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Laila Lalami has fashioned an absorbing story of one of the first encounters between Spanish conquistadores and Native Americans, a frightening, brutal, and much-falsified history that here, in her brilliantly imagined fiction, is rewritten to give us something that feels very like the truth.
Salman Rushdie
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of re-examining history through storytelling to reveal deeper truths.

Salman Rushdie praises Laila Lalami's work for its ability to reimagine a significant historical moment—the encounters between Spanish conquistadores and Native Americans. He highlights how Lalami's narrative not only confronts the brutalities of this history but also seeks to provide a version that feels authentic, challenging the often falsified accounts of the past and thus encouraging readers to reconsider their understanding of historical events through the lens of fiction.

Themes

HistoryTruthStorytellingNarrativeFiction

In practice

Example use cases

In a book club discussion to emphasize the power of fiction in understanding history.

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