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John Caviglia
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Arauco: A Novel Paperback – November 28, 2012

by John Caviglia (Author), Tyler Jacobson (Illustrator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
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Set in a land of earthquakes and towering volcanoes, weaving history with myth, Arauco tells of war, sorcery ... and a love demonstrating that a man can embrace what he was seeking to destroy.When in 1540 Pedro de Valdivia headed south from Peru to conquer lands and gold, he took with him his beautiful mistress, Inés de Suárez. With him also rode his secretary, Juan de Cardeña, whose hopeless love of Inés stems from the same romances that inspired the Quixote. Having crossed the Atacama Desert, the Spanish encounter the indomitable resistance of the Mapuche people....For the first time, Arauco recreates the Spanish invasion of Chile from the native perspective as well, so that its pages include: Lautaro, the Mapuche youth who led his people to an epic victory; Ñamku, albino shaman; his enemy, the sorcerer Kurufil ... and Raytrayen, the Mapuche girl Juan de Cardeña comes to love....
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  1. Print length
    698 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    November 28, 2012
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1479383015
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1479383016
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Caviglia was born in Chile, his father a chileno, his mother an adventurous gringa from Muncie, Indiana. His family moved to the United States when he was eight. He has been a professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature. Over the years, he has also taught pottery and martial arts. His passions include reading and writing, cooking and organic gardening, photography, and the making of cedar strip canoes, in which he explores wilderness lakes with his wife. He divides his time between Mendon, NY, and Longboat Key, Florida.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 28, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 698 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1479383015
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1479383016
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.02 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

About the author

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John Caviglia

John Caviglia

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John Caviglia was born in Chile, his father a chileno, his mother an adventurous gringa from Muncie, Indiana. His family moved to the United States when he was eight. He has been a professor of Spanish and Comparative literature, and also taught pottery and martial arts. His passions include reading and writing, photography, cooking and organic gardening, and the making of cedar strip canoes, in which he explores wilderness lakes with his wife.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ZS
5.0 out of 5 stars A breathtaking historical!
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2013
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This is one of these rare reads that catch you too thoroughly, make you dive in and LIVE the story. Aside from the wonderfully well researched history and the evidently deep understanding of both Spanish and Mapuche people cultural aspects, I suppose it is about the style, the way it's written. There is a magic there, in the style, the terrible drama and the basic way of dealing with it with light, earthly humor, side by side, in the fashion that makes you understand the drama much better, no see the human side of it and not only the statistics. The picture of general genocide of an entire continent (two continents!), but on the scale of a personal drama of each life. The author managed to do just that for me, with amazing vividness and clarity, as though by magic.

I have to admit, I picked "Arauco" with reservations. My deep involvement with Mesoamerican cultures and pre-contact history makes me wary of any stories involving the conquest. Arauco is set no where near my "specialty", so I knew only the general history of South America. But I do have difficulties with the subject of the conquest and conquistadors in general, so I had my qualms.
Well, all I can say is that I'm glad I did overcome those misgivings and did pick this book! Even thought he first part of the story - delightfully written! - made me angry more times than not. Many times, while the Spanish made their way through Atacama desert, I wished this novel was written less vividly, made history less alive than it did.
Then the second part came - a wonderful surprise, especially in the end (I have to sit on my hands not to let out any spoilers).

I enjoyed this novel on so many levels! Historically it enriched me enormously. As the story it was so rich in real-life, colorful, diverse, dynamic characters from both sides of the conflict, it made me literally "live" it. Juan, Lautaro, Ines, Ratrayen, Namku, Pichikan, Pedro, Lleflai - they all made me live their story, struggle, cheer, grieve, despair, fight or seek to understand. 700 pages long and I here I am, wishing this novel was longer. Or had a sequel. Or better yet, a prequel. I wish the author would use his evidently deep knowledge of Mapuche's culture and history by setting another novel in earlier times, when to his claim Mapuche stopped invincible Incas as effectively as they did stop the later day Spanish war machine.

