Drina has always loved dancing. It is the one thing that can combat the emotional lows of her life after being treated poorly as the daughter of a Gypsy and a Spaniard. Though many people, especially the men, love to watch her dance, her mother doesn't want her to. As both tragic and beautiful events unfold, Drina has to find where her place is in a world that doesn't understand her.
BIRD WITH THE HEART OF A MOUNTAIN by Barbara Mariconda is an intriguing young adult historical novel that has a voice which draws you in. Drina's narrative is set up in such a way as to make you feel her emotions simply by the way her mind works. The story is heavily centered on her, and you don't get a solid look into any of the other characters, which I think is how Drina feels, as if she can rarely see into the actual heart of a person. Because of this, I didn't focus so much on where she ends up in relation to the people around her, but rather where she ends up in relation to herself and whether she makes peace with herself or not. I did find myself getting upset at times because I wanted to know so badly what was going on in some of the secondary characters' heads, but I don't think the story would have the same impact if I knew.
The beauty, as well as the desolation, of Drina's surroundings are told exceptionally well, and you often find yourself getting lost in the culture of the dance. Because of that, and Marconda's simple, well-done storytelling, I really enjoyed BIRD WITH THE HEART OF A MOUNTAIN. I'm very glad I read it, and I can see this being a favorite for someone who enjoys historical fiction more.
I throw back my tumble of black hair, roll one bare shoulder
forward. The stack of bangles on each wrist shimmies and
slides as my hands rise like birds in flight.
Drina knows the men who love to watch her dance also believe
Gypsies are no better than stray dogs β but when she dances,
Drina doesnβt think. She forgets who she is. She forgets
what seems to be her legacy: I am nothing. I belong nowhere.
The daughter of a Gypsy woman and a well-to-do Spaniard who
abandoned them, Drina wants only to dance. Why then does her
mother forbid it?
Set during the chaos of the Spanish Civil War in the
fascinating world of Gypsy campgrounds, the vineyard estate
of the family she has never known and the dance halls of
Seville where flamenco reigns, Drina fights to discover who
she is and where she belongs. Can her passion β her duende β
save her from the perils of the civil war? From a father
lost, then found? And will she come to understand what it
means to be a bird with the heart of a mountain?
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