I felt the characters deserved that as did the readers. So, I might have given it four and one half stars instead but I bumped it up to five. Don’t miss this book!
Excellent character writing.
Gateway to the Moon is a tangled web that weaves together past and present is the backbone of this lyrical, beautifully written novel with colorful, vibrant, almost translucent imagery. Entrada de la Luna is a place that holds a profound secret–one that its residents cannot even imagine—that will become clearer as the two stories finally merge at the end. Beautiful, gripping, one of my best reads of 2020 so far.
This wonderful historical saga revealing the destinies of several Iberian Jews over generations through 600 years and three continents and covering an array of human experiences was fascinating!
his book is really that good! It was written by award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris, and this is her first book I have read. I definitely intend to read more. This is an ambitious book, starting in 1492 and following one Jewish man’s life and his descendents. He is a crypto-Jew, one who converts to Christianity to escape the Inquisition, but in reality never loses his faith. There is no plot, but there is a beginning, a middle and an end, and it is superbly written.
We begin with the present, in the small, poor New Mexico town of Entrada de la Luna and are introduced to Miguel Torres. Miguel dreams of leaving Entrada and looks to the stars for his escape as he dreams of being an astronomer.
We then visit the distant past, and are introduced to Luis de Torres. Luis is fluent in many languages, and leaves his wife and children to join Columbus as an interpreter. The voyage is Luis’ means of escaping the Inquisition, with hopes of finding somewhere he can practice his faith freely. Columbus arrives in Cuba, leaving Luis behind with some other sailors to settle La Navidad on the island of Hispaniola. Upon his return, Columbus learns that all the sailors had been killed, which is not surprising based upon their conduct with the local women. Columbus does find a toddler with Luis’ coloring, and this child and his descendants are Miguel’s family. We follow them through the years, on a journey from Spain to Mexico to New Mexico.
This book exemplifies the way reading has changed over the years. Many years ago, I would read a book, thinking I need to research something further. Based on my short attention span and having to actually go to the library to research, that may or may not have happened. Now, I’m off to the internet to do immediate research. The subjects of the Inquisition and crypto-Jews fascinated me, and I truly learned something new with this book.
Reading this book was an amazing adventure through history!
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In 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 pork, 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 Mexico.
Gateway 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.
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.