A Long Petal of the Sea
Author: Isabel Allende Acquired in: October 2021 Some of the best literature ever to grace our libraries was spawned by wars and the ensuing trauma. Memorials and remembrance days are the only things those born in peacetime have to remind themselves of life-altering moments of the past. Is it, then, possible for us to fathom how deep are the wounds inflicted by bereavement and suffering? This is where books like A Long Petal of the Sea become important - they take us back in time to relive life as it once was, in this case, amid national turmoil and partisan conflict. Isabel Allende is no stranger to displacement. The coup orchestrated by Auguste Pinochet in 1973 toppled the Chilean government and lead to the death of the former president Salvador Allende, spelling disaster for leftist sympathisers and relatives of the late president, including Isabel's family. Narrowly escaping the gallows, Allende made Venezuela her refuge for more than a decade before settling in California.