Isabelle Allende ci racconta ilsud America da una prospettiva femminile unica

I've read two of Allende's novels now (this, and The House of the Spirits) and I'm smitten. Her narratives are sprawling, ever-changing, slightly magical, and imaginative. Her characters undergo constant, whirlwind twists of fate and chance. Eva Luna is central in the universe (of the novel and at large) in part because she is constructing and shaping her own story as she lives it and then again as she writes it, but also because she is strong, imaginative, interesting; she's worthy of the novel's attention. This idea of rewriting reality comes up repeatedly in the novel (see the quotations below) and it fascinates me.

First, because of the meta-fictional sense it gives to the novel - Allende is writing a story about Eva Luna writing a story about herself and her country. But I also find it fascinating to consider how this affects the novel's 'truth.' It's impossible to know what actually happens to Eva Luna and what she creates when she writes. This provides a basis for some of the magical instances in the story but, more than that, it imparts a refreshing sense of freedom. We all have the option to use our memories and experiences in new ways, explaining them away, building them up, even changing them. Of course, in real life, truth has its place, but Allende shows that truth isn't always clear, or helpful. And in most things, the small events and feelings of our lives, the truth of what actually happens to us matters far less than how we think about it, feel about it, and are changed by it.

Rewriting reality is, for Eva Luna, the source of her resiliency.

"I began to wonder whether anything truly existed, whether reality wasn't an unformed and gelatinous substance only half-captured by my senses. There was no proof that everyone perceived it in the same way."

"In the motionless sands where my stories germinated, every birth, death, and happening depended on me. I could plant anything I wanted in those sands; I had only to speak the right word to give it life. At times I felt that the universe fabricated from the power of the imagination had stronger and more lasting contours than the blurred realm of the flesh-and-blood creatures around me."

"I was writing a new episode each day, totally immersed in the world I was creating with the all-encompassing power of words, transformed into a multifaceted being, reproduced to infinity, seeing my own reflection in multiple mirrors, living countless lives, speaking with many voices."

"Reality is a jumble we can't always measure or decipher, because everything is happening at the same time... I try to open a path through that maze, put a little order in that chaos, to make life more bearable. When I write, I describe life as I would like it to be."

Allende also visits the subject of being a woman, mostly quietly, but occasionally overtly and politically:

"For Naranjo, and others like him, "the people" seemed to be composed exclusively of men; we women should contribute to the struggle but were excluded from decision-making and power. His revolution would not change my fate in any fundamental way."

"Look, Eva, men like Naranjo can't ever change. They may modify the rules, but they always operate on the same principle: authority, competitiveness, greed, repression -- it's always the same... What has to change in this world are attitudes."

Both of these quotations attribute situations like that in Chile to patriarchy and traditionally 'male' characteristics (competition, authority, power, etc). This is a discussion the world hasn't been having for very long, and it's nice to see it here, in a 25-year-old novel. Allende gives her characters the freedom to speak their truth, as flawed or narrow or off-putting as it might seem to some readers. What I mean by that is that discussions like the patriarchy one I described above are not had in crystalized, bold, liberal, politically-correct statements. Instead they are seamless parts of who the characters are, stemming from the characters themselves and not an authorial agenda.

Themes: magical realism, Chile, women, 60s, love, sex, storytelling, self-determination, stories as resilience, rewriting reality

Un buen libro , donde conocemos la vida de Eva Luna , una contadora de cuentos.

Al inicio me costo trabajo acostumbrarme al formato de párrafos y capítulos muy largos, por lo que tambien me tomo tiempo comprender la historia. Una vez que lo hice fluyo bastante bien

Set in an unnamed, South American country Eva Luna is a poetic, modern day Latina flavored version of 1001 Arabian nights. Within the novel, whilst the protagonist and other main characters are living their lives, they all encounter fantastical, unique and morally ambigous characters. What is most impressive about the novel though, is how all of those smaller, strange stories are wound together neatly at climax of the novel in a believable fashion.

