Xtabentum: A Novel of Yucatan

by Rosy Hugener, Carl J Hugener

According to Mayan legend, the Xtabentum flower that grows wild on the Yucatan peninsula first appeared on the grave of a free-spirited young woman who was scorned for her passion by the people of her village, but loved by the gods for her kind A Novel of Yucatan is a story of two young women set in the years following the Mexican Revolution in Merida, Yucatan, one of the wealthiest cities in the world at the time. Amanda Diaz is from the “divine caste,” a small group of families of European descent who dominate the politics and economy of the region. Amanda’s lifelong friend, Carmen, is from the opposite end of the social spectrum, a Mayan Indian who is the daughter of one of the Diaz family servants. Against the true historical background of rebellion, discrimination and assassination in the unstable country, the whipping of Carmen by a Diaz neighbor exposes the sheltered existence of the two women and drives them apart. The story follows Amanda through her horror at the social injustice of the two-class Mexico to the sacrifices she makes in the name of friendship. Parts of the story take place in modern times, where the discovery of an old birth certificate sets Amanda’s granddaughter in search of a secret about her father’s birth. Her search, told in the first person, is blended with a third-person account of the lives of Amanda and her contemporaries in the 1920s.

If you're looking for a captivating and engaging read, look no further than " A Novel of Yucatan." Set against the vibrant backdrop of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, this novel offers a thrilling combination of history, culture, and mystery that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. With its richly-drawn characters and vivid descriptions of the Yucatan's stunning landscapes, "Xtabentum" immerses you in a world of ancient traditions and modern conflicts. Whether you're a fan of historical fiction, mystery, or just a great story, you won't be able to put this book down. So come along on a journey through the lush jungles and pristine beaches of the Yucatan, as the novel's characters grapple with love, loss, and the timeless struggle between good and evil. " A Novel of Yucatan" is a must-read for anyone who loves a good adventure, and it's available now!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Travel

201 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Rosa Hugener was born and raised in Mexico and is the descendent of one of the most prominent families in Yucatan, a family that has included governors, senators, bishops, historians and journalists. Her family members were participants in many of the historical events described, and old family stories were what inspired Rosa first to researching, and then to writing about, the events in the book. Today, Rosa is a systems engineer who lives in the Chicago area

Reviews

[Meade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a chance on this indie Kindle-only book as I was looking for something based around the Yucatan to read while I was traveling there. This definitely fit the bill. Each chapter started with some Mayan cultural tidbit - myth, recipe, song, etc. - and it was centered around Merida, where I stayed. I learned a huge amount that was extremely helpful and interesting on the trip. The plot was also very good and intriguing. The writing could have used a little editing and was slightly stilted at times, but at other times was fine. Overall, this was perfect for what I wanted for my trip!

[Elizabeth Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xtabentun, A Novel of Yucatan is an enjoyable quick read, if you can ignore grammatical errors (some sentences have to be read twice to catch the meaning). The author Rosy, Hugener, sprinkles in enough Mayan folklore to peak the reader’s interest. Some of the descriptions are creative. The story line is believable and it draws the reader into the book. Mexico’s turbulent history and the struggle of its indigenous peoples are presented in a palatable way. All in all it is a good book.

[Maria Marquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that I like. The plot is really good, fast, interesting and easy. I am 1/2 Mexican but from another region so I learned a lot about Yucatan and Merida. The Mayan stories were interesting and it was nice to find the reason why they were use at the beginning of each chapter (Sometimes it was not obvious) . I am hoping for some questions and answers.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

How I wish I could have liked this book more. I didn't want to just like this book. I wanted to love this book. The whole premise of the story is of personal interest to me, as my own grandparents would have been small children somewhere in Mérida (or possibly Tizimín) at the time the historic events of the novel took place. Unfortunately, I just was not able to connect with the characters.

The story was intriguing enough to keep me reading to the end, but it lacked depth. It's like I was given the story by a completely disinterested party who was only interested in imparting facts. Details of locations and the personalities of the characters were present only enough to say they were there, but not enough to really get a feel for the locales, or to feel you know the characters. It had all the elements that should have made it a fascinating read: a good story, political intrigue, long-hidden family secrets and romance. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. There was so much here that could have been elaborated on to make this a truly magnificent and sweeping epic that I almost feel cheated.

