القليل من الحب والكثير الكثير من الظلال

رواية متكاملة فيها كل اوجه الحياة لم تتحدث فيها ايزابيل الليندي عن وجه واحد
الكثير من الشخصيات الكثير من اللحظات الغريبة التي تم تسليط الضوء عليها والانتقال الى سواها بمنتهى السلاسة

هذا ما احببته في اسلوب ايزابيل الليندي التي وياللاسف اقرأ لها للمرة الاولى

احببت كيف تنتقل من حكاية لاخرى من شخصية لاخرى من زمن لاخر بسلاسة يجب ان تعلم

يشبه اسلوبها جدا ماركيز وهذا ما لاحظته ولاني احببت ماركيز منذ بداية القراءة احببت ايزابيل الليندي
لكن ايضا حدثت لي نفس المشكلة تخيلت انها قصة حب ولكني لم اجد الحب سوى رطوش بسيطة في خلفية الاحداث

سياسة واجتماعيات وسحر وتاريخ واحوال البلد واحوال المجتمع والبشر والصراعات والخذلان و و و و
كلها خليط معجون في حروف شكل هذه الرواية البسيطة المتكاملة في ذاتها


مدهش ان تجد كل هذا في عمل اقل من 300 صفحة

ما هذا الجمال؟ في كل مرة أقرأ لإيزابيل الليندي أنبهر بهذه القدرة على خلق عالم سحري، كل شخصية تستحق الاهتمام كالأخرى، كل شخصية حكاية متفردة. في هذه الرواية أسرتني اللغة العذبة الشجية، واندهشت لمدى التشابه بين حكايات الشعوب ومصائرها. للحظات شعرت أن الأبطال في مصر والقصة ليست بعيدة ولا صعبة التصديق.

Dietro alla storia d'amore Isabel Allende scrive, dal suo esilio in Venezuela, sostanzialmente un libro di denuncia nei confronti della dittatura del generale Pinochet. Racconta il meccanismo di repressione messo in atto dal regime e la nascita di una resistenza prima nascosta e poi sempre più manifesta.

Libro molto bello, emozionante e mai noioso.


"L'ardore di quel bacio non li abbandonò per molti giorni e riempì di fantasmi delicati le loro notti, lasciando il ricordo sulla pelle, come una bruciatura. La gioia di quell'incontro li rapiva, facendoli levitare per strada, li spingeva a ridere senza motivo apparente, li risvegliava concitati nel mezzo di un sonno. Si toccavano le labbra con la punta delle dita ed evocavano esattamente la forma della bocca dell'altro."

This is Isabel Allende's second novel. Her first, The House of Spirits, is deeply immerse in the Magic Realism style of the masters of the genre. This one, also Magic Realism, has a more urban tone, setting a style that would become prevalent later, when English-speaking writers took over the genre.

The book at its core is a love story, one plagued by shadows. The shadows of the totalitarian military regimen imposed in Chile by Augusto Pinochet.

Many fans of Allende's first book, find this one lacking in magic. I don't agree with them. It's simply a different kind of magic. The magic in this book is of a more modern type, without so much lace and horses, but with a lot of motorcycles and journalists.

There's a heavy political tint in this book, an unfiltered view of what Chile was during the Dictadura, with clean, fenced rich neighborhoods, surrounded by misery, and nothing in between. As readers we travel from one of those fancy houses to a small shack in the country where a family's younger daughter has been kidnapped, raped and buried by soldiers. Everyone knows what happened, but no one will do anything, except for Irene Beltran and Francisco Leal, a young journalist daughter of a Chilean Socialite and a young, idealist photographer son of Spanish immigrants.

They will discover a mass clandestine grave, and expose Pinochet to the world (as if the world was not just pretending not to see). In the process they will fall in love and become exiles, escaping in the shadows, trying to reach the safety of a neutral country, one that would not simply return them to the hands of the Chilean military.

In my opinion this book is as much of a master piece as The House of Spirits, but it's also much harder to read for the violence it contains, while not explicit, it's just too real. I love Allende's styles full of regionalisms and landscape, full of hope, despite the fact that as the niece of Salvador Allende, the president assassinated by Pinochet, she has lived her life in Exile, just as Irene and Francisco.

