isabel allende a long petal of the sea review

Characters are so well-defined and blended so smoothly, readers will find themselves checking to see who is real and who is fictional. Their life becomes entangled in the shifting political winds of Chile they encounter new friends and lovers, and as they age, they discover a true love for each other.Īllende, 77, burst onto the literary scene in 1982 with her novel “The House of Spirits” (which Hulu is making into a television series).Īlthough she is well-known for magic realism in novels such as “Eva Luna,” “A Long Petal of The Sea,” Allende’s 17th novel, refrains from the genre in favor of an historical telling of politics and cultural upheaval in Spain and Chile. He becomes a cardiologist and she, a pianist, music teacher and conductor. In Chile, while lamenting their lost life in Spain, Victor and Roser carve out a platonic life together, raising Roser’s son and pursing their individual passions. Winnipeg, a ship chartered by Neruda that, in real life as World War II was breaking out, carried 2,000 refuges to Chile. Expected delivery to the United States in 8-13 business days. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.Ī masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile, and belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea shows Isabel Allende at the height of her powers.Bound together by honor and family, they marry in order to be taken as refugees aboard the S.S. A Long Petal of the Sea : A Novel 4.06 (84,493 ratings by Goodreads) Paperback English By (author) Isabel Allende, Translated by Nick Caistor, Translated by Amanda Hopkinson US14.27 US17.00 You save US2.73 Free delivery worldwide Available.

Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Starting over on a new continent, they face trial after trial, but they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they might go home. Together with two thousand other refugees, Roser and Victor embark for Chile on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda: 'the long petal of sea and wine and snow.' As unlikely partners, the couple embraces exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires.

Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Esquire - Good Housekeeping - Parade 'One of the most richly imagined portrayals of the Spanish Civil War to date, and one of the strongest and most affecting works in long career.'- The New York Times Book Review NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The House of the Spirits, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.

Isabel allende a long petal of the sea review