The romantic triangle in the novel, though not empahsized, is what nags at the reader's mind and keeps them dedicated throughout all of the smaller sub plots. Eva Luna's many romantic and sexual relationships are all written in a vivdly passionate manner keeping the reader divided on whom is the proper ending for Eva. To contrast the "softer" romantic storyline is the "harder" storyline of constant political change in this fictional South American nation. Even apathetic, every day citizens find it hard to ignore the rioits, rebellions and guerrllia forces making their mark around them. The soft and hard storylines contrast with each other wonderfully and later on play off each other.

The detail used in the writing, though ocassionally tedious to work through, most of the time illustrates beautiful, almost romantic, visions. While our modern day Scheherazade, Eva, spins tales about those wacky secondary characters she uses precise detail to suck the reader into the story within the story. But I must reiterate, that the wonder of these sub stories is how Allende later makes them relevant to the main plot.

Politically and passionatly charged Eva Luna is a fantastic novel about what it is like to be female growing up with enouigh flavor of it's to make it a unique tale.

As I slogged (yes, slogged) through, Eva Luna lines from a Dessa song kept running through my mind:

Saccharine read--
Such a sentimental novel
Give you cavities
If it doesn't drive you to the bottle.

In "Matches to Paper Dolls", Dessa is rapping about reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, but her words seem apropos when considering Isabel Allende's Eva Luna.

I am not saying that Eva Luna wasn't without its moments of beauty (Allende's descriptions of setting were so...lush), but mostly it just made me nauseous (and made me roll my eyes so many times I lost count).

In the latter half of the book, Eva Luna starts writing a telenovela; a telenovela that echoes her own experiences (and that, kind of interestingly, brings into question everything that has happened in the book thus far: "When I write, I describe life as I would like it to be," (301)). Eva Luna's script is described as a "jumble of bizarre characters and unrealistic anecdotes [...] it was a mess [...] such a mishmash" (256-7). This description could just as easily be applied to Allende's novel.

There is something empowering about creating or "writing" your own story--this concept is, arguably, Eva Luna's strongest theme. Even then, it doesn't work entirely. The story Eva Luna creates for herself is a girlish fantasy...one of romance and mysterious suitors and happy coincidences--a salacious melodrama for the masses. There is no sense of personal growth here, even though it is vaguely alluded to.

This book kind of had promise? Sort of not really? Ohmigah, think about it: how much better would it have been if Mimi was Allende's protagonist?! Needless to say, this book is going straight into the take a book/leave a book bin down the street from my apartment.

Isabel Allende tıpkı kahramanı Eva Luna gibi, harikulade bir hikâye anlatıcısı

2,5

After reading "100 Years of Solitude" I wanted to read a good yarn. It needed to span a long period of time set in an unnamed country in South America where the main character faces so many twists and turns that you almost don't believe it but you decide to carry on.

We begin with an indian who gets accidently poisoned but gets bedded by a woman who bears a child out of wedlock. The mother and child goes work for an eccentric American who happens to be a mortician among his other scientific interests living in a giant old house. When the mother dies by a fish bone and then the eccentric dies (presumably from madness), the young Eva meets a rebellious man, Huberto Naranja, who leads her to Madame of a brothel. Yes, things keep getting crazier by the chapter. And those Latino writers sure love the brothels!

Along the way a parallel story is told, equally as bizarre, that of the young German immigrant boy who becomes a leading journalist, Rolf Carlé. The two cross paths by way of guerrilla warfare that has shaken the country. I wasn't sure about the ending (no spoiler here) but it lived up to the blurb on the jacket cover - "un romance agridulce."

Eva Luna's gift since a child is the art of storytelling. Eventually she herself writes down these stories and gets published and her book is even made into Soap Opera. I read that this parallels Isabel Allende's own life (the country was Venezuela where she was exiled after the coup in Chile). Art imitating life is nothing new but my peave was that there was only one very short excert of Eva's stories inside this book. You need to read Eva Luna Cuentos to actually read those stories she became famous for. Even a longer story or two would have made this story more wonderful.