D’amore e ombra è il primo libro di questa scrittrice che affronto, è stata una scoperta ma mi ha un po’ deluso, avevo aspettative molto alte, ma qualcosa mi ha lasciato insoddisfatta. Sicuramente non si tratta di un libro facile, a primo impatto soprattutto, la sua scrittura richiede molta attenzione e concentrazione, perché se si salta un passaggio, si perde qualcosa di importante. La prima parte risulta essere molto lenta, mentre le altre due si divorano in breve tempo. La storia è molto bella, intensa e toccante ma lo stile un po’ meno; anche il fatto che non ci fossero capitoli, ma direttamente della parti molto consistenti, mi ha reso la lettura un po’ difficoltosa

I'm gonna explore what I've never done before--all the works of a single author. Can't think of another writer I'd rather journey with.

This was soo bad! A couple of times I thought, why is this written in this way and what does it add to the story, it was gross and handeld sensitive topics with not enough care, like incest, rape, ...

1 ⭐️

لا أحد يكتب مثل ايزابيل.

Indiscutiblemente Isabel Allende es el regalo literario más valioso de Iberoamérica, algunos dirán que prefieren a García Márquez y que el ha ganado el Nobel, y aunque me llamen Feminista yo me quedo con Isabel.

Ambientada en un país latino después del golpe militar Isabel muestra las diferentes facetas del amor, del odio, de la política y del amor a la patria.

Si les hablo de que me gusto o no el libro, pues si me gusto puesto que puedo percibir no solo la historia sino que siendo ya el tercer libro que leo de la autora puedo percibir cosas propias de ella, como por el ejemplo lo mucho que esta marcada Isabel por haber salido exiliada de su país. Y presiento que en sus próximos libros encontrare algo más sobre esto.

La historia de Irene no es solo conmovedora sino que te muestra cuan difícil es el cambio para el ser humano pero también muestra que cuando es necesario tomar una importante decisión, si tomas la correcta no te arrepientes sin importar lo que suceda.

Sin contarles mucho de la historia, Irene es una periodista que ha vivido siempre al margen de todos los problemas, su buena posición económica han sido uno de los factores que contribuyeron a esa ceguera.

Por diversas circunstancias Irene descubre que el mundo no es tan agradable como lo ha creído siempre, y junto a Francisco el fotógrafo, destapa un secreto militar que la llevan al borde del abismo, literalmente.

Y entre las sombras de los problemas políticos y los descubrimientos se entrelaza en la vida de Irene el amor, un amor como el que ella nunca ha conocido y justo en el momento mas oscuro de su vida lo que hace que sea palpable en cada momento.

No quiero contar mas detalles de la historia, pero puedo decirles que es un excelente libro, la narrativa de Allende es hermosa, tiene un juego de castellano magnifico; narrada en tercera persona omnisciente la novela te traslada a otro tiempo y otro espacio por el maravilloso lenguaje y las vueltas inesperadas de la historia.

Excelente, totalmente recomendable.

También hay una película basada en el libro, si encuentro forma de verla les cuento que tal la adaptación.

I pretty much love everything Isabel Allende writes!! This book is about the awakening of a young, privileged woman to the hardships of the poorer classes in the country in which she lives - an unnamed Latin American country that bears an amazing resemblance to Allende's native Chile. There's a revolution in most of Allende's books, and a love story, too. Probably La Casa de Los Espiritus will always be my favorite, but I really loved this book, too.

