Incantation

by Alice Hoffman

Hardcover, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

T F HOF

Publication

Little, Brown and Company (2006), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 166 pages

Description

During the Spanish Inquisition, sixteen-year-old Estrella, brought up a Catholic, discovers her family's true Jewish identity, and when their secret is betrayed by Estrella's best friend, the consequences are tragic.

Barcode

1506

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member cas_ar
An interesting story of a family persecuted for their belief during the Spanish Inquisition. A teenager learns that all she thought she knew of her family was incorrect and she strives with the world that she is living in and the adult she fast becomes.
LibraryThing member elbakerone
Set against a backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition, Alice Hoffman's young adult novel Incantation tells a coming of age story about 16 year old Estrella de Madrigal who discovers the truth of what it means to "be yourself". When Estrella learns secrets about her family's heritage and their fears of
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persecution, she must risk love and friendship to live out her true identity. Hoffman's writing beautifully captures the turmoil of the period and the emotional fire of her young heroine. My only complaint is that I enjoyed it so much I wish it had been a longer book!
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LibraryThing member snapplechick
In this book a young girl living in Spain during the 1500's is faced with religious prejudices,finding who she really is and who she can trust. Her family and her are living as secret Jews in a place where Jews are called pigs and burned.
This is a great book. Everbody knows about the horrible
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treatment of Jews throughout history, but there aren't many books for young adults on their treatment during this period in Spain.
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LibraryThing member ethelmertz
Alice Hoffman's writing is so poetic, and this book is no exception. It is beautifully written and heartbreaking.
LibraryThing member TZacek
16-year-old Estrella DeMadrigal lives a charmed life. She has her beautiful mother, her best friend, Catalina, and even a pet pig, Dini. But that is about to change. Estrella will soon watch her village begin to become ravaged by persecution, and a new evil beginning to develop among the village
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people. She will even learn something new about herself that will challenge everything she has ever known and set her life on a course she never could have expected.

Set against the backdrop of 16th century Spain, Hoffman's writing is lyrical and lovely, capturing the heartbreak of a little understood chapter of the Spanish Inquisition.
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LibraryThing member babydraco
Today is Rosh Hashana. And I spent half my afternoon reading this book and wanting to cry.

It is predictable, if you know anything about this subject matter but not any less gorgeous in spite of that.

I will post a full review when I can.
LibraryThing member yari20
Great book! I listened to this book and I thought the descriptions of the times and setting were great. This is a wonderful story describing what it was like to be a Jew living in Spain during the Inquisition. It's also about betrayal and loss. This book really made me want to learn more about the
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Inquisition and the injustices of the Catholic Church.
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LibraryThing member AuthorMarion
What happens when a young woman (16) learns that her entire life has been a lie? This is what happens to Estrella di Madrigal in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition.

She watches as those around her are arrested, tortured, and put to death because they are Conversos (Jews who have converted to
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Christianity). She feels for them but is happy that she and her family attend the Christian church headed by Friar DeLeon and that her brother is a seminarian.

Estrella's best friend and neighbor is Catalina. They have been close since birth but it is Catalina's cousin Andres, who lives with Catalina's family, that ultimately causes the rift between the two girls. Catalina has always believed that she and Andres would be married. But Andres sees Catalina as a sister while he looks at Estrella in love.

With the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition as a backdrop, Estrella soon learns from her honored grandfather that she is Esther, that her entire family are Marranos (Jews converted to Christianity but who practice judaism in secret). Because of Estrella's love for Andres and his for her, Catalina and her family betray the Madrigals; Estrella watches from the shadows of the crowds as her family is first denounced, then tortured, and finally put to death. She is the only one to escape.

This book is short but packs a mighty punch. Easy enough to read in one sitting but don't, no matter how much you are tempted. Take time to digest what you are reading here. Although meant for the younger reader, most adults should find this a compelling story. A word of caution: the descriptions of the torture of the Marranos is very detailed and vivid and may not sit well with the squeamish.

