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.“One of the most richly imagined portrayals of the Spanish Civil War to date, and one of the strongest and most affecting works in [Isabel Allende’s] long … works in [Isabel Allende’s] long career.”—The New York Times Book Review
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Esquire • Good Housekeeping • Parade
In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. 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. 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. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires.
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. 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. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. 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.
A 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.
Praise for A Long Petal of the Sea
“Both an intimate look at the relationship between one man and one woman and an epic story of love, war, family, and the search for home, this gorgeous novel, like all the best novels, transports the reader to another time and place, and also sheds light on the way we live now.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Saints for All Occasions
“This is a novel not just for those of us who have been Allende fans for decades, but also for those who are brand-new to her work: What a joy it must be to come upon Allende for the first time. She knows that all stories are love stories, and the greatest love stories are told by time.”—Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author of Let the Great World Spin
more
Allende marries the fictional and the historical in lush, sprawling epics. A Long Petal of the Sea takes its place in the unparalleled canon she has created, exploring the sacrifices we make for the sake of those we love, and the love we sacrifice for the sake of our families.
Isabel Allende is a grand storyteller who writes with surpassing compassion and insight. Her place as an icon of world literature was secured long ago. She will be celebrated, by readers and writers alike, for generations to come.
“A Long Petal of the Sea” by Isabel Allende is gorgeous historical fiction. Allende’s title of her new novel is from a line in a Pablo Neruda poem about Chile: “the long petal of sea and wine and snow”. Allende’s poetic title foreshadows that this masterful historical fiction is interwoven with soulful and poetic depictions of characters and the geography of the world that surrounds them. There is deep rich writing with Allende, and it never becomes over-saturated nor soaked in overly sentimental prose; One never feels bogged down by the story or writing. Like Neruda’s poetry, there is a wistful resilience in her character portrayal and even mourning. This is a novel of resilience written in sheer beautiful language.
The novel starts in Spain during the Spanish Civil war and traverses time and locale over 55 years. Against the backdrop of political upheaval, Allende creates an absorbing, intriguing and intimate story of the main characters, Roser and Victor. This is a narrative that slowly unfolds with the classic Allende mysterious aura. Her novel is a tale with unavoidable themes of loss, resilience, upheaval, repression and freedom of the individual and collective as the historical fiction takes place amongst the backdrop of Franco’s fascist regime and Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile.
Allende is one of my favorite writers, and there is always a larger-than-life magic in her writing. While this is historical fiction, Allende’s prose always expresses with the artist’s brush of magic in her use of language, details and even lack of details. The author has the reader fundamentally answer the most critical question in life: “where is home?” Is home a locale, a country, roots or is it in the self? History, itself, has created the tension for this novel, yet, it is Allende’s genius at writing that cultivates a dramatic subtlety that will not allow the reader to elude the question of “where is home?” And if “home” is in the self how do we betray and become confused on the journey? Allende’s message of resilience, circumstance and fate reveals itself to confirm that no matter how severe life’s circumstances can be, home is always in the heart.
This book jumps its way into my all time top ten. I enjoy Isabella Allende’s writing style along with the powerful character development she entwines with history and fiction to make for a truly amazing book. I can’t wait to get another of her books.
A great evening reading.
I could not get into it. To, allende’s writing is dry and uninteresting.
This book traces a family (a man, a good family friend, and her son by his dead brother – they marry as an act of convenience) as they flee from Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War), evenutally migrating to Chile’ and building a life there, until Pinochet’s junta, where they have to flee again, but eventually are able to return. They suffer great hardships but have the ability together to rebound from their losses. It’s a thought-provoking tale that highlights many injustices in the world and the people that promulgate them and the people that fight them. It is well-written and easy to read, but didn’t quite go to the 5-star level for me.
Another beautiful story by Isabel Allende. From the first page you step right into her world. I’ve never been to Chile, but I feel like I have. I’ve never met these characters, but I feel as if I’ve known them forever.