Also, without the pull of a sweeping story, I wonder how well Xtabentum will go over with people who have no connection to Yucatan or the historic events presented. This story is obviously very near and dear to the author's heart, but given the sparse detail presented, it will be hard for a larger audience to feel engaged.

Ms. Hugener does show great promise, and I think Xtabentum would benefit tremendously from a re-write to add depth to the characters (what do they think, what motivates them, how do they feel, what is their connection to the world around them), especially the contemporary characters, who I feel were particularly cheated out of being fleshed out. This was a valiant first effort, and I would be willing to read another offering from her to see how her writing progresses.

On a positive note, this book has prompted me to pump my grandmother for whatever information she can recall regarding the historic events mentioned in Xtabentum. Also, just the mention of the native Yucatecan foods made me work up an appetite. I absolutely love papat zules, and I think it's high time I asked my grandmother to teach me how to make them.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to be in Mexico and read a novel about the Yucatán where we are. I enjoyed it.

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclosure: I won this book from a goodreads giveaway contest. The author was even kind enough to sign the copy sent to me which was a nice surprise.

I think this would be a great book for a ten to twelve year-old girl; its good Young Adult fiction, maybe just a little too simplistic in its writing for an adult. The idea behind the plot is interesting, as are the Mayan myths and Yucantan cultural elements that start each chapter. These bits of Mexican history and culture, however, are not always woven into the actual action of the chapter, which often left me wondering how they tied in (other than just being glimpses in the culture of the area).

As I see it, great writers have wonderful and intriguing ideas for books, but they also have a talent for language. Their stories unfold in a unique style that stop a reader in their tracks and make them think "yes, that's how it is". Writers capture the feelings and emotions of the human spirit like the average person cannot. That's why they are writers--because they have a gift for expressing in words what the rest of us cannot. While this book was interesting to read, it lacked this distinctive writer style. There were no moments of epiphany, nor of identification with the characters and their emotions. This makes the book an ok read, but it will not be a candidate for the greatest novel ever written. It is a good distraction, nonetheless, which, in a world that can often be depressing and cruel, is often enough in itself.

[Leonide Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical story of family secrets and generational intrigues of a upper class family from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Prophetic glimpses of the unfolding events are given through Mayan legends. The story moves between two time periods, the mid-1980s and circa 1915. During this period of change and turmoil in Mexico, a friendship between the rich family's daughter and her Mayan servant takes shape among forays into political struggles involving the Maya people's champion, Felipe Carrillo Puerto and his American reporter girlfriend. Having lived in Merida several years, I especially enjoyed descriptions of the city and its elegant culture deriving from the wealth of the henequen haciendas around the turn of the 20th century. A family drama develops fraught with misunderstandings and hidden motives, involving a well-kept secret that could re-shape the lives of descendants. Not a fast-moving plot and some developments seem a bit implausible, but overall a satisfying read.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the historical content as well as the mystery that unfolded through the story of a romance. I liked the blending of Mayan folklore and the Mexican setting to make the story richer. I do have a little issue with the lack of editing. Some of the problem may come from the translation, but some of it was just blatant typographical errors. Errors that spell-check wouldn't pick up such as it for at or in for on... little things like that which provided stumbling blocks in the flow of the writing. I did like the descriptions and the poetic language that came into the story in places. Overall, I would recommend this book.

2016 eclectic reader challenge # 10 ~ Immigrant experience fiction

[Valery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is really good, I truly enjoy it. Theres so much feelings in the story involve. I mean in a way I think some people might connect to one part of the story, even though they are not of the same culture. Im sure remember my grandmother and the place where she kept all her dear things, so from that point on I could not stop reading.
Its good to mention that all the research and details of the culture are also there, and that just enrich the book even more.
For those readers that truly get emotional, I suggest to read this book, and have a few tissues by your side.

[Monico Neck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good read. For an american it has a lot of cultural background that makes it really interesting. I been thinking about the plot for a while that is why I changed the the rate form 4 to 5.

