If admirers of the exquisitely talented novelist Isabel Allende had to pick the least likely subject for a novel by her, it would probably be the swashbuckling yarn Zorro. But that's exactly what Allende has tackled, and with her first adult novel since 2001’s Portrait in Sepia--and the result (against all the odds) is a conspicuous success. It is, after all, something of a surprise that Allende proves herself so adept at a novel chronicling the adventures of this masked superhero figure of the old world. In such books as her signature novel The House of the Spirits, the author's territory has been the careful and insightful delineation of human character against richly atmospheric settings. Swashbuckling adventure has hardly been her metiér, but in some ways Zorro proves to be a more successful resurrection of the much-loved tale than the rather self-conscious Antonio Banderas movie incarnation. Diego de la Vega is a man caught between two societies: he inherits his aristocratic background from his Spanish father, a high-ranking military officer who has become a landowner. His mother, however was a Shosone Indian, and it is from his Indian grandmother that he absorbs Indian ways, while achieving the unparalleled swordsmanship skills of his father. As his country suffers under the yoke of Napoleon's autocratic rule, Diego becomes a member of la Justicia, an underground movement dedicated to the overthrow of the tyrant. He then finds himself called upon to use his warrior skills to deliver those around him--and to confront a deadly rival. Of necessity, the character drawing here has to be on a larger scale than we are used to from Allende, but she is still able to freight much of her subtle observation into the colourful canvas that is Zorro. Will her long-time admirers be able to accept such a radical change of pace from the author of The House of the Spirits? If they can't, they are doing themselves a disservice--and those addicted to novels of high adventure can add a new title to their lists.--Barry Forshaw
A sa sortie en France, je n’ai pas résisté. Isabel Allende raconte très bien, et je fais parti de la génération de ceux qui ont découvert Zorro, le « renard rusé qui fait sa loi », par la série programmée dans les débuts de la télévision. L’originalité du roman, qui est une commande de son éditeur, est de nous raconter la genèse de Zorro. La série télévisée ne développait que les faits d’armes du rebelle, nous ne savions rien de son histoire, de ce qui pouvait être à l’origine de ce choix de vie. Ce beau roman, plein d’humour, comble un vide…, d’autant plus flagrant depuis la sortie des films avec Antonio Banderas, sur la naissance, mi-indienne mi-espagnole ; sur qui est véritablement Bernardo pour Diego ; quelle éducation recevra Diego de La Vega à Barcelone en Europe, où son père l’a envoyé, avant de revenir sur sa terre natale mexicaine et devenir le défenseur des opprimés. Tous les mystères ne sont pas « éclaircis », et cela est bien heureux, il faut laisser une part de mystère pour que Zorro demeure une légende, mais il a désormais une autre consistance. Au fil du récit il devient plus proche… presque plus comme nous. A lire pour tous ceux qui ont suivis avec plaisir les aventures du vengeur masqué.
