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Trece sentidos
En un deslumbrante relato de pasión, Trece Sentidos de Victor Villaseñor continúa la estipulante epopeya familiar que empezó con el ampliamente reconocido bestseller Lluvia de Oro. Trece Sentidos abre con las bodas de oro del ya mayor Salvador y su elegante esposa, Lupe. Cuando un joven sacerdote le pide a Lupe que repita la sagrada frase ceremonial 'respetar y obedecer,' Lupe se sorprende a sí misma al contestar--¡No, no voy a decir obedecer! ¡Cómo se atreve! ¡Ah, no! ¡Usted no me va a hablar así después de cincuenta años de matrimonio y sabiendo lo que sé!--. Así, la familia Villaseñor se ve forzada a examinar el amor que Lupe y Salvador han compartido por tantos a ños: un amor universal, entrñable y sincero que eventualmente dará energía e inspiración a la pareja en su vejez.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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1038 people want to read
About the author
Victor Villaseñor
45 books418 followersVictor Villaseñor is an acclaimed Mexican-American writer, best known for the New York Times bestseller novel Rain of Gold. Villaseñor's works are often taught in American schools. He went on to write Thirteen Senses: A Memoir (2001), a continuation of Rain of Gold. His book Burro Genius: A Memoir (2004) describes his life. The author has received awards and endorsements, including an appointment to serve as the founding Steinbeck Chair at Hartnell College and the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, from February 2003 to March 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
December 30, 2024
This is the sequel to the beautiful book Rain of Gold and part of a trilogy by Victor Villasenor. All of the autographed books have been in my library since they were published and I was able to meet with the author at book signings at my local bookstore. I would be remiss if I did not comment on the beautiful book cover that is the wedding photograph of Villasenor’s parents, Salvador and Lupe Villasenor.
The author, Victor Villasenor, relates that this book is his family’s tale of love, adversity, magic and wonderment. He tells that his father would cry and tell him that his mother, a little old bag of Indian bones, knew a life so few people knew—a life so full of the Holy Breath of the Almighty that no one could ever lose hope. This is a history of a people, of his Indian-European ancestors as handed down to him by his father and mother, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins and family friends. This is a wondrous story of love and family, it reads like magic.
Thirteen Senses begins with the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Salvador and his beautiful and elegant wife, Lupe. When asked by a young priest to repeat the ceremonial phrase “to honor and obey,” Lupe surprise herself as she says, “No, I will not say ‘obey.’ How dare you! You don’t talk to me like this after fifty years of marriage and I now knowing what I know!”At this point, the Villasenor family is forced to examine the love that has been shared for all of these years by Lupe and Salvador inspiring them into old age. The book then goes back to the first passionate and turbulent first years of their marriage, always overshadowed by Salvador’s bootlegging during the years of Prohibition. But Lupe’s fiery strength and her common sense as well as the close and beautiful relationship that she develops with her mother-in-love, Dona Margarita, helps her to develop the thirteen senses, a unique combination of the man and the woman in marriage giving one new power and strength and an increase in one’s faith. This is set in the Great Depression in Southern California, a harsh world indeed, especially for immigrant families. And if you read the book, the author in his Afterword talks about the Thirteen Senses. Villasenor states that he didn’t list them in the text because he feared that readers would not experience the text. It is a beautiful book with a lot of magical realism and faith but at the end of the book you may find yourself believing in miracles, and that is a gift. Gracias, Senor Villasenor!
The author, Victor Villasenor, relates that this book is his family’s tale of love, adversity, magic and wonderment. He tells that his father would cry and tell him that his mother, a little old bag of Indian bones, knew a life so few people knew—a life so full of the Holy Breath of the Almighty that no one could ever lose hope. This is a history of a people, of his Indian-European ancestors as handed down to him by his father and mother, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins and family friends. This is a wondrous story of love and family, it reads like magic.
