Rating: 
Summary: I, Rigoberta de Menchu
Review: "I, Rigoberta de Menchú"
Edited by Elisabeth Burgos-DebrayThis is an awesome book. I recommend this book for everybody who wants to know the truth about the suffering of the Indians in Guatemala. This book talks about the customs of her community and also talks about all the injustices and discrimination that the white people had against the Indians. Rigoberta belongs to the Quiché people in Guatemala. The customs of the Quiché people are very different from our customs. The Quiché people are very closed to the nature and they respect and give an enormous value to the animals and to the plants. This book make you realize the importance of the nature that we normally forget when we became more "civilize". This book shows all the suffering that the Quiche people had to life with it and the story of Rigoberta and her community shake you and force you to see that how superficial our society became. We worry for materialistic things, for example, I want expensive furniture or I'm not happy with the old T.V that I bought a year ago. Now I want the new plasma T.V. We worry for ephemeral things and most of the time we are wondering what kind of food are we going to eat instead of what we are going to do now if our children are asking for food and we don't have any food to provide them. This book make you realize that Indians are being exploited and so many products that you consume are thanks to them. This book shows how the landlords exploited them on the fincas (The fincas are places where the coffee and the cotton are cultivated). This is a very emotional and sad part of the book and breaks you heart to believe that can exist people so mean who take any advantages of these hard workers. The conditions in which they work are unacceptable. They are exploited in every way possible. They work very hard and the pay is miserable. When the Indians try to rebel the army took actions and what they did was to torture the people who try to change all this injustices. They try to suppress them with these awful tortures. We can see how the Indians accepted the catholic religion and how they interpreted the bible. The bible help them to see things more clear and they used it to claim their own rights as human been. I recommend this book because after you read it all you are going to have a better understanding of the Indian culture and also you are going to be thankful for all the tiny things you have in life. People who don't appreciate life should read this book. People who waste food should read this book. People who don't appreciate nature should read this book. This book is going to make you be thankful and to be less superficial.
Rating:
Summary: I, Rigoberta de Menchu
Review: "I, Rigoberta de Menchú"
Edited by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray This is an awesome book. I recommend this book for everybody who wants to know the truth about the suffering of the Indians in Guatemala. This book talks about the customs of her community and also talks about all the injustices and discrimination that the white people had against the Indians. Rigoberta belongs to the Quiché people in Guatemala. The customs of the Quiché people are very different from our customs. The Quiché people are very closed to the nature and they respect and give an enormous value to the animals and to the plants. This book make you realize the importance of the nature that we normally forget when we became more "civilize". This book shows all the suffering that the Quiche people had to life with it and the story of Rigoberta and her community shake you and force you to see that how superficial our society became. We worry for materialistic things, for example, I want expensive furniture or I'm not happy with the old T.V that I bought a year ago. Now I want the new plasma T.V. We worry for ephemeral things and most of the time we are wondering what kind of food are we going to eat instead of what we are going to do now if our children are asking for food and we don't have any food to provide them. This book make you realize that Indians are being exploited and so many products that you consume are thanks to them. This book shows how the landlords exploited them on the fincas (The fincas are places where the coffee and the cotton are cultivated). This is a very emotional and sad part of the book and breaks you heart to believe that can exist people so mean who take any advantages of these hard workers. The conditions in which they work are unacceptable. They are exploited in every way possible. They work very hard and the pay is miserable. When the Indians try to rebel the army took actions and what they did was to torture the people who try to change all this injustices. They try to suppress them with these awful tortures. We can see how the Indians accepted the catholic religion and how they interpreted the bible. The bible help them to see things more clear and they used it to claim their own rights as human been. I recommend this book because after you read it all you are going to have a better understanding of the Indian culture and also you are going to be thankful for all the tiny things you have in life. People who don't appreciate life should read this book. People who waste food should read this book. People who don't appreciate nature should read this book. This book is going to make you be thankful and to be less superficial.
Rating:
Summary: A "biomythography" that deserves attention
Review: "I, Rigoberta Menchu" is one of those books which seems to be overshadowed by controversy. A Quiche Mayan woman of Guatemala, Rigoberta Menchu told her story orally to anthropologist Elisabeth Burgos-Debray in Paris in 1982. Burgos-Debray transcribed the story and published in Spanish in 1983; Ann Wright's English translation appeared in 1984. The book, which both gave a voice to the Native American culture of Guatemala and exposed the brutality of Guatemala's civil war, became an international sensation. Menchu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. Anthropologist David Stoll later uncovered evidence of inconsistencies within Menchu's story. Conservative cultural activists interpreted Stoll's research as discrediting Menchu's story. For example, David Horowitz blasted Menchu as a "liar" and further condemned "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as "one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century." Many derided such attacks on Rigoberta as politically motivated and intellectually dishonest. I think that "I, Rigoberta Menchu" has, perhaps, been misunderstood and misused by people on both sides of the left/right political divide. And so, for that matter, has the work of David Stoll. While he is sharply critical of the book in his own work, "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans," Stoll also corroborates parts of her story. In fact, at the end of his own book Stoll praises "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as a Guatemalan "national epic" (p. 283). Because of all of the accusations and counter-accusations being thrown around by people with conflicting political and intellectual agendas, it is daunting to even approach "I, Rigoberta Menchu." Nevertheless, I agree with David Stoll that this book is an authentic national epic of Guatemala; I also believe that it is a book which deserves to be read. I look at "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as a "biomythography." African-American author Audre Lorde used this term to describe her own autobiographical narrative, "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name." Think of a biomythography as a life story that combines fact with fictionalized, borrowed, or adapted materials in an attempt to arrive at greater truths. I don't mean to suggest that Menchu, or anyone, for that matter, should be excused for misrepresenting facts. But it seems to me that "I, Rigoberta Menchu" gives the reader clues that it is a "biomythography" from the first page of the first chapter: Rigoberta says of her story "I didn't learn it alone," and further stresses that "it's not only my life, it's also the testimony of my people." And if you approach the book carefully, you will discover a powerful and fascinating text. It is impossible in the space of a short review to cover all of the highlights of "I, Rigoberta Menchu." But a few include her description of the interactions among the diverse ethnic groups of Guatemala, her account of Quiche Mayan religious beliefs and practices, and her descriptions of such everyday activities as making tortillas. Particularly fascinating is her account of how Guatemalan revolutionaries interpreted parts of the Bible in order to aid their struggle; at the end of Chapter XVII she describes the Bible as the "main weapon" of her comrades. Yes, Rigoberta has a political agenda. But so did Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X; this does not diminish the value of their autobiographies as both literary texts and historical documents. My advice is to read both "I, Rigoberta Menchu" and David Stoll's biography of Menchu. Read commentaries on the controversy from all parts of the political spectrum. And read other texts about the violence in Guatemala and in other countries rocked by political strife and ethnic tension. And finally, draw your own conclusions about the book.
