This was an interesting read. It was a book that was written like gossip as the main character never spoke and it was written through the eyes of everyone around her. If you like historical fiction (16th century Spain & Mexico) then this is a good book to read.

"What they said about Luisa" is a 5/5 book, thanks NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it. 

At first I was attracted at the idea of a story that was told in everyone's point of view but the main character; at the end, it was this fact the one that I loved the most. It's original and refreshing in the historical fiction genre. Besides that, knowing Luisa existed made me curious; I loved knowing about her; through her experiences, I could imagine how women lived in the 16th century, specially those who weren't white.

"What they said about Luisa" is told in multiple voices: her master's wife, a priest, the abbess that looks after her illegitimate son, lawyers, sailors... All of them cross their paths with Luisa Abrego and talk about her whereabouts. It's interesting the different views they have on the same person, how they feel about her, how they percieve her quietness, how they judge her actions. 

Another interesting point in the novel is how it treats heavy topics as colonialism, religion, the Inquisition, slavery, racism and women's oppression. I really appreciated how considerate and respectful was Erika Rummel while approaching matters these sensitive. 

What I would consider "negative" about this book is how slow it is. As it is told by many voices, there are a lot of events that are narrated multiple times and that makes the action move quite slowly. On top of that, the ending comes abruptly, I would have loved a better pacing. Even with all that, the story is really well written, it makes you learn and want to read more. I know I won't forget Luisa in a very long time, she will stick with me through all the voices that painted her out.

Reminded me quite a bit of One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is positive! The slower storytelling could be a vice or virtue depending on the reader and the audience the writer wants to reach. Unique story and unique storytelling. When the tempo started picking up at the end I felt compelled to read further and faster.

I don't typically go for multi POV books and while I didn't love alllll the chapters, overall I really enjoyed this!

I really liked the structure of this book. Each chapter is one very detailed POV for each character (who only appears once), but this brings the story together well. This structure made Luisa feel like something of an enigma because we learn about Luisa through 'what they said about Luisa' (clever title). We get all of these different perspectives about this woman who is quite reserved and at the same time has quite a big impact on a number of individuals over the course of the story. At the 12% mark I wondered if we would get to see what Luisa is like and if she'll match up to the demonised character she'd been made out to be in some POVs, but interestingly, we don’t hear from Luisa at all. Instead, the other characters are so well developed that we get the vast majority of Luisa's story through them. It took me a few chapters for me to stop wondering how the other POVs were relevant to Luisa’s story, but each chapter comes together, It just would've been nice to maybe have an epilogue from Luisa's POV to round off the story but regardless, this was a really good book.

This is a well researched and well written account of the 16th century trial of Luisa Abrego.
It's told from the different perspectives of people who have touched Luisa's life. We have perspectives of a priest, the slave master's widow, a ship captain, a representative of the inquisition, and others that she'd met throughout her life. Through these perspectives we learn about Luisa's life and struggles with slavery and trying to forge a new life in Mexico for herself.
This book makes the reader confront the harsh realities of history and how women like Luisa are removed from the narrative. We bear witness through the pages how race, religion, intolerance and being a woman play a part in Luisa's story. This book makes the reader think and feel. I hope more and more readers read Luisa's story because it deserves to be known. We may never get to know about all the other women that history has forgotten, but Luisa's story is here for those willing to bear witness.

What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This book was a great read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

Great historical fiction novel that keeps your attention throughout and does not fail to educate and entertain. I was drawn in by the cover and did not regret picking up this book! It covers historical period most people know very little of, so that aspect really stood out to me and made this book quite exceptional in the sea of many.

Unable to finish this novel, or get started so DNF. I could not connect at all with the opening. The viewpoint character was too unhappy and though I just finished a novel with multiple, rotating povs, I could not get into this one. The writing is good, don't get me wrong, the story just never caught at me.

What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel. I had zero knowledge of this going into it but Luisa Abrego was a real slave who was freed and then married a white man. She was then done for bigamy but this is the story of her told by everyone around her and it started well. I was really into the different characters telling her story and then it got to the middle and the inquisitor man was just so boring. The concept is brilliant and I would like more historical fiction done the same way but I think this was a bit of a let down with some chapters being so good and some not. My take away from this is don’t get married.

This is the true story of Luisa Abrego, a mixed race woman living in the 16th century. She was enslaved and impregnated by her master, and after gaining her freedom, sailed to Mexico with her husband.

This is Luisa’s story. But it’s also the story of the people around her, and the impression she made on them. It’s a story where Luisa is the main character, however, the reader’s view of her is formed through the voices of others. This isn’t so much Luisa’s story, more so a snapshot of different characters in her world who engage with her in some way.

