A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel AllendeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Isabel Allende is one of those authors I've been meaning to read for years. She lives in the Bay Area, and her name seems to pop up all the time. I'm so glad to have finally read one of her books. She's a great writer. I love that she translates her own work, which is exceptionally rare. I love too that she is Chilean-American since my sister-in-law is Chilean and my nephew was born there, and I just don't feel like you read many stories that take place in or around Chile.
This book was a perfect follow-up to Ruta Sepetys' Fountains of Silence as it also deals with Franco Spain. This book, however, with an adult audience takes on a more broad discussion of nationalism and belonging as we follow the main characters as they are exiled from Spain to Chile. The reason this is four star read for me and not a five is that the same fire and engagement I felt at the beginning waned in the middle for me. It ended powerfully, but I felt like it meandered a bit. Still it's a sweeping saga of a story. It would make a great movie, and I love that Pablo Neruda is a character in the story. As Chile's seemingly most prolific poet, it was so interesting to learn more about him through Allende's eyes.
While this book has nothing to do with a pandemic, it still felt a little scary at times amidst current conditions. I only mention that for readers who are feeling more sensitive and need lighter reads for the time being.
As always, happy reading--
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