My standard reply when students ask me for a “short book” to read is to tell them to please ask me for “a good book” to read.  If I feel like being silly and making a scene I will instead plug my ears and say “la, la, la, la” until they ask for a good book.  I’ve also been known to accuse them of swearing; “short book” is swearing!  (I find it beneficial if junior high students, particularly, think you are slightly off your rocker; they tend to behave better if they never know what you’ll do next.)

But with The Walls of Cartagena I get to recommend a good book that is also not overly long.  (I can’t say “short” – swearing, you know.)  This narrative is a particularly valuable addition to the historical fiction collection since it focuses on slavery in the Americas outside of the United States.  Slavery is a much bigger story than just the US experience and Julia Durango provides a great introduction to the topic.

I must confess, my only prior knowledge of Cartagena comes from the 1984 movie Romancing The Stone!

The setting is Cartagena in 1639.  The narrator is a young slave named Calepino who is more fortunate than most in his position.  He has been educated and treated well by the Doña Isabel, but is exposed to the horrid conditions of the incoming slave ships as he begins working for the tireless Father Pedro who seeks to bring comfort to the bodies and souls of the Africans as they arrive.  Calepino ends up working at a lepers colony for Dr. Mendo López de Campo, and readers are introduced not only to leprosy, but to the Spanish Inquisition and the persecution of the Jews as well. 

A well told, thought provoking story The Walls of Cartagena seems well researched.  Most of the characters in the story actually existed as explained in the author’s note at the end of the book.  Another impressive first novel – and this one from an almost local author – Durango lives in Ottowa, IL.  Although full of history, Durango keeps the plot interesting, moving, and heartfelt throughout… all contained in only 145 small format pages (7.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches)  – 152 if you also read the author’s note!