[Ivonne Fernanadez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great plot. The grammar errors were for me unnoticeable. (No more than a lot of books that I read) . The author’s voice feels real and authentic.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful love story set in early 20th century Merida, Yucatan.

The story begins in 1985 when the narrator of the story returns to her family home in Mexico City from Chicago to see her dying grandmother. Her grandmother had always carried keys to her wardrobe and refused any family member to look inside. Once her grandmother dies, the family open the wardrobe like little children opening Christmas presents. Inside they find an old photograph of the grandmother as a young women with her aunt and two strange men. They also find her father's birth certificate but the dates are different and different middle & last names. She starts a two year search on her grandmother's early life in Merida.

We, the readers, are taken back in time to the 1920's to the Revolution and chaotic times when de la Huerta took power. The grandmother, Amanda, grew up in a liberal, well-to-do family in Merida. Her best friend, Carmen or Cacho, was the daughter of one of the family's servants. They met Felipe Carillo Puerto, historical figure who was the governor of Yucatan, and several of his friends including the Ancona family. Alma Reed, another historical figure, was a friend of the family and the lover of Carillo Puerto. One of the men who would stop by the family home was Carlos Ancona (fictional character although the other Anconas are historical figures). One day Cacho is sent to work for the evil neighbor widow who flogs her senselessly. The widow is found dead the next morning. This happens the same time that Carillo Puerto is arrested by the de la Huerta's and thrown in jail. Carlos turns himself in as the killer of the widow and is sent to the same jail as Carillo Puerto. Although Carillo Puerto is executed, Carlos Ancona escapes. He learns that Cacho has been sent to live in the United States and pursues her. Amanda decides it's time for her to go to University in the US but also wants to find Cacho. They meet in Chicago but Cacho is pregnant. Who is the father? Carlos? Prison guard? An American? I won't tell but I cried at the end.

I loved how each chapter begins with either a Mayan legend or a story from the Popol Vuh. Very appropriate to Amanda's story.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book so you won't have to. You're welcome. Badly written, badly structured, and badly edited. The shame of it is that there's the foundation of a good story here. After her grandmother's death a woman discovers papers indicating a long-held family secret that seems to involve her father's birth. The story jumps back to the past and the grandmother's childhood in Merida in Yucatan. Amanda is the daughter of a wealthy family; her best friend is the servant girl in the household. As the Mexican revolution plays out, events drive the two girls apart. While hardly original, in the hands of a better writer this would have made for interesting historical fiction.

The problems with the story are multiple: It is almost impossible to keep all the characters straight. There is a side story in which Amanda's mother has locked herself in her room since Amanda's birth. While we find out why, it has absolutely no bearing on the rest of the story. Things happen over time periods that seem either too long or too short for them to be realistic. But the biggest problem by far is that the reader learns the story of what really happened to the grandmother and her friend, but the author never creates a bridge for that information to be passed along to the granddaughter. As her search reaches its climax, the granddaughter has come to conclusions that she has no evidence for. Finally, while I have no idea if the author got her facts straight about Mexican history, she should have at least done enough research to know that it takes a very long time to die of tuberculosis, a lot more than nine or ten months. There's also no excuse for writing about Jane Addams and Hull House and spelling Addams's name wrong.

There used to be a time when you could say, "How does stuff like this get published?" Now, thanks to self-publishing, it's all too easy.

[Kenneth Iltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is the story of two young women set in the years following the Mexican Revolution in Mérida, Yucatán, one of the wealthiest cities in the world at the time. Amanda Diaz is from the “divine caste”, a small group of families of European descent who dominate the politics and economy of the region. Carmen, Amanda’s lifelong friend, is from the opposite end of the social spectrum, a Mayan Indian who is the daughter of one of the Diaz family servants. The book bounces between Chicago, Merida and Mexico City in the 1980’s and Merida in the 1920’s. The plot is based on an ancestor of Amanda’s who lives in Chicago trying to piece together her family tree. But the book is more than that. The book explores the rich history of Merida and the Yucatan – a bit of history that is unknown to most readers – and it tells an interesting story about the Diaz family.

While the book did not generally get terrific reviews, I gave it four stars out of five on the Goodreads scale. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Mexican history.