مراجعـة روايـة الحـب والظـلال
للمؤلفة إيزابيل الليندي
ترجمة الراحل صالح علماني
طبعة دار مسكلياني للنشر والتوزيع
عدد الصفحات 322
 الشراء من @234 .
مقـدمـة:
وكما هي العادة التي ربما باتت مألوفة إلى حد كبير لدى قراء الليندي في أن يرونها تسرد أحداث التاريخ لزمن عاصرته حول مسقط رأسها، ولن تغفل حتماً من أن تضع لن�� هذه الحكاية في إطار الثالوث الرئيسي لرواياتها ( الهجرة ، الظلم ، الحب ).
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الـروايـة :
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تدور أحداث الرواية في ثلاثة أقسام ( ربيع آخر، الظلال، الوطن العذب ) ونرى تتقاطع قصص عدة عوائل في هذه الرواية إلا أن أبطالها الاساسيين ( إيرين و فرانثيسكو ) إيرين فتاة جميلة  ومخطوبة من غوساتفو الذي يعمل في الجيش وهي تعمل صحفية في مجلة وتتميز بذكائها الشديد أما فرانثيسكو الذي تعود أصوله إلى أحد العوائل الشيوعية والمولع بالتصوير فإنه يلجا للبحث عن وظيفة مصور فـ يلتقي بالبطلة. .
بالرجوع للعوائل المتشعبة في الرواية وتحديداً لعائلة آل فلوريس  تبدأ الأحداث في التشويق والتسارع عندما تختفي إيفانخلينا تلك الفتاة المتبناة  للعائلة والتي تعاني من اضطراب حيث تقوم بالاعتداء على ضابط الجيش الذي داهم منزل العائلة وتتسبب في إحراجه أمام بقية الضباط مما يترتب عليه لاحقاً القبض عليها ولكنها لا تظل في الحبس بل تخرج منه ولا تعود للمنزل فأين ذهبت؟! وهل ستتمكن إيرين فرانثيسكو من العثور عليها؟ ما السر الذي سيصلان إليه أثناء بحثهم ؟! وما المخاطر التي ستحيط بهم من وراء ذلك؟ وهل سيتمكنان من النجاة من كل ذلك؟! وكيف سيولد ذلك الحب وسط كل ذلك الظلال؟!هذا ما أدعه لك عزيزي القارئـ /ـة لتتعرف عليه من خلال قراءتك للرواية. .
التقييم:
رواية رائعة ومليئة بالشخصيات والأحداث رتيبة قليلاً في بدايتها إلا أنها ستمسك بك بشكل محكم لإتمامها ما أن تصل لبداية تصاعد الأحداث، استمتعت بقراءتي لها رغم أنه قد قرأت كتابين آخرين قبل أن أكملها ولكن ذلك لم يفسد علي الاحداث . أمنـح هذه التجربة الجميلـة

I carry our nation wherever I go, and the oh-so-far-away essences of my elongated homeland live within me. - Pablo Neruda

Earlier this year I rediscovered the magic of Isabel Allende when I savored every page of her new book Long Petal of the Sea. A return to her roots, the book with the sparkling blue cover paid homage to her homeland, an element that had been missing from most of her recent books, that she has written while living in California. Currently, one of my book clubs is reading this new opus, and I am participating in the discussion, more as an Allende “expert” than a current reader, filling the other readers in with the gaps they may have missed by not reading her other masterful works. A spark lit in me to read more about the story that is 20th century Chile. If Long Petal of the Sea glorifies the land that Spanish refugees must have felt after arriving after the Civil War, then Of Love and Shadows uncovers the corruption and brutality of the military regime that overtook the nation three decades later. Of Love and Shadows is a classic Allende story, the tale of the Chilean citizens of all walks of life brave enough to speak up against Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Irene Beltran had no reason to denounce the current government. She grew up the only child of upper class citizens Eusebio Beltran and Beatriz Alcántara and was promised to be married to her cousin army captain Gustavo Morante from the time that they were kids. The Beltran-Alcántara home was not as blissful as an upper class existence could be, the parents always fighting and detesting each other’s presence, Beatriz living in her own reality, and the housekeeper, the indefatigable Rosa running the home. Irene grew up doted on by her father, loved and cherished by Rosa, and was a mere presence in the life of her mother. Beatriz Alcántara cheered the military regime from day one, believing that the order of the institution would put down the insurrections foisted upon Chile by the previous communist run government. Living in a mansion, Beatriz was in her own bubble, oblivious to the long lines to buy basic staples and the desaparecidos who the military had no knowledge of where they went. As long as she had her wealth and luxurious lifestyle, Beatriz would support the dictatorship. Irene had other ideas; she decided to become a journalist, opening her eyes to the atrocities going on in both Santiago and country. Beatriz, ensconced in her mansion, had no idea the depths and breaths of her daughter’s profession. She believed that her daughter was of good stock and that she would marry Gustavo Morante, furthering the family’s good name.