Other than this, it was a very enjoyable read and looking forward to "The House of The Spirit's."

Read in Spanish.

Mitad del siglo XX. Una niña pelirroja, hija de un nativo aborigen y una criada, es bautizada como Eva Luna. Una niña que vivirá multitud de aventuras, a través de diferentes tutores, casas y lugares. Una joven que se convierte en una valiente mujer que trabajará desde criada hasta contadora de historias gracias a su desbordante imaginación.

Isabel Allende crea una conmovedora historia entorno a una mujer, Eva Luna, cargada de sentimientos, aventuras y emociones. Una novela que trata sobre el amor, la amistad, la infancia y el paso a la madurez, lo ordinario y lo extraordinario, la influencia de la política en la vida de cualquier persona y las relaciones personales.

✔️ Puntos fuertes: personaje de Eva Luna y su evolución, musicalidad de la prosa de la autora, crítica social y la variedad de personajes.

❤ Te gustará si: te gusta el estilo narrativo de la autora, las historias sobre mujeres o con crítica social y política entre sus páginas.

Wat een heerlijk, kleurig, schaamteloos clichématig boek. Allende vertelt om te vertellen en uit haar verhalen spreekt liefde voor de mensen met al hun bonte eigenaardigheden. Innerlijk bleven de personages wel vrij plat, waardoor ik met niemand echt begaan was. Maar daar stond tegenover dat ik de hitte van de jungle kon voelen, dat ik de stoofpot van tante Burgel kon proeven, dat ik het lawaai van de Hoerenopstand kon horen, dat ik de schoonheid van Mimi kon zien. En wat een fijne laatste zin.

Audible audiobook performed by Cynthia Farrell & Timothy Andrés Pabon.


From the book jacket: Meet Eva Luna – a lover, writer, revolutionary, and storyteller. Eva is born poor, orphaned at an early age, and works as a servant. Eva is a naturally gifted and imaginative storyteller who meets people from all stations and walks of life. Though she has no wealth, she trades her stories like currency with people who are kind to her.

My reactions
I’m already a huge fan of Allende’s magical realism, and this book did not disappoint. I loved the many characters – from the Lebanese merchant to the petty criminal/guerrilla leader to the transsexual entertainer. As Eva tells the story of her life, she tells the story of this South American nation – of corruption, class struggle, peace, war, feast and famine. The story comes alive with saints and ghosts, servants and political leaders equally profiled, skewered and cherished.

Both Allende and Eva Luna are great storytellers, and this a marvelous escape.

The audiobook was performed by Cynthia Farrell and Timothy Andrés Pabon. These are two talented voice artists, and having them both narrating, makes it easy to follow the shifts in perspective
.

«En el afán de complacerlo le había entregado su propia memoria, ya no sabía qué era suyo y cuánto ahora pertenecía a él, sus pasados habían quedado anudados en una sola trenza. Había entrado hasta el fondo en su propio cuento y ya no podía recoger sus palabras, pero tampoco quiso hacerlo y se abandonó al placer de fundirse con él en la misma historia…»

Leer Eva Luna me ha hecho confirmar el gusto auténtico que tengo por la manera de escribir de Isabel Allende. Esta novela, llena de amores y revoluciones, está escrita con una dulzura y pasión que es muy difícil de encontrar en algún otro autor. Isabel tiene ese talento innato de poner la palabra exacta en el momento adecuado para darle un toque poético a su narración. Al menos para mí, confundirme en su cadencia es algo que disfruto mucho cada vez que la leo.

Acerca de la historia, podría decir que me ha gustado que se aborden tantas temáticas en un contexto sociopolítico tan cambiante y confuso como el latinoamericano. Hablar de los ideales del amor, la justicia, la amistad, y enlazando para esto escenas reales y mágicas, terminan dándole un toque exótico a la novela que me dejó un buen sabor de boca.

Ahora me queda pendiente leer Cuentos de Eva Luna; que, si mantiene la misma sintonía, no dudo que lo disfrutaré tanto o más que este.