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. 


Back in Chile, she had heard stories about the Winnipeg, a steamer which docked at Valparaiso in 1939 with 2200 Spanish immigrants fleeing the country in fear of General Franco's right-wing regime. Victor Casado was one of the passengers on board; at the ripe old age of 103, he began recounting his story to Allende, who wrote a book about a man named Victor Dalmau closely based on Casado's years in exile.


Victor Dalmau is a taciturn young man attending medical school in Barcelona in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. When his brother is killed fighting the Nationalists, he sets out with his mother and Roser, his brother's pregnant widow on an arduous trek across the border to France. Peace is elusive to this harried family as they are chased from one country to another by revolutionaries and dictators. Struggling to find a safe anchor, Victor and Roser eventually find a home, only that it is in each other.


Thrown together by misfortune, Victor and Roser inspire me with their indomitable spirit to thrive where life flings them. I only wished the book was a bit longer; 312 pages seemed too small to contain nearly five decades of history. 


The lyrics from a song by Elvis Presley seemed apt to sum up this book:


Home is where the heart is

And my heart is anywhere you are

Anywhere you are is home


Add to your Goodreads list

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing the BookGurus!

-
Image
Today's post is rather special; joining us today on The Seaside Library are book bloggers Saloni Porwal and Vibhiksha Yadav! Saloni and Vibhiksha write book reviews and other enticing articles for their blog,  BookGuru . Read on to know more about them and how their brainchild came to be! Tell me more about the three of you. How did you come upon the idea of creating a book blog?  Saloni-  I started writing a book in 2020, but I didn’t plan properly and I couldn’t write as well as I wanted to. I have always been a bookworm and since I knew a little about blogging, I decided to start a blog and post book reviews so that I could practise writing. I didn’t think it would grow so much back then.  Vibhiksha-  I got into reading because of Saloni and when she started a blog, I started helping her at first and then became a part of the blog.  How was your initial blogging experience?  Saloni- Initially, I was doing it just for f un. I didn’t intend for it to have actual viewers. I didn’t
Read more

Little Women

-
Image
Author: Louisa May Alcott Acquired in: 2019 The book that enthralled many youngsters over more than a hundred years and has been adapted into award-winning films, Little Women is a well-loved classic that everyone should at least read once. Set in the American Civil War, the book tells how a mother and her four daughters, each with polar temperaments, deal with the hardships that wartime presents. The March sisters; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, are young girls striving to fulfil their dreams. But dreams aside , the older sisters work to provide for the family, albeit grudgingly, for their jobs are not light or enjoyable. Beth stays at home, too shy to go to school, but determined to make home a happy place, assisted by kittens and dolls. Amy is just a child, who loves sweets and talking ' commy la fo'  ( comme il faut ) , and is especially concerned about her 'snub' nose and walks around with pins on her nose to make it Grecian. Over this medley, presides kind Mrs
Read more

The Authenticity Project

-
Image
Author: Clare Pooley Acquired in: July 2021 courtesy Amazon.in Once a famous artist, Julian Jessop feels lonely and forgotten in his old age despite living in a paradoxically bustling London suburb. The drudgery of living in a house with only his memories and art for company compels him to write a brief chronicle of his life in a little green book. Hoping that his story would inspire someone else to live a better life, he leaves the book in a café, unaware of the owner's watchful eye. This story could have ended when the shop owner, Monica, knocks on Julian's door with good intentions, but fate ensures that the book is already affecting many other people. What could happen when these virtual strangers turn up in one place, guided only by the stories they wrote? Julian, Monica and the others are not purely fictional characters; they represent you and me! How often do you feel disconnected from your friends and loved ones, even in this era of enhanced connectivity? I experienced
Read more