This is the best book of Allende’s I’ve read since the remarkable House of the Spirits. As in that story, we learn about Chilean history and probably some of the backstory of Allende’s own life in a narrative that tracks the ragtag remnants of a family of fugitives from the Spanish Civil War who flee to Chile only to face similar struggles. Allende skillfully juggles characters who take to the accidential situation and compromises of their new homeland in different ways–grateful and accepting or resentful and always comparing what could have been. Over several decades they build new lives and realize –some sooner than later–that actions do speak louder than regrets and that the country you fight in, the people you struggle with, the people you marry versus pine for, the children you raise (even if not strictly your own) have actually become the roots of a life stronger than those in the fantasy of your memory. It’s a powerful story of identity, patriotism, love,and family with an ending that is as upflifting as it is sad: realization in retrospect with hope for the future. When I first read the story I thought it was simply a skillful historical fiction novel, but I found I couldn’t stop thinking about it as a brilliant “source story” for how a country is built from the misfits and outcasts of others. Certainly one we can fully identify with from both our country’s past and turblent present.
READING PROGRESS
An excellent read!
I highly recommend.
This book is a fascinating look at history spanning fifty years of Victor Dalmau’s life. He was a young doctor in the Spanish Civil War who fled to a concentration camp in France. Together with Roser his brother’s pregnant wife, they take a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda and sail to Chile where they settle.
Although fiction, it is written in a non-fictional style and is rich in true historical events surrounding the main characters of Victor and Roser. The horror of the Spanish Civil War is played out from Victor’s point of view from the brutal conditions of the war zone to the struggle for survival and escape. I knew little of this war and was fascinated to learn more.
‘Hundreds of thousands of terrified refugees were escaping to France, where a campaign of fear and hatred awaited them. Nobody wanted these foreigners – Reds, filthy, deserters, delinquents, as the French press labeled them… No-one imagined that within a few days there would be almost half a million Spaniards, in the last stages of confusion, terror and misery, clamouring for the border.’
The skill of Allende is that she is able to transport us through history, teaching and enlightening us about Spain, Chile and also Venezuela, putting us into the lives of the characters so that we know their fear, their pain and their anxiety. Yet despite the tragedies, there is love. And the love which grows between Victor and Roser is beautifully done.
Other characters such as the Del Solar family reflect the class divide between rich and poor in Chile, a legacy still felt today in this troubled country. Characters such as Ofelia Del Solar who tries to escape her domineering father, Victor’s friend Aitor who helps Roser, Victor’s mother Carme, Juana the nanny; each have their own stories weaved throughout the narrative of Victor and Roser’s life.
Some might be put off by the expositional style of writing but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s easy to read, highly enlightening and sweeps you along. Give it a go.
Not nearly as good as most of her other books.
Historically fascinating.
Outstanding
Allende writes beautifully and poetically. I really liked the quotes from Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet.
The characters were believable and there were many ironic twists that made this book relatable.
Amazing, as she always seems to be. Great story
I bought this novel because I’ve liked the author in the past and because I wanted to learn more about the political situations in South America. I was not disappointed. I loved it.
In this book, I wanted more character driven story than history. I did learn things about this part of the world, but half the history would have been enough to carry the story. Allende’s writing is clear and to the point, which make it interesting reading.
Loved this book! Highly recommended.
Isabel Allende was one of my favorite authors years ago. Her early books introduced me to magical realism, and I loved that style. I was disappointed when she branched out and I had not read anything by her in a long time. A Long Petal of the Sea, (as Chile is known), is an historical novel about the Spanish Civil War and Republican refugees who crossed the Pyrenees to France to escape Franco, ultimately immigrating to Chile on the SS Winnipeg, a boat commissioned by Pablo Neruda. It is an entirely different kind of book than Eva Luna and its companions, but no less rewarding. Allende has a detailed knowledge of Chile’s history and prominent characters including Neruda, Salvador Allende and Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin. Her descriptions of war, Fascism and class politics are fascinating, and I came away with a much better understanding of the roles that both the US and various South American countries played in these conflicts.