In her heart of hearts, Beatriz Alcántara did love her daughter to desire that she bettered herself in life, which is why she looked down upon the profession of journalism as middle class. All parents want the best for their children, especially the Leal family, who had escaped Spain in the throes of war and made a new home for themselves in Chile, which connects Of Love and Shadows to Long Petal of the Sea through a web of motifs that crop up throughout Allende’s writing. Professor Leal found a job teaching at the university, and his wife Hilda ran an impeccable home, loving her three sons from the bottom of her heart. While she had much pride in her older sons Javier and Jose, the biggest place in her heart was for her son Francisco. The two enjoyed the opposite relationship of that of Beatriz and Irene, and, while the Leal home was not opulent, it permeated with love. It was Hilda who encouraged Francisco to try his hand at photography when his psychology clinic faltered, as though she could tell in the stars what the future held for her beloved son. It is strong peripheral female characters like Hilda and Rosa who permeate Allende’s writing and set the wheels in motion for an epic story.

As fate would have it, Francisco Leal went to work at the magazine where Irene Beltran was a prominent journalist. He grew smitten with her from day one, another element to the best of Allende’s stories: forbidden romance. Irene, initially holding her emotions close to the best, requests that Francisco photograph all of her stories. After covering the story of Evangelina Ranquileo, a fifteen year old country girl who is known to have healing powers, the new couple witnesses atrocities perpetuated by the military and are determined to bring the years of terror brought on by the dictatorship to light. The fate of Ranquileo and all those associated with her as well as countless other desaparecidos, cement the relationship of Francisco and Irene. Hilda and Rosa knew it was fate from day one, and only Beatriz remained oblivious to her daughter’s true station in life. To Beatriz Alcántara, her daughter was an upper class young woman betrothed to a military officer, not a magazine reporter who, along with her true love, was determined to take down a corrupt regime.

Of Love and Shadows is not for the faint of heart. Allende, the niece of deposed Chilean President Salvador Allende, wrote this book while in exile in Caracas, Venezuela. By that point, some of the brutality and atrocities brought on the people of Chile by the Pinochet regime had been exposed by brave journalists much like Irene Beltran. Allende herself, although she had already published House of the Spirits, had worked as a journalist and did not think of herself as an established author. Much of Irene Beltran’s story is her own, even some of the romantic elements. The peripheral characters who crop up, Allende knew people like all of them. The priests, lead by Francisco’s brother Jose, who ran a network to help political dissidents to escape; the hairdresser Mario, who has a colorful personality and is Irene’s biggest ally; the retired actress Josephine Bianchi, who treated Irene like her own daughter. These characters make up the backbone of this book, although none is as brave as Irene, making me appreciate Allende as a person before she became an established writer in an even greater light. With her family pedigree and chosen profession, it is a miracle that she survived in Pinochet’s Chile until the family went into exile, thankfully so that she could write the stories of her homeland.

Of Love and Shadows is another of Allende’s books that is her bread and butter, paying homage to the people and landscape that comprise the nation of Chile. Many of the exiles who denounced the military returned to Spain, some to the United States. The Allende family first moved to Venezuela, and then to California. While Isabel became well known as a writer after living in California for many years, her gold standard stories as the ones she wrote while she still considered Chile to be her permanent home. The same themes and motifs connect the stories that tell the tale of 20th century Chile, the consequences for those who immigrated, emigrated, remained, and left. While darker than Long Petal of the Sea, Of Love and Shadows is a brave story that had to be told. It is among one of Allende’s best that she wrote while exiled with one foot still in the nation that is the long petal of the sea at the end of the world.

4.5 stars