The Moor's Account: A Novel

The Moor's Account: A Novel

**Longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize**
**Nominated for the 2016 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award**

A Pulitzer Prize Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of the Year
An NPR Great Read of 2014
A Kirkus Best Fiction Book of the Year

In this stunning work of historical fiction, Laila Lalami brings us the imagined memoirs of the first black explorer of Americaâ€”a Moroccan slave whose testimony was left out of the official record.
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In 1527, the conquistador PÃ¡nfilo de NarvÃ¡ez sailed from the port of SanlÃºcar de Barrameda with a crew of six hundred men and nearly a hundred horses. His goal was to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and, in the process, become as wealthy and famous as HernÃ¡n CortÃ©s.
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But from the moment the NarvÃ¡ez expedition landed in Florida, it faced perilâ€”navigational errors, disease, starvation, as well as resistance from indigenous tribes. Within a year there were only four survivors: the expeditionâ€™s treasurer, Ãlvar NÃºÃ±ez Cabeza de Vaca; a Spanish nobleman named Alonso del Castillo Maldonado; a young explorer named AndrÃ©s Dorantes de Carranza; and Dorantesâ€™s Moroccan slave, Mustafa al-Zamori, whom the three Spaniards called Estebanico. These four survivors would go on to make a journey across America that would transform them from proud conquis-tadores to humble servants, from fearful outcasts to faith healers.
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The Moorâ€™s AccountÂ brilliantly captures Estebanicoâ€™s voice and vision, giving us an alternate narrative for this famed expedition. As the dramatic chronicle unfolds, we come to understand that, contrary to popular belief, black men played a significant part in New World exploration and Native American men and women were not merely silent witnesses to it. In Laila Lalamiâ€™s deft hands, Estebanicoâ€™s memoir illuminates the ways in which stories can transmigrate into history, even as storytelling can offer a chance for redemption and survival.

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Manufacturer Vintage
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-09-09
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Vintage
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-09-09
Format	Kindle eBook

The Moor's Account: A Novel

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