Thirteen Senses begins with the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Salvador and his beautiful and elegant wife, Lupe. When asked by a young priest to repeat the ceremonial phrase “to honor and obey,” Lupe surprise herself as she says, “No, I will not say ‘obey.’ How dare you! You don’t talk to me like this after fifty years of marriage and I now knowing what I know!”At this point, the Villasenor family is forced to examine the love that has been shared for all of these years by Lupe and Salvador inspiring them into old age. The book then goes back to the first passionate and turbulent first years of their marriage, always overshadowed by Salvador’s bootlegging during the years of Prohibition. But Lupe’s fiery strength and her common sense as well as the close and beautiful relationship that she develops with her mother-in-love, Dona Margarita, helps her to develop the thirteen senses, a unique combination of the man and the woman in marriage giving one new power and strength and an increase in one’s faith. This is set in the Great Depression in Southern California, a harsh world indeed, especially for immigrant families. And if you read the book, the author in his Afterword talks about the Thirteen Senses. Villasenor states that he didn’t list them in the text because he feared that readers would not experience the text. It is a beautiful book with a lot of magical realism and faith but at the end of the book you may find yourself believing in miracles, and that is a gift. Gracias, Senor Villasenor!
” “Then you’ll understand why my mother always explained to us—that we don’t have five senses as we were told by all that flat, world-thinking that came from Europe. The Mother Earth is Round, we were told, and the Universe is Alive and Whole and always Growing and Changing in Sacred Cycles. Men have six senses, and women have seven, and when a man and a woman come together, then they have all Thirteen. This is what love is really all about, a man and a woman coming to their full senses when they Unite their Love with the Holy Creator.”
August 21, 2019
I couldn’t get enough of Rain of Gold that I had to get my hands on its sequel: Thirteen Senses. The continuation of Victor Villaseñor’s parents’ love story was an emotional rollercoaster indeed, yet it showed me that having a loving and supportive partner can make all the difference. Lupita and Salvador’s relationship is so vividly presented that you can’t help feel connected to them throughout the book, making it impossible to put down.
As you are reading about their passion-filled love, you’re learning about the Thirteen Senses they used to navigate the life they shared together, making it a read filled with many life lessons.
It is a beautiful memoir filled with Mexican culture and love. Highly recommend it!
As you are reading about their passion-filled love, you’re learning about the Thirteen Senses they used to navigate the life they shared together, making it a read filled with many life lessons.
It is a beautiful memoir filled with Mexican culture and love. Highly recommend it!
September 16, 2011
It's a good thing I read Rain of Gold first, because if I read Thirteen Senses first, I never would have read Rain of Gold. The story was interesting and engaging, but all the crazy, mystical, religious talk was over the top. It was very preachy. The random capitalizations drove me nuts, too. Victor Villasenor should have stopped while he was ahead.
January 17, 2008
I was really drawn into this book, and even though it is over 500 pages long I did not want it to end.
Reading it gave me a lot of insight into relationships, and the power that you have over your own reality.
Lupe and Salvador are a perfect example of how two people can come together and truely have the very best (even when everything around them seems to be falling apart) simply because they have eachother.
I usually would not re-read a book, but I really can't wait to peak back through it in a couple of months.
As for the thirteen senses, you will have to read and experiance them for yourself!
Reading it gave me a lot of insight into relationships, and the power that you have over your own reality.
Lupe and Salvador are a perfect example of how two people can come together and truely have the very best (even when everything around them seems to be falling apart) simply because they have eachother.
I usually would not re-read a book, but I really can't wait to peak back through it in a couple of months.
As for the thirteen senses, you will have to read and experiance them for yourself!
May 14, 2014
I was certain I wrote a review last year when I finished the book but apparently I was wrong.
Salvador and Lupe's story is one that mimics life with all its craziness and spontaneity and that's why I enjoyed reading Thirteen Senses so much. I've read the complaint that the book is too filled with faith and is too much of an emotional roller coaster. Rather than disagree, I reflected on my own life and the people I have encountered along the way and concluded in about five seconds that I know a number of real life people whose lives rival and surpass Salvador and Lupe's by degrees in the areas of faith and drama.