Different from Alice Hoffman's other novels, I found this one nevertheless equally as good. Ms. Hoffman hasn't disappointed me yet.
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LibraryThing member reina10
"Incantation" is a simple, yet compelling story of a young girl's discovery of her true heritage and identity. Set in Spain, in the 1500's, 16-year-old Estrella discovers that life can change unexpectedly, and learns life lessons that impact her life forever. Estrella discovers love, deals with a
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crumpling friendship - that she thought would last forever, and risks her life for her family as she embraces her Jewish heritage. This painful and beautiful story, is a great read for teens and adults alike.
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LibraryThing member dfitzgerald
I loved this book, but it literally hurt my heart while I was reading it and again is giving me a nauseous feeling as I write about it. I highly recommend it for teens and adults as a really good, quick read, but caution recommending it to younger students. While the content and level would be
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understandable for a lot younger, the events are vividly described and I found them to be very disturbing.
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LibraryThing member cablesclasses
Terror and grief are intermingled with love and fidelity. This tale transcends time. Though historically based, the fictional characters are timeless. Their struggles about humanity and loyalty and love reveal to the reader truths about humanity: time unfortunately does not change how differing
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beliefs and cultures react to one another. The friendship between Catalina and Estrella seems typical and almost too predictable, as does the humans named Estrella and Andres falling in love seems timeless; yet, far-fetching is the thought that a Catholic and Jew would marry during this time period. Hoffman inspires introspection as to where our society ranks in regard to similar tales. A definite companion book for any teen interested in Jewish history.
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LibraryThing member taramatchi
What an interesting look at genecide. In a fictional world, somewhere in Spain, there is a little town where the church has run out people of the Jewish faith and confines Muslims in one quarter. The church and government appear to be one and seek to rid themselves of people of the jewish faith
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that are hidden within the community. Estrella lives there with her family with little to no problems until a little dispute sets her world upside down. Jenna Lamia does a great job with narration, and brings to life this unique voice and world.
A short, but powerful story.
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LibraryThing member 15lexig
The book 'Incantation' by Alice Hoffman is a historical fiction novel which is very sad. It has a lot of conflict to it, including friendship betrayal and jealousy. This book is about a young girl name Estrealla, she had a cover name which was Esther. Esther had a best friend name Catalina, and
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they both were very close. They lived in Spain, where Jews were not allowed. The Jews were either forced to leave the country or forced to change and become Christian. Esther was in love with Andres who was Catalina's fiancée. Catalina was very jealous of Esther because of her beauty and the pearl necklace Esther got on her 16th birthday. This has caused many problems. Catalina starts to noticed that Esthers family was a Jew, so she went to report it. This has caused many people in Esthers family to die. I think that it is a very good book and I recommend it for those who love historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member MCocuzzo2
This story was magical and mesmerizing, as well as painful and beautiful. It really showed how people treat others they don't understand. It makes you think about life and the world, as well as the paths you should take. The story in itself was beautifully written. I highly recommend this book.
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
Incantation is a good historical novel about Spanish Jews (Marranos) during the Inquisition. Some tag the book as YA, but, even though the central character is a 16 year old girl, it is far to violent for children. Perhaps older children can take it, I barely could. The grandfather in the story
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says that Jews aren't safe anywhere because the people of a country make the rules and the rules are always changing against them. Thus the necessity for Israel. Recommended to anyone who wonders why the Jews can't just get along with people.
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LibraryThing member BionerdAZ
This book deals with some dark aspects and in ways can be emotionally draining. I found it very well written a type of prose that made the emotion easier to deal with. The books telling message can be that in spite of all the horror, the evil, the darkness that humans can level on each other and
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the world, that love endures, nay, even survives all of this...love makes you want to survive, have a reason to survive, if only to remember those that have passed, memories preserved with love. The ending is what made the book tolerable to me, and let a release of all that emotion.
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LibraryThing member liisa22
not my favorite, but readable
LibraryThing member tasha
This is the remarkable book that tells the story of Estrella, a teenage girl growing up in Spain around 1500. She slowly realizes as the book progresses that she is somehow different than the others in her village, despite the fact that her family has lived there for 500 years. As the details are
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slowly exposed, Estrella learns that her family are actually Marranos, Jews who live in secrecy because of all of the hatred and exclusion of Jews in the society. Estrella also learns through the course of the book that she is more powerful and intelligent than she had ever realized. When her best friend grows jealous because her cousin is courting Estrella, she does the unthinkable and turns in Estrella's grandfather as a magician and heretic. Estrella realizes at that point that there is a monster of hatred that all people must battle within themselves and that sometimes the monster is strong enough to overtake an entire society.

