Esta historia comienza en el punto donde la del libro n  La casa de los espíritusn se concluye: durante el golpe militarde de 73 ocurrido en temporada del presidente Salvador Allende.
El cuento es la historia de una mujer y un hombre. La de dos personas normales basadas en una vida de ahorro: el amor de Francisco y Irene, dos jóvenes residentes en Chile.

Esta pareja al descubrir una mina abandonada, donde los militares ocultan los cuerpos de presos políticos muertos en el subsuelo del las cadenas chilenas, arriesgan sus vidas para salvar a los perseguidos. Francisco y Irene tratan de obtener fondos en manera de quitar los demás de el hambre. Sin embargo, aparte del rollo, sigue siendo una historia simple: una historia de amor entre un hombre y una mujer que es basada en la solidaridad y el altruismo.

Como todos los que aman la vida, se sentían inmortales
[ESP]
Admito que De amor y de sombra fue un libro al cual acudí sin expectativas (más bien, para cumplir con unas insignias de un grupo de lectura en el que estoy) y que terminó sorprendiéndome. Aunque el estilo narrativo de Allende me parece abrumador por momentos, ya que te hace una reflexión con la mayoría de los personajes independientemente si tienen un gran papel en la historia o no, he disfrutado la historia casi a totalidad.

En un país y ciudad no especificados, se desarrolla la historia de amor entre la intrépida y bohemia Irene, una periodista para una revista de mujeres que sirve de plataforma para personas vulnerables y Francisco, un joven revolucionario pero cauteloso que se encuentra en su camino en busca de trabajo. Todo esto ambientado en un régimen político/social con el que cualquier latinoamericano puede identificarse fácil lo hace una lectura interesante y profunda.

Un 3.5, porque quedé con ganas de conocer más sobre Francisco e Irene ♥~ y en momentos se me hizo demasiado largo.

[ENG]
I admit that De amor y de sombra was a book that I took without expectations (actually, it was to fulfil a reading challenge) and that ended up surprising me in a good way. Although I find Allende's narrative style overwhelming at times, as it makes you reflect on most of the characters regardless of whether they have an important role in the story, I enjoyed it almost entirely.

In an unnamed country and city, the love story unfolds between the brave and bohemian Irene, a journalist for a women's magazine that serves as a platform for vulnerable people, and Francisco, a young revolutionary but cautious who finds himself on his way in search of work. All this, set in a political/social regime with which any Latin American can easily identify, makes it an interesting and in-depth reading.

A 3.5, because I wanted to know more about Francisco and Irene ♥ ~ and at times it seemed too long

This book had a plot that absolutely fascinated me. Usually I am drawn into a book through characters, but in this case, I was attracted to the story itself. The characters are interesting and the author lends just enough history at appropriate intervals to give the reader an understanding of what makes each character "tick". Each character has their own "story" and it was fulfilling to learn about each of them.

On one level, this is a love story and in some sense, a bit of a forbidden love story. On another level, though, the story is about truth, justice, and freedom, and the suppression of these three things. I was drawn in because I wondered if I would act in the same way that the characters did or if I would be complacent out of fear. This story comes out of a Latin American country under military dictatorship, but it is also something that seems so possible in any given country's future, so the danger and fear is so touchable. This is a book that I had to put down at times--not out of boredom, but in order to allow myself time to separate from the intellectual overload that I found myself going through! What a surprise to find myself considering so many facets of the story!

Dopo aver letto "La casa degli spiriti" forse le mie aspettative erano un po' troppo alte per questo libro.
Devo dire che non mi è dispiaciuto: la trama tragica, i personaggi ben definiti e lo stile molto introspettivo fanno un buon libro, ma non è mai risvolto a prendermi fino in fondo. Probabilmente sarà stato che sono partita con davvero troppe aspettative e non mi sono goduta il libro come avrei potuto, ma non sono davvero riuscita ad appassionarmi.