The writing has a familiar, clear and concise feel which works whether the author intended it or not. I felt like the characters were family which made me invest in the story. Like everyone else, I loved La LLuvia de Oro (Rain of Gold). I love Thirteen Senses as well.
Salvador and Lupe's story is one that mimics life with all its craziness and spontaneity and that's why I enjoyed reading Thirteen Senses so much. I've read the complaint that the book is too filled with faith and is too much of an emotional roller coaster. Rather than disagree, I reflected on my own life and the people I have encountered along the way and concluded in about five seconds that I know a number of real life people whose lives rival and surpass Salvador and Lupe's by degrees in the areas of faith and drama.
The writing has a familiar, clear and concise feel which works whether the author intended it or not. I felt like the characters were family which made me invest in the story. Like everyone else, I loved La LLuvia de Oro (Rain of Gold). I love Thirteen Senses as well.
September 28, 2016
An interesting look into Mexican-American life, but far too cluttered with feel-good mysticism and trite New Age imagery. The book could have easily been cut by half if Villaseñor would have focused on the social aspects of the story (where he excels) and stayed away from the spiritual instructions streaming from one-dimensional characters who seem to serve no purpose save being cultural stereotypes. I also found it DISTRACTING how Capitalization was used. It was Inconsistent and rather RANDOM. Less satisfying than Rain of Gold, I certainly had to put forth a lot of effort get through this one, but not without some reward.
January 28, 2009
I was really hoping that this book would have been as great as its prequel, Rain of Gold, With rain of gold I was so intrigued by the lives of Lupe's and Salvador's Family to put it down. ALthough this book does depict the details about their later marriage and love, I was still not as pleased with is as I was with the first one. I think that it was too much of a good thing actually. I had read this book about 5 years ago and loved it, and rereading it I was hoping to love it even more, it didnt quite do it for me however.
May 23, 2011
I read Rain of Gold when I moved to the San Luis Valley about eight years ago and I loved it! I couldn't put it down. This I had a hard time with- it felt like an overdone emotional rollercoaster. Maybe I was experiencing too much of this at work, so it wasn't a good time to read it. But if memory serves me right, (big question there), then the first in this "trilogy" was a much stronger book. I didn't know a second one existed, so I'll still be picking it up if that says anything about what I believe in Villasenor's abilities to move me.
December 14, 2008
I'm not too hopeful that this will be a book I like. O.K. Now I've read it (sort of). I admit that I got a little more than halfway through and couldn't take it anymore. I skimmed it for a while then skipped to the end. I don't think I missed much. I got tired of Salvador. I wasn't quite sure about his mom & her daily talks with Mary. I loved Rain of Gold but would have been satisfied with the way it ended without going on to Thirteen Senses.
June 5, 2007
This book is amazing. So many heart felt stories and truths about life and love. I think I have learned a lot by seeing myself refelcted in these pages. Villaseñor is awesome! I suggest reading Rain of Gold first (as it is sorta a series).
November 9, 2010
The plot of this book can be reduced to one word - "tejanas" or a man's genitalia. Throughout the book, balls were cut off,threatened to be cut off, grabbed and stuffed down another's throat. I was bored but finished the book anyway. Who rated this book 4 stars....must be a relative.
February 20, 2008
Charming, fun but incredibly repetitive.
November 17, 2008
I was disappointed in this book I did not like it as well as the first one--Rain of Gold. The really interesting parts he seemed to rush through the writing.
August 1, 2015
4.5 Stars. I really loved this one! Lupe and Sal 5ever!
May 27, 2022
DNF
After reading the incredible work that was "Rain of Gold", I found myself extremely excited to learn there was a sequel to the biography. Like many, I grew to fall in love with the characters, and the way their stories were presented. So to my disappointment Thirteen Senses did not amount to the same. I could not get past the first hundred pages. The book started off strong, but it was all a step downhill from there. The thing I loved about Rain of Gold were the themes that the book revolved around. Villasenor's representation of female characters was empowering, and his redefinition of "macho men" was refreshing.