A highly HIGHLY recommended read!
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James Hulbert
5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful historical novel and a great read
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013
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From the first pages of 'Arauco' on, you're in the hands of master story-teller John Caviglia as he brings to life the quintessential culture clash: Spanish conquistadors (male and female) vs the indigenous Mapuche in the 16th-century region we now call Chile. The worlds bridged by this extraordinary novel seem at first utterly irreconcilable as a magical, shamanic culture (with its own *language*, of course, with which the reader becomes more and more familiar) is invaded by outsiders in search of gold and glory. But nothing is ever quite what it seems. Let 'Arauco' surprise you, let it enchant you, heal you, and more. For 'Arauco' is also a story of love.... Highly recommended to those in search of the best in fiction.
2 people found this helpful
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mari23
5.0 out of 5 stars For History Buffs
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2013
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This is a story of the history of a South American country whose history was and is important to America. It is told in an almost theatrical mode but yet conveys much of the reality of the country at the period it covers. The story is somewhat similar in style to Michener's historical novels. It is entertaining, and written in a way that almost allows you to experience the events as they unfold. There is a clearer picture of what was going on during the epoch of exploration and the search for gold for Spain. A very good read!
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Joanne
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2013
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I found this book one that I had to keep reading everyday. It was fascinating and I couldn't wait to see what happened with both the Spanish and the Mapuche people. There was never a dull moment and I didn't want the book to end. Joanne
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Elsie
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and well written
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013
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I am enjoying this well thought out story and learning so much about the history of the time. If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a story you won't want to miss!
2 people found this helpful
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Jakujin
5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2013
A fabulous shaggy beast of an epic novel.

I was won when Juan sets out on life under the influence of the romances of chivalry that turned Don Quixote's brains - Amadis of Gaul, Orlando Furioso. Hey, I love those books myself; I'm glad they get a look-in as the culture of the times, even if, inevitably, their function is to contrast with the reality. Yes, as in Don Quixote. Still, I liked to have an innocent, idealistic main, on the Spanish side, but if you want more earthy sorts, there's no shortage of them - beginning with Pedro, the aging swashbuckler who takes Juan to his garishly-costumed bosom.

Then on the Mapuche side I had Namku, a shaman of his people. He's a shaman because he's strange - an albino - and `weye' too, that is, of the sexuality that was worse than the worst sin and blasphemy to the Spanish of the time. I rarely, or make that never since I can't name any - see shamans that step from the pages of anthropology, not vaguely made up but as they exist/existed within their cultures. In himself Namku was worth three anthropology texts on the subject. Along with that I liked him and his story, and Lleflai, another outcast due to her face being melted in a fire, just to start on the large cast of Mapuche. It's often the case that the more familiar side, the European, gets a more catchy story, but not the case here: the Mapuche story is every bit as thoroughly invented.

I've only talked about what snared my interest, because I read chivalric romances and anthropology on tribes. As I say, though, it's a epic, that means ample, inclusive, and you'll find quite other things of interest.

I'd better attempt general comments. In spite of the hideous events of the Spanish invasion, he gives you the opportunity to enjoy the high adventure the Spaniards thought it. As they swashbuckle their way into Chile and crack the grim/gallows jokes known to war, that you have to find hilarious at the time. Importantly, too, for me, there's a kindness behind the whole. When we have Mendoza dogging natives, I need to be in a kind hand - that's the author's. There are nail-biting moments - a few when Mendoza's off dogging - and don't miss the Mapuche ball game that's as thrilling as a battle. I was often glued to the page, and if I snoozed in Mapuche language lessons, that's fine and right, that, to me, is epic - a word I don't use in the debased sense. It's written with wit and charm and frequent humour, which qualities endear a book to me. Deserves a second read - there's so much here.
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Top reviews from other countries

Claudio
5.0 out of 5 stars WORK OF ART
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2018
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I read Arauco as an ebook and had to buy a hard copy of this masterpiece. It's the ULTIMATE historical novel. Caviglia has wonderful imagination and writing skills coupled with deep historical knowledge and cultural understanding. The way he transmits to the reader the profound incompatibility between the worldviews of the 16th century Spanish conquistadores and the Mapuche indians is fascinating. A shame this book has not been translated to spanish.
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T. J. Barrable
5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Story, Masterfully Told!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2014
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Masterfully written and totally engrossing, I found myself unable to put this book down. Even though it is a long novel I wanted it to go on longer as the world it conjures up is detailed and immersive. I felt myself transported back to those times in history and to that place in the long thin land now called Chile. Excellent characterisations and clearly exhaustive historical research combine with masterful storytelling to conjure a compelling vision of this clash of cultures that has been going on for hundreds of years.
Five Stars!
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