Hoffman's language is pure poetry. This slim volume is easily consumed, but you will find yourself stopping time and again simply to reread her words that breathe a detailed life into Estrella and her surroundings. There is a beauty here that adds to the pain and the horror. It is masterfully done, a book of poetry without verses. The characterization is wonderful with the adults around Estrella become more and more human as their secrets are revealed.

But I must comment more on the writing itself. Here is a paragraph from the first page which made me know immediately that this was a book I was going to love.

"I have crossed over to a place where I never thought I'd be. I am someone I would have never imagined. A secret. A dream. I am this, body and soul. Burn me. Drown me. Tell me lies. I will still be who I am."

It is writing like this, characters like these, that make writing for teens so expansive and amazing. Occasionally I think about reading more books for adults and leaving behind books for teens, but then I find a gem like this one, a book that will stay with me for years, that I will recommend to others whether they read books for teens or not. It is pure, graceful poetry.
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LibraryThing member lkernagh
This is a solid piece of historical writing, with a focus on the Jewish persecution that occurred in Spain. While the story does not include any specific dates, I think it is safe to say that it is set during the earlier years of the Spanish Inquisition, which would place the story around 1500's.
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The story chapters are uniquely named and their meaning becomes clear near the end of the story. Geared towards a YA audience, the three main characters - Estrella, Catarina and Andres - came across a bit-light weight against the backdrop of events occurring in their town/village, but that is just my observation. The romance angle seems to crop up in a lot of the YA books I have read. It cropped up in this book and I felt it really didn't add anything extra to the story.... more of an add on to justify the division in friendship, the acts that follow and to possibly attract an audience type that likes to see a bit of romance in their stories. The story also has a mystical feel to it, giving it the effect of experiencing the story as seen through a lace or gauze veil.

Favorite quote: Knowledge was the way of our people, and knowledge was dangerous. It was the thing that freed you and the thing that put you in peril. A true statement that can be applied to any number of situations and a valuable lesson for inclusion in any book.
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LibraryThing member nancynova
rabck from bethieb; YA book about a secretly Jewish family being betrayed by the girl's best friend during the time of the Spanish inquisition. Doesn't go into much detail, but leaves the reader with a lot to think about.
LibraryThing member ydestura
This is a short novel about a sixteen-year-old Jewish girl, Estrella, and her family, living in a small town in Spain around the year 1500 (16th century), during the time of the Spanish Inquisition.
Estrella is living with her widowed mother, Abra. She lives in a house where she feels there are
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secrets. Her family secretly practices the ancient wisdom called Kabbalah, does not eat pork, and lights candles on Fridays. She feels there are secrets, as she watches her neighbor being taken away to be judged guilty without a fair trial or when she sees the burning of books of a Jewish man who refuses to renounce his belief.
As the heroine discovers she is Jewish, she finds herself falling in love with Andres, cousin of her best friend and neighbor, Catalina. When Andres returns Estrella’s love, her relationship to her best friend deteriorated. Catalina then betrays her by reporting that she is Jewish to the authorities.
When Estrella’s family secret became public, she confronts a world she has never imagined. The shocking persecution of the Jews and the realization of falling in love that also ends her friendship with her best friend, evokes her sorrow and determination to survive and confront the reality that she is a Maranno, a Jewish.
With themes of faith, friendship, and persecutions, issues teens of every century could relate to, the author’s talent of imagery shines. Hoffman’s first historical novel is beautifully written, showing the magical realism of the everyday lives of women in that particular time of history.
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LibraryThing member arthistorychick
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Purchased
5/5 stars

I picked up Alice Hoffman’s Incantation on a whim while at my local used bookstore. This book was meant to be my no pressure, no review, just for the hell of it read and then I devoured it in two very, very late night sittings and realized I have to
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review this book. Incantation is the tragic and heartbreaking story of Estrella de Madrigal and her struggle to remember who and what she is in a time when who and what she is, was simply not allowed.