Thirteen Senses from the first hundred pages I read had misogynistic tones, and I felt incredibly uncomfortable with the conversations that certain characters were having with each other. This book definitely affirmed my hatred of Salvador as a person. I hope that is no longer the person he is.
The true MVP in both the first and second books is Carlota, and it's the reason why I made it to the first hundred pages. Carlota is the juxtaposition to Lupe. They are completely different from attitude, beauty, and personality. Carlota is meant to kinda be hated by the readers because it makes Lupe, the heroine, appear better. It creates this contrast between lupe, who is intelligent and fearless, to Carlota who is a loudmouth and nosy. Yet, Carolta was by far my favorite character. Her humor is truly the best. To me she actually seems real. Someone who is relatable. Carolta is strong willed, and "she cannot be silenced". While she is nosy, who isn't? Her nosy side is a part of her, and I'm glad that translated from the first book into the second.
As great as a character Carolta is, I will not be completing this book. I may download the ebook just to look for Carolta moments, but that's as far as I'm willing to go. Definitely don't start reading expecting it to be just as good, if not better than Rain of Gold, you'll only disappoint yourself.
After reading the incredible work that was "Rain of Gold", I found myself extremely excited to learn there was a sequel to the biography. Like many, I grew to fall in love with the characters, and the way their stories were presented. So to my disappointment Thirteen Senses did not amount to the same. I could not get past the first hundred pages. The book started off strong, but it was all a step downhill from there. The thing I loved about Rain of Gold were the themes that the book revolved around. Villasenor's representation of female characters was empowering, and his redefinition of "macho men" was refreshing.
Thirteen Senses from the first hundred pages I read had misogynistic tones, and I felt incredibly uncomfortable with the conversations that certain characters were having with each other. This book definitely affirmed my hatred of Salvador as a person. I hope that is no longer the person he is.
The true MVP in both the first and second books is Carlota, and it's the reason why I made it to the first hundred pages. Carlota is the juxtaposition to Lupe. They are completely different from attitude, beauty, and personality. Carlota is meant to kinda be hated by the readers because it makes Lupe, the heroine, appear better. It creates this contrast between lupe, who is intelligent and fearless, to Carlota who is a loudmouth and nosy. Yet, Carolta was by far my favorite character. Her humor is truly the best. To me she actually seems real. Someone who is relatable. Carolta is strong willed, and "she cannot be silenced". While she is nosy, who isn't? Her nosy side is a part of her, and I'm glad that translated from the first book into the second.
As great as a character Carolta is, I will not be completing this book. I may download the ebook just to look for Carolta moments, but that's as far as I'm willing to go. Definitely don't start reading expecting it to be just as good, if not better than Rain of Gold, you'll only disappoint yourself.
November 18, 2025
Historical overview of Southern California's Mexican immigrants fleeing the Revolution in their country of 1910-1920 begins the Villasenor memior. This was a grasp for Democracy from Authoricarian rule. Two families unite in marriage August 1929 with Lupe and Salvador. His mother had raised him basically alone with her very religious and gentlemanly impact.
The bootlegging business was highly profitable with prohibition creating a market for clever people. Salvador's whiskey is the pick of the drinker with mellow and "12 year reputation". The operation has oprational territory sectioned in quiet agreement by all whisky vendors. A detailed description of this operation helps you to understand how smart Salvador has been.
The ivory moon automobile is his mode of travel setting him quite apart from others. The wedding was lavish. Lupe postponed however the honeymoon two times. At last they settled into being together.
1929 was a blowout year and these families were not exempt from the difficulties. The contrast of families that had been established was interesting. The many freedoms that were limited are apparent and there are moments that religion and mysticism become important parts of the history of these people.
Just how life evolves for Americans and the issue of immigration was even then a subject of consternation. Women's rights, another issue shows how the reality of those years contrasts with our current culture.