Sufro porque no puedo leer lo que quiero. Sufro porque me da culpa leer por placer. Este libro me lo prestó la vecina, pensando que yo tendría "tiempo". No lo tuve. Pero lo busqué, me lo leí, y lo terminé.
n  

-Y ahora, amiga, cuéntame por qué estás triste.
-Porque hasta ahora he vivido soñando y temo despertar.

n
Felizmente no es nada de lo que pensé que sería. Con una narración que al principio me pareció enredada, y una historia que me dio la sensación de que iba más atrás que para adelante, creo que lo entendí.

Hace una reconstrucción completa de cada personaje que aparece en esta historia. No se deja nada afuera. Luego del problema de Evangelina es cuando la historia coge un poco de acción y se siente que avanza.

Es interesante cómo intercala las voces de cada personaje, presente y ausente, los recuerdos y los deseos, para entramar ese contexto que duele, que sulfura odio y que parece matar el amor.

Irene me costó entenderla. Se nos aparece muy de pronto, con una ingenuidad que roza la estupidez, una inocencia que no parece creíble en contexto, pero que en el momento que su cabeza hace clic cambia completamente.

Hay personas detestables y personajes entrañables. Penas y alegrías.

Lamento mucho la suerte de Gustavo (prometido de Irene). No parece mala persona y su único error fue dar por sentado su relación. Me dio mucha pena.

En fin, es recomendable, si se tiene paciencia, ningún apuro y un poco de curiosidad. No sabía que tenía película. Debo verla algún día.

High praise for this excellent novel from Allende. I have read several of her books, most recently Ines of My Soul, and I have enjoyed all of them but of the ones I have read, Of Love and Shadows is the best of the lot.

This is basically the story of Irene Beltran, the unconventional daughter of a wealthy family, and Francisco Leal, son of Spanish exiles, who are reporter and photographer for a women's magazine in an unnamed Latin American dictatorship. After doing a story on a young woman who apparently has some paranormal skills, they end up discovering a mass grave where the bodies of people tortured and murdered by the police have been dumped. As their love grows, Irene and Francisco struggle to bring the men responsible to justice. But can they prevail over the corrupt and immoral military dictatorship that is out to cover up the crimes?

Allende does a masterful job of painting this tapestry of a novel. She provides background on all of the major characters in the books so the reader feels as if they know them intimately. It was a great love story of Irene an Francisco portrayed against a very horrific background. Some of this was pretty hard to take but overall a wonderful novel that I would highly recommend!

Απογοητεύτηκα λιγάκι. Εντάξει, όμορφη γραφή, αλλά μια από τα ίδια, καμία έκπληξη. Κουραστικά φλύαρο στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος του και απίστευτα γρήγορο, σχεδόν περιληπτικά στις τελευταίες 40-50 σελίδες, σαν να μην ήξερε η συγγραφέας πώς να τελειώσει της ιστορία της.

Because I always enjoy and appreciate Isabel Allende, I wanted to read this earlier work of hers. I was not disappointed. This novel contains her signature (beautiful, tangible and terrifying) descriptions of Latin America, with, of course, a touch of magical realism. As always, there are interesting, wonderfully drawn characters, who experience daily life, desperation, terror, sadness and love - and always there is subtle humor. In this case, the characters include an unlikely young couple - she is upper class, a journalist and has been engaged for years to a military man, while he is a photographer. In following a news story, they discover egregious acts committed by the military government and bravely bring them to light (which of course puts their lives in danger). This may not be Allende’s best novel about the horrors of a military dictatorship (one of her best topics), but for me it checked all the “Allende boxes” and I very much enjoyed it.

Hace unos meses, cuando leí este libro, me encontré con algunas frases que, de cierta manera, me recordaron a la situación que se vive en Venezuela, así que aquí van:

El Cabo tenía razón y con el transcurso de los días y las semanas les sería mucho más fácil matar por la patria que morir por ella.

Justicia era solo un término olvidado del lenguaje que ya casi no se empleaba, porque tenía visos subversivos, como la palabra libertad.