Though Estrella is a fictional character her story is one that is based on the facts of the Spanish Inquisition. During this dark period of human history, it was essentially illegal for Jews to be Jews in Spain. Under the direction of Tomas de Torquemada, Jews were forced to convert to the Christian faith, flee their homes, or risk being tortured and killed if caught practicing their faith. While Estrella is certainly disturbed by what she is seeing and hearing in her village she knows, without doubt, that this horror cannot touch her family. It simply cannot, she and her family are Christians. As dark rumors, gossip, and speculation begin to turn neighbor against neighbor, suddenly Estrella is forced to consider that everything she thought she knew about herself and her family is wrong.

Is it possible that her family is actually Jewish? As Estrella begins to look back over the years of her short life the pieces of a newly-discovered and very dangerous puzzle begin to fall into place. There is the fact that her family eats no pork, they light the candles every Friday evening, they cross themselves differently than do their neighbors and there are times when family members (including Estralla) are called by different, secret names. For Estrella these discoveries are as fascinating as they are dangerous. As the accusations and arrests increase dramatically, Estrella understands that she has precious little time to understand the history of her family and her people and decide if she will stand with them and their shared history. Estrella must decide if she is willing to give up everything she has ever known and loved for the sake of her family and her faith.

Had I started this book any earlier in the night I would have completed it in a single sitting. The plot is as powerful as it is heartbreaking and every character brings something to the table. There are no weaknesses in the cast of characters; you love some and hate others but you undoubtedly see how each plays his/her role perfectly. Each scene and every chapter are crafted rather than simply written and all pull the reader in instantaneously. It is ridiculously easy to become emotionally invested in these characters and their story. This story made me angry, anxious, sad (yes, I cried), and it gave me cold chills up my spine. With that being said, it is important to note there are bright moments of beauty in this book as well. At the end of the day the message is clear: though times are often dangerous and frightening hope and love are equally powerful forces.

Bottom line: Make no mistake, because of the subject matter alone this is not an easy book to read but it is beyond being well worth the time and the emotional investment. The plot and the characters are flawless. As for the writing style? When I consider Hoffman’s writing style I see in my head a mature and beautiful woman, finely dressed, and carrying herself with a grace that is a part of her rather than being something she has learned. In short, Hoffman’s writing style is elegant and suits the subject matter of Incantation perfectly. A phenomenal read!
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LibraryThing member clarasayre
I really enjoyed this book. I think The Foretelling was better, but I don't mean that as a slight on this one. Hoffman's writing style and characters are always mesmerizing to read...each character is believable and a bit dreamy and there's a strong sense of empowerment I get when I read her books,
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especially as a female. I really liked how when characters spoke in this one...their words are italicized instead of in quotations. It gave me the distinct impression that I was inside Estrella's head, listening in on her thoughts and the thoughts of others around her.
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
I loved this story about the persecution of Jews in Spain during the Inquisition. Poignant and sad, but a good read for young adults. Jenna Lamia's voice as the young Estrellia will haunt you.
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
Set during the Spanish Inquisition and centered on a young girl who doesn't know that her family is hiding the core of their beliefs, this book is both heartbreaking and spirit-full. Alice Hoffman's depiction of Estrella and her family, and simple acts of childhood pettiness that can lead to
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tragedy, paints the horror of that portion of history with a frightening reality. As much about family as about history, and as much about being true to one's belief in oneself as anything else, this is a powerful work, and well worth reading.

Much as it is meant for young adults, though, it doesn't shy away from the worst moments that individuals faced during the Inquisition. If I were going to pass this on to a young reader, I'd want them to read it with family so that they'd have someone to talk about it with during and after the reading--I think this is a read that requires that attention and time. It will certainly stay with me.

Recommended.
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ISBN

0316010197 / 9780316010191

Other editions

Incantation by Alice Hoffman (Paperback)
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