This is a fictional account of the first meeting of Cortes and Moctezuma. I really enjoyed its effort to deeply imagine the Aztec empire. It is a book very much about daily life, e.g., how did the Spanish trim their toenails? But what I mostly liked was the freedom of the author, who brought a very contemporary voice to these historic figures. I can’t think when I’ve seen that before. Try this: “Inside each of us is a skull,” Enrigue writes, “and that’s all that will be left of us when we’re gone; thanks for your participation.”
We did get into slightly dicey territory at the end, when the author inserted himself in the present day into the story (snore) but overall I found it an unusual and interesting take on a famous moment in history.