Isabel Allende

The poems in this collection by critically-acclaimed Chilean poet, editor and human rights activist Marjorie Agosin reflect her deep-rooted passion for nature, for life, and for being. Agosin creates a world where everything touches the sea and is, in turn, touched by it -- a simple world where when her son is born she asks for 'a flower, a light, a glass of water'. From the child who 'discovers the sky' in water to the young couple who promised to be 'a single branch of water, one single stream', to the old women 'making their way toward the sea...to dissolve in the beat of the waves', Agosin fills her world with people who can 'carry the scents of the river and the sign of the water'. Bilingual edition -- text in both English and Spanish.

Isabel Allende’s powerful tale of one boy’s escape from the slums of Los Angeles. This magnificent novel tells the story of Gregory Reeves, the son of Charles, an itinerant preacher. As a boy, Gregory accepts the endless journeying and poverty which is his family’s lot, never questioning the validity of his father’s homespun philosophy of life – the Infinite Plan. But, as manhood approaches, Gregory finds himself increasingly possessed by a yearning to escape. Hankering after worldly wealth, he longs to break away from the barrio, the teeming Hispanic ghetto of downtown Los Angeles where his family has finally settled. Gregory’s quest, so different from his father’s, takes him first to the killing fields of Vietnam, and thence to law school at Berkeley from where he pitches headlong into a hedonistic pursuit of the American Dream…

Isabel Allenden edellinen teos Henkien talo oli maailmanmenestys. Rakkaus ja varjo vahvistaa hänen asemansa rikkaan latinalaisamerikkalaisen perinteen välittäjänä sekä Chilen historian ja nykypäivän kuvaajana. Nuori toimittaja Irene Beltrán pestaa apulaisekseen Francisco Lealin, työttömän psykologin. Tämä tapahtuma muodostuu käännekohdaksi Irenen elämässä: siitä alkaa muutosten sarja, kasvu yhteiskunnalliseen tietoisuuteen – ja rakkauteen. Raju havahtuminen diktatuurin kulissien takaiseen todellisuuteen käynnistää myös sisäisen vallankumouksen. Irene vieraantuu entisestä maailmankatsomuksestaan – ja rakastetustaan Gustavosta, sotilaasta. Irene ja Francisco elävät keskellä värikästä ihmisjoukkoa: heidän rakkaustarinaansa lomittuu muita tarinoita, joissa vilisee suvun sekopäitä, lehtimaailman kummajaisia, sivukatujen pikkupaholaisia, viisaita kansanihmisiä, sotilaita ja aatetovereita. Kaiken hilpeyden ja leikinlaskun takaa avautuu toinen todellisuus: epätoivon Chile, jossa perheet hajoavat ja ihmiset katoavat… Pelkoa ja surua vahvemmaksi kasvaa kuitenkin rakkaus – voima, jolla on elämä puolellaan. Tässä romaanissa riemu kuplii ja todellisuus saa sädehtivät värinsä unesta, tarusta, fantasiasta… Isabel Allende puolustaa väkevästi pienen ihmisen suurta unelmaa.

I San Francisco i 1866 føder en irsk nonne, latt i stikken etter et brennhett forhold til en chilensk aristokrat, en datter som hun gir navnet Emilia del Valle. Emilia vokser opp hos en kjærlig stefar og blir en selvstendig tenkende ung kvinne. Hun vil ut i verden, og vender seg til journalistikken. Da hun får muligheten til å dekke en borgerkrig i Chile. Hun griper den, og det samme gjør kollegaen Eric … I Chile møter Emilia sin egentlige far og fordyper seg i den voldelige konflikten i landet der hun har sine røtter. Samtidig som Eric og hun finner kjærligheten, eskalerer krigen, og Emilia befinner seg i ekstrem fare. Frykten for å miste livet får henne til å stille spørsmål ved sin identitet og skjebne.

I San Francisco i 1866 føder en irsk nonne, latt i stikken etter et brennhett forhold til en chilensk aristokrat, en datter som hun gir navnet Emilia del Valle. Emilia vokser opp hos en kjærlig stefar og blir en selvstendig tenkende ung kvinne. Hun vil ut i verden, og vender seg til journalistikken. Da hun får muligheten til å dekke en borgerkrig i Chile. Hun griper den, og det samme gjør kollegaen Eric …I Chile møter Emilia sin egentlige far og fordyper seg i den voldelige konflikten i landet der hun har sine røtter. Samtidig som Eric og hun finner kjærligheten, eskalerer krigen, og Emilia befinner seg i ekstrem fare. Frykten for å miste livet får henne til å stille spørsmål ved sin identitet og skjebne.

In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires. Together with two thousand other refugees, they embark on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda, to Chile: ?the long petal of sea and wine and snow.? As unlikely partners, they embrace exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning, and over the course of their lives, they will face trial after trial. But they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they will be exiles no more. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along. A masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile, and belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea shows Isabel Allende at the height of her powers.