I've finally finished reading this novel!
After reading 'The House of the Spirits' a few years ago I have been an avid reader of Isabel Allende. I haven't however found any in the same style, until now.
Yes, it was interesting reading autobiographical work such as 'Paula' and short stories from 'Eva Luna' but I love the family saga style novels best and this met all my expectations.
In 'The Island under the Sea' we journey with Zarite, who weaves a tale of slavery across generations and continents. Zarite is a strong central character who shows amazing strength and love in times of crisis. There are also fun, colourful characters such as the loveable rogue 'Sancho' and characters that are so perfectly human in that they are complex and flawed such as Valmorian.I felt a range of emotions towards this character as the book progressed, disgust, anger, and pity to name just a few.
The story is initially set in Haiti and I found the historical details about the revolution fascinating to read about. Later the story moves to New Orleans and suddenly the French link to the city made sense!
This is a good old fashioned proper story and I can't recommend it enough.
Of course you don't have to read it in Spanish!
Every year as a child my parents always used to ask me what I wanted for Christmas and every year was the same. Book tokens! I think my mindset has changed slightly now though as no way would I pay full price for a book. I love the charity shop collections and prefer to read something slightly off beat than a blockbuster that everyone is reading.
So what to buy a bookworm for Christmas as well as book tokens?
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WoodenNickelsJewelry Themed jewelry that tells a story |
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| EpicDesignsDecor Wall art, graphics, stickers, home decor vinyl |
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| RunningInPlace Handmade Scrabble® tile jewelry pendants and more! |
I've never read any Isabel Allende before ... this sounds good, so I think I'm going to have to look it out at the library. I'm always torn on second-hand books ... it means I can have more (yay!! there's no such thing as too many books!) but I always feel vaguely guilty that I'm depriving the author of an income. Not guilty enough to stop, though ... we're lucky enough to have a charity bookstore close by, and it's one of my favourite places.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too many books! I agree whole heartedly.
ReplyDeleteHellloooo fellow book nerd! Some of my fave reads are always children's classics and new titles that are sure to BE classics. If you have not yet read, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate Di Camillo, put it on your list of reads! You will finish it in a sitting or two - not because it's super short, but because you'll want to keep following the main character, a bunny, who will capture your heart in a nano-second.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for featuring my necklace here. I'm honored to be among readers!