The book clearly covers the melding of our country and one sees clearly how we are a nation of many cultures, not just hispanic but of a multitude of nationalities. We will continue to seek ways to continue in this land of "opportunity"
The bootlegging business was highly profitable with prohibition creating a market for clever people. Salvador's whiskey is the pick of the drinker with mellow and "12 year reputation". The operation has oprational territory sectioned in quiet agreement by all whisky vendors. A detailed description of this operation helps you to understand how smart Salvador has been.
The ivory moon automobile is his mode of travel setting him quite apart from others. The wedding was lavish. Lupe postponed however the honeymoon two times. At last they settled into being together.
1929 was a blowout year and these families were not exempt from the difficulties. The contrast of families that had been established was interesting. The many freedoms that were limited are apparent and there are moments that religion and mysticism become important parts of the history of these people.
Just how life evolves for Americans and the issue of immigration was even then a subject of consternation. Women's rights, another issue shows how the reality of those years contrasts with our current culture.
The book clearly covers the melding of our country and one sees clearly how we are a nation of many cultures, not just hispanic but of a multitude of nationalities. We will continue to seek ways to continue in this land of "opportunity"
July 30, 2019
I loved Rain of Gold and Burro Genius, but the embarrassingly repetitive words and phrases in Thirteen Senses prevented me from enjoying this book. I wasn’t sure I would ever finish it. The excessive use of “Moon,” “truelove,” “tanates,” and “bag of bones,” and the constant act of castration makes me wonder if the book received any editing before publication. The syntax and stylistic choices also make me question the lack of editing. The story of Lupe and Salvador is engaging, but the story could have been told in about 25% of the actual length of the book.
September 9, 2022
A good follow up to Rain of Gold. I appreciated it more this time than I did the first time I read it. In fact I'm not sure I finished it then. Some of the "spirituality, thirteen senses" was quite a departure from the Bible, especially when it came to Dona Margarita and her encounters with Mary and the devil. This time when I got bogged down with that, I skipped it because I wanted to know more of the story of Salvador and Lupe. Quite insightful, Victor Villasenor is a skilled writer, and I appreciated many of his family's insights. Some are wise, some not so much, in my opinion.
May 30, 2017
God read
A look at the give and take in marriage., Mexican culture and life California. In the depression era. Characters are well drawn. The
influence of the spirit world is part of this book.
A look at the give and take in marriage., Mexican culture and life California. In the depression era. Characters are well drawn. The
influence of the spirit world is part of this book.
October 14, 2020
It took me a long time to read this book and not because I did not like it. But such is life sometimes. But this book was incredible! Amazing! He is such a good writer and his parents are everything to me! Please read this and the previous book rein of gold.
January 29, 2022
After reading and absolutely loving Rain of Gold, I picked up Thirteen Senses in hopes of finding the same creativity and enjoyment. However, I think this story would have done better if some of the over-the-top spirituality would have been left out as well as some repetitive sayings. Either way, thank you Victor Villaseñor!
January 30, 2018
Senor Villasenor captures the Hispanic culture as no other. The reader is there.
March 23, 2020
A beautiful book with characters I will always remember. I must say, for me, Rain of Gold, was absolutely beautiful and a MUST READ before starting this book!!
April 12, 2020
All his books are good. Just too long winded.
November 3, 2021
The story continues after Rain of Gold.
Most excellent. Could not put it down.
Read it in a few hours.
Most excellent. Could not put it down.
Read it in a few hours.
July 10, 2024
should be a Chicano classic. absolutely beautiful mysticism and storytelling.
July 24, 2024
Make sure you read the Afterword.
February 4, 2025
Loved this as much as I loved Rain of Gold. I was happy I could continue reading the family’s story because there was so much story to tell!
April 9, 2025
Made me think deeper to the meaning of marriage and open to other spiritual possibilities
August 25, 2023
Another awesome book by Victor Villasenor…My favorite book💕
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews