This novel examines the problems of Jews living in Mexico, a Catholic country. Memories of the 16th century Spanish Inquisition, which did send inquisitors to Mexico, are quite fresh in the minds of 19th century Jews, including Julio and Mariana. For 300 years, Mexican Jews had lived in secret, celebrating Shabbos and other Jewish rituals behind closed doors and covered windows. However, Julio and Mariana judge the social climate to be ripe for Jews to live openly in Mexico, and they give their son an obviously Jewish name: Zacharias. Their son disappoints them, however, by marrying a Catholic woman, Estela, and raising his children as Catholics.

The action in the book centers around Julio, who studies ancient Jewish texts while locked in his study, and Zacharias, a prospector who roams the Mexican hills looking for gold. Mariana and Estela are left to deal with the fallout of their husbands' activities as best they can. However, all four are central characters in the book, and their religious backgrounds define and challenge them in surprising ways. The book raises compelling questions about the relationship among one's duties to self, family, community and justice.

I give the book a rating for two reasons. First, it dealt with a subject matter I was unfamiliar with. I didn't realize there was such a long history of Jews in Mexico*. Second, it is engaging and well characterized. I wouldn't classify Alcala as a magical realist like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. The magic in this book is very different than the magic in Marquez or Allende's books. However, magic abounds.