59 pages • 1 hour read
María Amparo Ruiz De BurtonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
381
Novel • Fiction
California • 1870s
1885
Adult
18+ years
In The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz De Burton, William Darrell moves to San Diego in 1872 to legally settle contentious lands, while Don Mariano Alamar fights to protect his property from squatters; amid legal and ethical disputes, their families become intertwined through romances and financial struggles, highlighting the broader social and political challenges faced by Californios post-Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. References to racist policies, rhetoric, violence (including allusions to chattel enslavement), sexist attitudes, animal death, gun violence, and possible death by suicide are present in the book.
Romantic
Melancholic
Contemplative
Inspirational
Bittersweet
485 ratings
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Mixed feelings
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The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz De Burton is widely praised for its insightful depiction of social and racial tensions in post-Mexican-American War California. Reviewers commend its historical relevance and engaging narrative but note its occasional melodramatic tone and uneven pacing. Overall, it remains a significant work in American literature.
Readers who appreciate The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton will enjoy deeply layered historical fiction with themes of identity, land rights, and cultural conflict. Fans of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez will find this novel similarly engaging.
485 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
381
Novel • Fiction
California • 1870s
1885
Adult
18+ years
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