Book Review: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino

I, Juan de Parejais the story of a slave working for the famous artist Diego Velázquez. Juan experiences a gentle childhood followed by some rough years before finally coming to Velázquez's workshop. He soon becomes a necessity to the family and a great benefit to Velázquez in his artistic endeavors. Despite being prohibited from practicing art because of his slave status, Juan manages to become an excellent artist.

I thought this story was beautiful and terrible. It showed the kinds of extremes slaves felt (at least in Spain) experiencing sometimes the good and sometimes the horrible. Juan was portrayed so realistically and his struggles and limitations were very well expressed. And what an ending!

RATINGS:
s-factor: !
There may have been some, but not a lot.

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
Some cruelty in the treatment of slaves.

Overall rating: ****