Rating:
Summary: A "biomythography" that deserves attention
Review: "I, Rigoberta Menchu" is one of those books which seems to be overshadowed by controversy. A Quiche Mayan woman of Guatemala, Rigoberta Menchu told her story orally to anthropologist Elisabeth Burgos-Debray in Paris in 1982. Burgos-Debray transcribed the story and published in Spanish in 1983; Ann Wright's English translation appeared in 1984. The book, which both gave a voice to the Native American culture of Guatemala and exposed the brutality of Guatemala's civil war, became an international sensation. Menchu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. Anthropologist David Stoll later uncovered evidence of inconsistencies within Menchu's story. Conservative cultural activists interpreted Stoll's research as discrediting Menchu's story. For example, David Horowitz blasted Menchu as a "liar" and further condemned "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as "one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century." Many derided such attacks on Rigoberta as politically motivated and intellectually dishonest. I think that "I, Rigoberta Menchu" has, perhaps, been misunderstood and misused by people on both sides of the left/right political divide. And so, for that matter, has the work of David Stoll. While he is sharply critical of the book in his own work, "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans," Stoll also corroborates parts of her story. In fact, at the end of his own book Stoll praises "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as a Guatemalan "national epic" (p. 283). Because of all of the accusations and counter-accusations being thrown around by people with conflicting political and intellectual agendas, it is daunting to even approach "I, Rigoberta Menchu." Nevertheless, I agree with David Stoll that this book is an authentic national epic of Guatemala; I also believe that it is a book which deserves to be read. I look at "I, Rigoberta Menchu" as a "biomythography." African-American author Audre Lorde used this term to describe her own autobiographical narrative, "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name." Think of a biomythography as a life story that combines fact with fictionalized, borrowed, or adapted materials in an attempt to arrive at greater truths. I don't mean to suggest that Menchu, or anyone, for that matter, should be excused for misrepresenting facts. But it seems to me that "I, Rigoberta Menchu" gives the reader clues that it is a "biomythography" from the first page of the first chapter: Rigoberta says of her story "I didn't learn it alone," and further stresses that "it's not only my life, it's also the testimony of my people." And if you approach the book carefully, you will discover a powerful and fascinating text. It is impossible in the space of a short review to cover all of the highlights of "I, Rigoberta Menchu." But a few include her description of the interactions among the diverse ethnic groups of Guatemala, her account of Quiche Mayan religious beliefs and practices, and her descriptions of such everyday activities as making tortillas. Particularly fascinating is her account of how Guatemalan revolutionaries interpreted parts of the Bible in order to aid their struggle; at the end of Chapter XVII she describes the Bible as the "main weapon" of her comrades. Yes, Rigoberta has a political agenda. But so did Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X; this does not diminish the value of their autobiographies as both literary texts and historical documents. My advice is to read both "I, Rigoberta Menchu" and David Stoll's biography of Menchu. Read commentaries on the controversy from all parts of the political spectrum. And read other texts about the violence in Guatemala and in other countries rocked by political strife and ethnic tension. And finally, draw your own conclusions about the book.
Rating: 
Summary: An Essential Read
Review: (This is both a review and a response to Michael J. Mazza's book review located above). I think the above Mazza review is pretty smart and well articulated and would like to make one further point. Rigoberta is Quiche Mayan which means part of what others see as inconsistency is just her faith in an old but thriving religion that others know little about. The Maya are a highly spiritual people. They behave in a way that even after living in Chiapas and Guatemala (both Mayan areas) for two years I cannot truly understand or anticipate. So when you say that she mixes fiction and reality to arrive at an even greater truth I think you're failing to realize the depths of her commitment to the spirit. She wouldn't say that any of the things you term "fictions?are fictions at all. Here's an example: almost all Quiche women wear huipils ?a traditional dress. To the non-Indian eye this looks like it is decorated with geometric patterns. To the Mayan eye they see the history of the world. This mindset is real. The history of the world is a cosmic history.
I see the problem with readings of "I, Rigoberta Menchu" an unfortunate and underestimated cultural misunderstanding. The term itself makes me quiver because of its recent overuse and thus lack of meaning. But I think the mindset of the average Mayan and the average American are virtually irreconcilable. This difference, I suggest, is part of the cause for gross misunderstanding the CIA had of the Mayan Indians. With all this talk we fail to keep in mind that the violence was real, there was a CIA-coup that installed a dictator. Regardless of what you think about her integrity, this book is an essential read. It's a shame that such an vital tale has been hindered by the political talk around it. Politics, namely the CIA in the 50s, caused this problem in the first place. See How Holocausts Happen or Bitter Fruit for more information on this. The Maya do not get the exposure or credit they deserve. The Maya give civilization many things that we take for granted including chocolate and the tomato. So let's open our ears a bit and pay attention to the way other people think before we judge them. With a little more sensitivity the world might be a bit more peaceful.