Esos crímenes no podían quedar impunes, porque entonces la sociedad se iba al diablo y no tendría sentido haber tomado las armas para derrocar al gobierno anterior acusándolo de ilegalidad, si ellos mismos ejercían el poder fuera de toda ley y moral.

Había perdido sus ilusiones, convencido de que la dictadura no era una etapa provisoria del desarrollo, sino la etapa final en el camino de la injusticia.

Wonderfully written novel. The language is so lyrical that you enjoy it like a ballad. It's so real and touching that you see triumph, ecstasy, defeat and despair of those people in a land under a despotic regime and political hypocrisy. The book indeed draws a colorful picture so vivid and natural that it makes you think from a different perspective. 'Development' can not be at the cost of natural justice to people of the land, oppression and suppressed torments breeds violence in the long run. Wherever natural justice and freedom are hindered or denied in the name of 'development', there you see chaos in the end. It's a beautiful love story that leaves you scars and pain in your heart long after you've finished reading.
However I felt it strange and it left me surprised at times that Ms Allende slipped to a pulp-fiction-style on a few pages. But she has displayed control throughout, the mastery of a talented craftsman who carries clarity of perception.
She deserves to be recognized better.

Happy reading...

What to say about this. I began it yesterday evening, I finished it this afternoon. It is wonderful. Some beautuful descriptive phrases, tiny images which capture something powerful. Gatherings of water in cobbles being likened to shards of glass, the mouth of a cave in which lie horrors as of yet undiscovered likened to a groaning mouth. Simple, obvious phrases but all the more powerful for that. Everytime I read a translated novel, and sadly owing to my 'non-ployglotness' this is inevitable, i am struck by the huge talent not just of the original writer but the ability of the translator.

This novel is of oppression and fear and cruelty and love, of rejection and loyalty and deep tragedy and the amazing thing is you are swept along by the force of the narrative not by purple prose or long speeches or histrionic decalarations but by the warmth and courage and goodness of the characters.

Having said that some of the ' goodies ' are quite annoying, and the love between the hero and heroine made me feel uncomfortable. I tried to work out why; i think it is because of the rejected lover; the one cast off. He is a good and noble man who seems swept out of the story without a second thought and his sacrifice unmourned. This struck me as unworthy of two supposedly high minded 'freedom-fighters'. That, of course, probably says a lot more about me thna it does of the two lovers.

There is another gripe I would air though. It is that the villains of the piece, the oppressors and tyrants, those on the side of the devils seem drawn heavily, childishly, as if in crayon whereas the main protagonists on the angels' side are drawn carefully and fully with light and shade. Perhaps this was intentional but i do wonder whether this results in a story which fails to address issues. The story becomes very much an us and them where no real attempt is made to see any other point of view because it is presented that if you are not a fighter, slaving for the poor and the oppressed you are either senile, as the old folk in the nursing home run by Irene's mother, a blind egoist like the aforementioned mother or evil rapacious murderers like the rotten military.

This simplistic division surely does not address the struggles many would encounter in such horrendous circumstances. I realize Allende knows everything about such things and I know nothing but surely those who keep their heads down, their ' noses clean', they may not be able to be declared courageous or noble or heroic but i feel it is an injustice unworthy of a story of oppresson and discrimination to automatically dismiss them as therefore on the side of the oppressors. Fear and cruelty spur some on to betrayal and cowardce, some to nobilty and sacrfice but most presumably to paralysis and terror.

We encountered only heroes/heroines or bastards and these latter were painted in nothing but blood. I wonder if the story might have benefited from a touch of the normal; men and women who walk not on the high mountains of daring deeds and not in the subterranean passages of torture and murder but those who spend their lives dodging bullets not as they move from brave acts of sabotage to even braver acts of opposition but just those who have to dodge to move from workplace to home so as to provide for those they love in the best way they can.

ps. Excuse the relaunch but I came across this review today and was conscious that it was one big blob of words, no paragraphs . This made it really difficulty to actually read and that was from the bloke who wrote it.

أخف رواية قريتها لإيزا ❤️
3.5 ⭐️