The book begins in Spain, during the Civil War in the late 1930s. Victor Dalmau is a medic fighting for the Republican government, which ends up being overthrown by Francisco Franco and his Fascists. Roser is pregnant with Victor's brother's child, and she flees over the mountains into France.
They end up on a ship bound for Chili which has agreed to take some Spanish refugees. The ship has been chartered by Pablo Neruda, the famous poet. In order for Victor and Roser to be included on the ship, they must be married. So they get married, vowing to get a divorce as soon as possible. Turns out divorce is illegal in Chile, and anyway, Victor has vowed to be a father to his nephew, Marcel.
The rest of the book, ending in 1994, covers Victor's and Roser's lives, through repression, separations, government uprisings, friendships, and romances. All the time they hoped they could return to their beloved Spain at some point. (Franco didn't die until 1975.) I won't tell you if they ever did.
I feel rather stupid, because as a high school student I hosted an exchange student from Chile in early 1980, and had no idea of the political climate of that country. I don't remember asking her a thing about it. Who cares when you are 17 years old??? She wanted to be a journalist, and I do remember that it was probably a very dangerous career to choose at that time. I heard from her in 1982, and then never again...
I find Allende's use of the third person to be effective. Often, I have difficulty getting into the story if it isn't in the first person. But somehow, even with many passages about history, I find myself fascinated.
A Long Petal of the Sea is a long book (it seemed longer than 336 pages), but if you are interested in history and an epic family story, you will surely enjoy it.
Published by Ballentine, January 21, 2020
eARC obtained from NetGalley
336 pages
Rating: 4/5
The time period of this book is an interesting time in both Spain and Chile so I'm sure the historical nature of this novel was compelling.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I am also interested in this time period, and will check this book out! Thanks,
ReplyDeleteI know so little about South American history, I really should read this one. I just saw a comment the other day about this book that said it was for fans of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE and A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. Have you read either/both of those? Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteI have read All the Light. It’s the same style of book, but different time period. I can see the comparison, if you liked the writing.
ReplyDelete