Rummel describes at the start of her novel the choice to write like this - to show what white people thought of Luisa and the lack of understanding of other “cultures and times”. It feels a bold move away from the traditional format of novels. The concept is great, and I really respect Rummel’s approach to this.

Through the different character’s perspectives, we discover life in 17th century Spain and Mexico, the clashes between classes and races, and the influence of the Spanish Inquisition.

This was a very enjoyable, clever and thoughtful read. The style takes some getting used too but the novel feels richer for it.

I found this book interesting, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I know the intention was to tell Luisa's story from others' perspectives, but in the end that didn't work for me. It was hard t connect to her and therefore care about her story so far removed from her perspective. The style did highlight the lack of control that she had over much of her life, and the general lack of control women would have had then, so I understand what the author was trying to do, but it made it hard to really love the book. The story was interesting and the writing was good, so I did finish it.

This is a great concept, but I wish I could have read more from Luisa's perspective. I understand that the story would mainly be told from other people's perspectives, but it would have been good to get her perspective. I can read nonfiction history for other people's perspectives. I want to be transported into the mind of the person the book is about.

Say her name: Luisa Abrego. Her life in her own words would have never been recorded simply because she was a woman, a former slave (possibly of Arab, Moroccan descent), and a victim of the 16th-century patriarchy - mired in religious persecution and misogyny. She is voiceless in this novel. We learn snippets of her life’s events from the lens of those who knew her: a former mistress/owner (whose husband sexually molested and abused Luisa from puberty), an aging parish priest who rehomed her infant son, officiated her marriage to a sailor – leaving Seville for a life in Mexico, a ship’s Captain, her husband, and nephew/son. She was attractive - both men and women commented on her beauty. She was quiet with expressive eyes; she was skilled and possessed strong business acumen evidenced by her operating a successful candle shop. She was a pious, meditative industrious woman who experienced so much loss and persecution.

I loved the author’s presentation of the environment and inclusion of the historical facts of the era It included societal views on slavery and The Trade, women (and their roles/place), and the church’s grift, torture, exploitation (and extortion = money grab) during The Inquisition. Although only a mere glimpse of her life is briefly documented, the author’s imagination gives us plausibility into a life redeemed where she overcomes adversity and hardship to obtain some semblance of happiness.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Dundurn Press, for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve dnfed this one at 35% - it’s a good premise, and I did like the idea of each chapter being someone else’s perspective and experience of Luisa, but the writing didn’t engage me very much and it felt that very little was happening

This was an interesting novel. It was inspired by a true story and follows a woman in the 1500s, but only through the eyes of the people around her. We never hear her own voice. I thought this was such a good concept and the execution was good, even if the narrative did not always grab me.

By using various people around her as the narrators, Luisa never quite develops into a fully formed person. We only see her as others see her and through her actions and words. This was definitely a novel way to tell someone’s story, but I am not quite sure it fully worked for me. Because of this, the reader is kept at a distance from her as well. Maybe that is where the strength of the novel lies, but I think I prefer being more in the head of characters.

My conclusion is that this is really a story told well and in an interesting way, but that I prefer a more intimate narrative, where I feel more connected to the main character. Still, the writing was good and I would recommend this as an interesting portrait of a person and a time period.

What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
Pub date: June 18th, 2024

The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters. They all talk about Luisa Abrego, a half caste enslaved woman who, after she was set free, got married with a white man and sailed from Seville to New Spain (Mexico). Years after, she confessed her bigamy, but in fact, she was only married to one man but the old laws were dictated so different in that time.

Luisa is the main character, and we can learn from her through diverse perspectives. All the characters see Luisa in a different way and had met her in different circumstances.

The novel is very rich in history, presenting Colonial Mexico, and portraying the system of castes, the kind of punishments during the Inquisition, and the life in Zacatecas during that period with its mines and the natives of the place.

The polyperspectivity was good, but some narrators were stronger than others, and there were some slow parts, but it was also enlightening because of all the historical context provided, and I enjoyed learning from it.

Thank you, Dundurn Press and Netgalley, for the digital ARC.

What they said about Luisa is interesting historical fiction based on the real-life story of a Spanish woman Luisa Abrego. Luisa was a mulatto slave in Spain of the 1500's. She was later freed by her master and tried to make a life for herself first in Seville then in Mexico. This is the story of her journey and struggles. I suggest going into the book without reading too much about the story. I love the structure of the book - its told in a number of voices of people who encountered Luisa during the period. In doing so it gives an interesting perspective into life in Seville as well as Mexico of the time. Christianity was at its peak, the Church all powerful and the dreaded Inquisition in full force. You also learn about the difficulties and dangers of trans-Atlantic crossings, the conflict between the new settlers and the Indigenous People and the machinations of the mining industry in Mexico. The author has done a lot of research into all these aspects. I would have loved to know what happens after the current story ends and hopefully there may be a sequel. Overall, an entertaining, quick and easy read

Looovee the authors note before the start of the novel explaining why she chose to write the story and in this way! Author is a retired history professor specialist in this time period, which I love to see in historical fiction because their passion always comes through.

