Isabel Allende, Trans. by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson
RaveThe Times-UnionThe scope is sweeping, the characters engaging and the storytelling a model of clarity infused with a ribbon of life-affirming romance, yet Isabel Allende’s A Long Petal of the Sea was at times a challenging experience for me. The discomfort arose because protagonist Victor Dalmau lives through not one but two historical instances, roughly 30 years and half a world apart, of deep societal division leading to armed conflict followed by years of repressive dictatorship ... Powering through the moments of familiarity-induced anxiety was well worth it: I got to experience a compelling and touching 60-year story of personal and political drama within the Spanish-speaking world ... The mix of foreshadowed and fully surprising events keeps the story compelling. The author’s sympathies lie with characters and policies that would broadly be called more progressive than conservative, but except for the few who are heartless or hopelessly corrupt, every character is a human with an array of character strengths and flaws ... Some contemporary historical novels at the literary end of the spectrum make a point of being cognitively challenging. A Long Petal of the Sea is distinctly not like that. The cast of characters is contained, everything you need to know about history to follow the plot is succinctly laid out, and when a character’s thoughts and motivations might be in doubt, the author explains them. For the hard-nosed realist, the limitations of human bodies and institutions are fully acknowledged. For the romantic, there are plenty of threads and episodes to enjoy. A Long Petal of the Sea is a substantial and rewarding book that isn’t hard reading.