Rating:
Summary: Touching, real, eye-awakening
Review: A humble, yet uninihibted account of a people's struggle from a strong survivor who risks all to tell her story.
Rating: 
Summary: Perpetuating the destructive myth of the Noble Savage
Review: As literature, this work is at best tedious and laborious. As a piece of political propoganda it is specious. As a documentary it is false. Whatever it is supposed to be, we are reading a French feminist's version of an indigenous Central American woman's inner most thoughts in SPANISH! Yet neither claims that language as their native tongue. As someone who has married into an indigenous Central American culture, I find the history of this book extremely disturbing. It won its puppet author a Noble Peace Prize (not a Literature Prize!), yet turns out to be more fiction than fact. The issues facing Native American cultures in Central America today are sad and serious. The topic deserves serious study and workable solutions, not "Pocohontas type" fantasies manipulated by an opportunistic ghost writer. There are no Noble Savages in Guatemala. Just human beings who want a better world for their children. I would not recommend this book to anyone. If you want to know more about Guatemala's people, by all means, learn some Spanish, buy a ticket, and go to the place itself. But if you must read "I, Rigoberta Menchu...", I recommend an extra large dose of healthy skepticism.
Rating:
Summary: I think this book deserves an extra star.
Review: Before I begin typing my appinion I would like to say that Rigoberta's story is true and don't beilive those 2 gentlemen who say that your story is false because it is very true. Anyways, I love how She introduced herself on the first page of chapter one. Rigoberta explains how she is a Quche woman living in the highlands of Guatemala. I think she is an exdrodanary guatemalan woman and diserved the 1992 nobel piece prize after all what happenend in her life. I was born in Guatemala and when I go back there I want to meet two people my birth mother, Orbinda Vasquez Escabar and, Rigoberta Menchu Tum.
Rating:
Summary: Menchu illustrates beautifully the life of the Guatemalans
Review: Despite all of the negative feedback lately about Ribogoberta's book, I think it was fabulous. On the first page of her book, she says that her story is the story of her people - and she does a fabulous job of showing the life which the indigenous people of Guatemala live. It was an extremely easy read, but her vivid descriptions of their land, beliefs, feelings, and experiences are incredible. I definitely reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in Guatemala, corrupt governments, and/or indigenous people. It was excellent!!
Rating:
Summary: possibly embellished but nevertheless inspiring
Review: Despite the recent questioning of Rigoberta's honesty, I strongly encourage others to read this book, because it will open your eyes to the harsh side of life. Living in the United States, we are isolated from many human rights abuses, but Rigoberta Menchú's courage to overcome oppressors will inspire you. My criticism for this book - that Rigoberta's transcribed interviews do not read smoothly - is a minor one, especially when reading her actual spoken words can be so emotionally moving. Summary:
This nonfiction book tells of how the Menchú family, members of one of the largest of the twenty-two ethnic groups in Guatemala, was oppressed by the Guatemalan government. The first few chapters of the book tell of their work conditions at the Pacific coast fincas, or plantations, where they were inhumanely transported and then malnourished, sprayed with pesticides, and underpaid for their work. The next few chapters present facts about Rigoberta's father, Vicente, who fought for years to keep landowners from taking the Indians' land in the Altiplano, only to have his crops and cattle destroyed, to be unfairly jailed and physically abused, and to be later burned alive in the Spanish Embassy. Meanwhile, Indian village after Indian village was massacred by soldiers, and hundreds and hundreds of women were raped by the army. The book also contains gruesome accounts of the murders of Rigoberta's mother and 16-year-old brother, who were unjustly kidnapped and tortured by the army. Rigoberta, too, was a hunted woman, but her supporters eventually smuggled her to Mexico, where she sought help for the freeing of her people.
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