Story is told through the people who knew Luisa (or had contact with her rather). Not much is known about this real life woman, especially after her trial in colonial Mexico, so this was a unique way to bring her back to life during the aftermath. The book was really engaging and I enjoyed reading the different perspectives! Although we never hear from Luisa and I felt like we didn’t get enough time to connect to her or any other characters. The POVs paint different pictures of Luisa in a “gossip” style of storytelling so you as the reader can infer the truth vs bias held about Luisa.

The chapters are long and every one is from a different character’s POV, some of them were better than others. I hated Pedro’s chapter the most because he’s such a dick and a lot of his chapter was repeating everything that happened in the previous chapter.

I liked some characters more than others, for example I really enjoyed the chapter from Alonso’s POV (he worked for the Inquisition tribunal) he was really complex and had some thought provoking sentiments. I also liked Juan Diaz because his chapters painted a very well thought out setting/background info for Colonial Mexico (also he just seems cool)!

I felt like I got to know this time period and how people lived their lives in general. However I wish we heard from Luisa at least once. From the title and synopsis I understand not hearing from her and it’s a unique way to write a historical novel but it felt like Luisa was silenced in history and then once again silenced through the novel. Overall I enjoyed the book and will be interested in reading more from the author but I didn’t love it.

This is the story of Luisa Abrego, a quiet woman who actually lived in the 1500s and was tried by the Inquisition. The narrative is unusual but effective. The story takes place in Spain, Mexico, and the perilous Atlantic voyage to and from Mexico. The author, Erika Rummel, has researched documents relating to Luisa's trial and life and conditions in Spain and Mexico in the 1500s, a time rarely addressed in historical fiction. Luisa was of mixed black/white race (mulatto), resulting in her being a slave. Racism, class standing, the low status of women, intolerance, and religion all play a part in the story.

It is told through the various perspectives of assorted people who encountered Luisa over the years, but we never learn of Luisa's view. Among the voices of those who formed opinions of the quiet and elusive Luisa are the bitter thoughts of her slave master's widow, a kindly priest, an abbess, a miner, a ship's captain, a representative of the Inquisition and others she meets during her life journey. Although her voice remains absent in the storytelling, we build up our own impressions and empathy for her during a time of great prejudice, class distinctions, and religious intolerance.

During this time, the Catholic Church reigned supreme with its spies informing on those suspected of heresy. The past sales of indulgences, where people paid sums of money for their sins to be forgiven, fees to have a child gently cared for in one of their orphanages, and the confiscation of wealth and land by Inquisition victims greatly enriched the power and wealth of the Church. The author mentions a strange rule that an engagement with a witness was classified as a legitimate marriage.

Luisa was impregnated by her slave master, who gave her her freedom and a sum of money in his will. She found employment helping an elderly couple in their modest home while caring for her baby. She then dated a local apothecary's helper who asked Luisa to marry him. He jilted her and married someone else. Next, a sailor, Jorge, proposed marriage. He was going to Mexico to mine silver and asked her to accompany him if she could afford her own passage with some leftover funds. Her child was too young to make the dangerous journey, so she paid to leave him in the gentle care of nuns.

Once the ship docked in Mexico, they travelled to their destination as a married couple. On the journey, the group was attacked by indigenous warriors. Luisa was grabbed by one of the natives and displayed her determination to live freely by bravely stabbing her captor to death. She was rewarded by the warrior's horse for her efforts and heroism. The fact that she killed another human weighed heavily on her conscience, along with the law she committed bigamy when accepting a marriage proposal, even when jilted.

Her husband Jorge was believed killed in a mine cave-in but severely wounded and near death. Luisa's son was faring poorly in the orphanage. He had been put in the care of an insane nun and later sold to a cruel landowner. Luisa returns to Spain, now believing she is a widow, and turns herself into the Inquisition for the sin of bigamy, with the murder of the native weighing heavily on her mind. Her prime objective is to retrieve her son, who is now back in the orphanage. She has established a small business.

The story ends with a lot of hope for the future. Thanks to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for this compelling story, informative and well-researched, in return for an honest review. The publication date is set for June 18. 4.5 Stars!