A Ballad of Love and Glory

Grande (Across a Hundred Mountains) melds war and romance in this historical novel. The annexation of Texas in 1845 and the dispute over the Río Grande as its border set the Mexican-American War into motion, throwing this cast of characters together. Tejanos that fought with the Texans to gain the state’s independence often found themselves forced from their land in the new republic. The Irish fleeing the potato famine found themselves oppressed by U.S. Yankees. Whatever ruling power was in control promised the oppressed glory if they fought for their cause. This cause brought together Ximena, a Mestizo widow, and John Riley, an Irish expatriate disenfranchised by life in the U.S. army. Narrator Yareli Arizmendi brings Ximena to life, voicing her Spanish-accented English to achieve authenticity and bring listeners into the story as though they are there in Ximena’s presence. The other narrator, Aidan Kelly, has a brogue that conjures John’s Ireland into existence even in arid Mexico, and he delivers Spanish phrases equally well.