[John Horst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xtabentum: A Novel Of Yucatan is a story set in a period of history known to few Americans. It is refreshing to read a story from an author who has intimate knowledge of both Mexican and American culture, and Rosy Hugener has woven a fiction that neither vilifies nor lionizes either culture, but rather explores the reality of how both peoples have interacted over most of the twentieth century. With our continued and growing relationship with the peoples of Mexico, stories such as Xtabentum: A Novel Of Yucatan can only help increase our understanding and respect for our neighbors to the south. In addition to being rewarded with a fine and intriguing love story, the reader will enjoy a lesson in the history of this fascinating land and people, and hopefully come away with a new respect and appreciation for this fine and fascinating culture. Xtabentum is a must-read for anyone interested in Mexico and Mexican culture.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me forever to read this book because it could not keep my attention for more then a page at a time. I was confused through most of the book. I had no idea who was related to who or who was searching for who. I was happy that the book ended well but I will not be reading it again.

[Sandy from Alaska Colón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed. A short read. Tells a story about people from different castes in Mexico, but also shows the prejudice in the US and also the differences in classes. I loved the Mayan myths told at the beginning of every chapter; there was even a recipe!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story about the Yucatan to read while relaxing on the shores of the Caribbean. I read it during my trip to Isla Mujeres. While I appreciated the Mayan folklore and Mexican history, it was the details of life on the cobblestone streets of Merida that I most enjoyed.

[Sarahmarsh85 . · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great lightweight book to get you into the mood for travel to the Yucatan, I enjoyed the Mayan folklore and political history

[Jessica Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eight years ago, I won this novel in a goodreads giveaway. The book arrived at my college dorm wrapped in kraft paper with flowers stenciled on the outside and a handwritten inscription on the first page. I brought it back to my childhood home, meaning to read it, where it sat on my desk for seven years until we sold the house.

I'm glad I kept it. Even though I've rated this only three stars, the book is clearly filled with love, time, and memories. While there are mild grammatical errors (the "meet" instead of "meat" was my favorite), they don't detract from the story. This may not be the most polished work, but there's enough heart to make it a good read. I also greatly enjoyed learning about the Mexican Revolution, Yucatan, and Mayan folklore in such a nicely bundled story.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read and I learned a little bit more about Mexican history. The universality of discrimination and oppression is once again reinforced as the differences in life between the upper/middle class and Mayan (indigenous) people are spotlighted. I wasn't wowed by the story but I also wasn't disappointed.

[Oscar Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great plot. easy read. I was born in Merida Yucatan and this is the only book that it really makes me feel like home. A Book about the Mexican Revolution (In Yucatan) but from the view of a local woman wit real facts.

[Kaylin Ruth Vandermissen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable, quick read with so much promise. There were some issues with pacing and clarity, but I really enjoyed the way the author worked in Mexican folklore and history as a precursor to each chapter. Overall it was a great concept and a fascinating story.

[Crooks Lucia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The plot reminded me of a typical telenovela.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - 3 stars

[Diana Alessio · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little slow. I liked the history in it but I didn't get 'hooked' until the last chapter.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xtabentum is a story of family secrets, set in an interesting time period and place. Alternating between a modern woman researching her family's past and that past playing out in 1920s Yucatan, this book is clearly a labor of love. The authors are passionate about Mexico and its history, and they bring to life a time period and region of which I knew very little. Their efforts are hindered however, by stilted, clunky dialogue and some ambiguities in their writing. Still, it';s a quick read and an interesting look at a unique culture.

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this book which I received free from Good Reads, but I found it disjointed, and the poor language usage (lay for lie, site when sight was the proper word,etc.)put me off. Also, I do not read Spanish and there was no translation for it when used. Conversely, I will give the book to someone who teaches in a high school that is largely Hispanic and see if she finds it useful.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable story. I liked the inclusion of the Mayan myths and enjoyed learning a small part of Mexican history. I've been to the Yucatan a couple of times, so it was cool to "see" the places as I read.

[Ofelia Ancona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to review this book because all the controversy with the book “American Dirt”. For me this a book that really shows the Mexican Culture and thinking. Interesting, funny, a fast read with a great plot