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A Long Petal of the Sea

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A Long Petal of the Sea
First edition (Plaza & Janés)
AuthorIsabel Allende
Original titleLargo pétalo de mar
TranslatorNick Caistor
Amanda Hopkinson
LanguageSpanish
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherPlaza & Janés
Publication date
2019
Publication placeSpain
Published in English
2020
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages384
ISBN978-1-9848-9916-3 (hardback)
LC ClassPQ8098.1.L54 L36 2019
Preceded byIn the Midst of Winter 
Followed byVioleta 

A Long Petal of the Sea (Spanish: Largo pétalo de mar) is a 2019 novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende. Originally published in Spain by Plaza & Janés, it was first published in the United States by Vintage Espanol.[1] The novel was issued in 2019 in Spanish as Largo pétalo de mar, and was translated into English by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson. Told through fictional characters in the context of real historical events,[2][3] the story takes place partly during the Spanish Civil War and partly in Chile where the protagonists again witness the fight between freedom and repression.[4] A Long Petal of the Sea became the most popular book in Spain between April 2019 and April 2020.[5]

Plot

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During the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona, Victor Dalmau has left his medical studies to help the Republicans against the Fascist forces of General Franco. His brother, Guillem, is also a Republican soldier, but he dies in the Battle of Ebro. Victor has to seek the help of his Basque friend, Aitor Ibarra, to send his mother Carme and Guillem's common-law wife, Roser, to France, as the victory of Franco's forces is becoming more and more certain. Carme, believing she will burden her family's future prospects in France, disappears before leaving Spain. Roser is pregnant with Guillem's child, and after finding asylum in France, gives birth to a boy named Marcel, after Guillem and Victor's father.

After many trials, Victor reunites with Roser in France and reveals that Guillem has died. They hear that Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda, is going to take a certain number of Spanish refugees to Chile. Desperate to grab the chance, Victor and Roser get married reluctantly to qualify for the journey. They embark on this journey, but migration to the new country is not the end of their problem, and there again they are forced to witness the fight between freedom and repression, which seems to be a neverending war.

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the novel received a cumulative "Positive" rating based on 20 reviews: 8 "Rave" reviews, 8 "Positive" reviews, 3 "Mixed" reviews, and 1 "Pan" review.[6] Marcela Davison Avilés of NPR admires the "gifted stories" of Allende, noting that "A Long Petal of the Sea is a love story for these times. But it's not a story beholden to any era. Its call is immutable, like Neruda's hope".[7] The Observer praises the skill with which Allende tells a story of "displacement", "a theme sharpened by her own life story".[2] In her review for The New York Times, Paula McLain highlights the themes of this novel: "there is the sense that every human life is an odyssey, and that how and where we connect creates the fabric of our existence: the source of our humanity".[8] Kirkus Reviews praises Allende's storytelling skill: "Allende tends to describe emotions and events rather than delve into them, and she paints the historical backdrop in very broad strokes, but she is an engaging storyteller".[9]

References

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  1. ^ Ahuile, Leylha (28 June 2019). "Isabel Allende Examines the Impact of Immigration". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Hephzibah (2 February 2020). "A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende review – love on the run from Franco". The Observer. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. ^ DavidsonWriter, Denise (26 January 2020). "Isabel Allende weaves a tale of love and displacement in 'A Long Petal of the Sea'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. ^ "A Long Petal of the Sea". Penguin Random House Higher Education. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  5. ^ "'Largo pétalo de mar', de Isabel Allende, libro más popular del último año". www.diariodeibiza.es. EFE. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Book Marks reviews of A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, Trans. by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson". Book Marks. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  7. ^ Davison Avilés, Marcela (27 January 2020). "'A Long Petal Of The Sea' Finds Love In A Time Of Chaos". NPR. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  8. ^ McLain, Paula (20 January 2020). "Pablo Neruda Saved Thousands of War Refugees. Isabel Allende Imagines Two of Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  9. ^ "A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende ; translated by Nick Caistor & Amanda Hopkinson". Kirkus Reviews. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
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