Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5792 in Books
• Published on: 1987-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 242 pages

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen
"This is my testimony. I didn't learn it from a book and I didn't learn it alone... My personal experience is the reality of a whole people." Born in the mountains of Guatemala into the Quiche, one of twenty-three mestizo groups, Rigoberta Menchu tells her story. The Quiche people's spirituality, much of which must not be told to outsiders, affirms community responsibility for village children and intensely personal relationships with the land and the natural world. The celebration of her ancient culture is all that strengthens in the face of a brutally repressed and poverty-stricken existence. Two of her brothers die as infants from malnutrition. When the Quiche begin their fight to keep the government and big-business people from stealing any more of their land, her family is forced to watch her youngest brother be tortured and burned alive; later her mother is tortured to death, and her father murdered. Obligated by circumstance and unquestionable responsibility to her people, Rigoberta Menchu assumes the role of organizer/leader. These interviews - conducted in Spanish, a language she has spoken for only three years - center on her role as a Quiche woman. Her politics are deeply personal: "They've killed the people dearest to me... Therefore, my commitment to our struggle knows no boundaries nor limits." Despite the layered nature of her written story - from oral history to transcriber to translator - Rigoberta Menchu's unadorned and selfless words ring like a clear and beautiful bell sounding both wonder and warning. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

Customer Reviews

Redundant Rambling Fiction
It is common knowledge that this book is really a pile of lies. It isn't much of an autobiography and leaves the reader wondering which, if any, parts of it to really consider seriously.

It is truly painful to read due to the unending redundant rambling nature of Menchu's storytelling.

I cannot believe that this garbage is still being assigned as required reading. Worthless.

I,Roberta Menchú
We give I, Rigoberta Menchú four stars because it was a good book but at the same time it was complicated to understand. For instead, it was a good book because she explains her life very well with details. Rigoberta also never gave up she kept going no matter as hard situation she'll face in her life. This book is complicated because Rigoberta just keeps repeating her self, is like we want to know more, something different. What we learn from this book, if we really truly want something we should never give up and when you feel like falling down for a moment, pick your self up and accomplish your dream.

Amazing book of survival
I read this book years ago and re-read it again recently. It is still one of my favorite books. Rigoberta Menchu suffered unbelievable atrocities and incredible losses and still lived to tell her courageous story through an interpreter. I think the book is phenomenal and I recommend it to anyone with a heart. It helps explain a lot about the Guatamalen people and their strife. It also is a timely book since the illegal immigration debate rages on in this country on a daily basis. It paints a vivid picture of the suffering of indigenous peoples and helps us to relate to their need to escape their countries in search of a better life. I dont know what David Stoll had to gain by writing a book that contradicted Menchu's powerful account. She states at the beginning of her book that her perspective is hers alone and that her memories may have been clouded by the trauma. It makes me crazy when people pick apart one tiny aspect of a book and then, throw the entire thing out as a sham. The same thing happened with the James Frey book, A million little pieces. People tended to ignore the overall strengths of the book and his basic message of surviving drug addiction over a few little insignificant details. This book is the same situation. The overall message and story of rigoberta menchu is so powerful and moving, it must be read, even if there is a fact or two that someone wants to contradict.