Genre Fiction
![Isabel Allende - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000APY7B8.jpg)
Eva Luna: A Novel
"A remarkable novel" (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende's introducing her most enchanting creation, Eva Luna: a lover, a writer, a revolutionary, and above all a storyteller.
Eva Luna is the daughter of a professor's assistant and a snake-bitten gardener-born poor, orphaned at an early age, and working 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. In this novel, she shares the story of her own life and introduces readers to a diverse and eccentric cast of characters including the Lebanese émigré who befriends her and takes her in; her unfortunate godmother, whose brain is addled by rum and who believes in all the Catholic saints and a few of her own invention; a street urchin who grows into a petty criminal and, later, a leader in the guerrilla struggle; a celebrated transsexual entertainer who instructs her in the ways of the adult world; and a young refugee whose flight from postwar Europe will prove crucial to Eva's fate.
As Eva tells her story, Isabel Allende conjures up a whole complex South American nation-the rich, the poor, the simple, and the sophisticated-in a novel replete with character and incident, with drama and comedy and history, with battles and passions, rebellions and reunions, a novel that celebrates the power of imagination to create a better world.
Eva Luna is the daughter of a professor's assistant and a snake-bitten gardener-born poor, orphaned at an early age, and working 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. In this novel, she shares the story of her own life and introduces readers to a diverse and eccentric cast of characters including the Lebanese émigré who befriends her and takes her in; her unfortunate godmother, whose brain is addled by rum and who believes in all the Catholic saints and a few of her own invention; a street urchin who grows into a petty criminal and, later, a leader in the guerrilla struggle; a celebrated transsexual entertainer who instructs her in the ways of the adult world; and a young refugee whose flight from postwar Europe will prove crucial to Eva's fate.
As Eva tells her story, Isabel Allende conjures up a whole complex South American nation-the rich, the poor, the simple, and the sophisticated-in a novel replete with character and incident, with drama and comedy and history, with battles and passions, rebellions and reunions, a novel that celebrates the power of imagination to create a better world.
Editorial Reviews
"A remarkable novel, one in which a cascade of stories tumbles out before the reader, stories vivid and passionate and human…Reading this novel is like asking your favorite storyteller to tell you a story and getting a hundred stories!" -- Alan Ryan ― The Washington Post
"Wonderful, crammed with the strange and fantastical, the sensuous and the erotic.... Isabel Allende's singular, powerful voice already has been established. " ― Publisher's Weekly
"Here is a finely-woven tale that combines, in a distinctly Latin American context, the fairy-tale quality of the Arabian Nights with the picaresque adventures of a Tom Jones. " ― Financial Times
"Eva Luna is an accomplished novel, skillfully blending humour and pathos." ― The Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Eva Luna is a cornucopia of stories, a tightly concocted, seemingly effortless spilling forth of incident and accident, autobiography and fantasy. This novel is a tapestry, a rich web of whimsy." ― The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
"First, novels like Eva Luna display a straightforward, if voracious, appetite for story-telling of the oldest sort. Eva herself is that rare thing: an original and memorable character with dimensions greater than those managed by most ‘real' people. The same distinction applies to Allende." ― The Herald (Glasgow)
"Reading Eva Luna is as enjoyable as it is stimulating. Allende proves once again her ability to combine the political and the personal with tragedy, creativity and wit." ― Santa Barbara News-Press
"Eva Luna is a prolonged and tantalizing seduction of the imagination. The novel's mix of myth and politics conveys the stuff of life." ― Ham & High (UK)
"In Eva Luna, the celebration of a storyteller echoes the story of Allende herself as she has mesmerized the world with books translated into almost every language in the western cultures." ― Ex Libris
"Wonderful, crammed with the strange and fantastical, the sensuous and the erotic.... Isabel Allende's singular, powerful voice already has been established. " ― Publisher's Weekly
"Here is a finely-woven tale that combines, in a distinctly Latin American context, the fairy-tale quality of the Arabian Nights with the picaresque adventures of a Tom Jones. " ― Financial Times
"Eva Luna is an accomplished novel, skillfully blending humour and pathos." ― The Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Eva Luna is a cornucopia of stories, a tightly concocted, seemingly effortless spilling forth of incident and accident, autobiography and fantasy. This novel is a tapestry, a rich web of whimsy." ― The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
"First, novels like Eva Luna display a straightforward, if voracious, appetite for story-telling of the oldest sort. Eva herself is that rare thing: an original and memorable character with dimensions greater than those managed by most ‘real' people. The same distinction applies to Allende." ― The Herald (Glasgow)
"Reading Eva Luna is as enjoyable as it is stimulating. Allende proves once again her ability to combine the political and the personal with tragedy, creativity and wit." ― Santa Barbara News-Press
"Eva Luna is a prolonged and tantalizing seduction of the imagination. The novel's mix of myth and politics conveys the stuff of life." ― Ham & High (UK)
"In Eva Luna, the celebration of a storyteller echoes the story of Allende herself as she has mesmerized the world with books translated into almost every language in the western cultures." ― Ex Libris
Readers Top Reviews
Fred Althofferika LE
Eva Luna is the first book I've read by Isabel Allende. She is an excellent writer. Her descriptions make it easy to put oneself in the settings. I had the feeling that Eva and Rolf would end up together because their family lines were followed in the beginning of the book...but it took a lot of situations and adventures to get them together. I was most impressed with her descriptions of living conditions of the different locations and the different people in the story. Very well written. I would recommend it for anyone who likes a good story with quality writing.
Laurie Buchanan
EVA LUNA: A NOVEL is a wild and inventive ride that lures the reader, much like a moth to a flame. Exotic and enticing, the vivid storyteller—Eva Luna—conquers the harsh realities of life for herself and others through the creative power of her imagination.
LadyJay
Great novel. Read years ago and lost the old copy so I purchased a new one. The new cover illustrations are pretty bland but Allende is a highly imaginative and almost lyrical writer. Fans of Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez (R.I.P) and Paulo Coelho may like this author.
TurgridG.MDavid Soto
This book arrived defective. A bunch of pages at the beginning of the book were all creased over together and were caught up in the binding. We had to chop the pages from the center binding loose, leaving a clump of chopped paper in the center. The pages that were bent and creased were printed wrong. After we unfolded them after cutting them out, those pages were a totally different size and hung off the pages of the book. We had to cut the creased and caught pages at the bottom of the book and the sides of the book. With the pages being longer on the bottom, the book didn't even sit on the book shelf correctly. We did our best cutting it, but we don't have the proper equipment to trim book pages. The book basically looks like it was gnarled by an animal or caught in a lawn mower. Very disappointed!
Doug D.
As one of the characters says about Eva Luna's stories, "the script did not even remotely fit in the usual patterns," but he would produce it, "because he could not resist the temptation to scandalize the country." There is nothing ordinary about Eva Luna (neither the character nor the book). In fact, ordinary (predictable) storylines are lampooned multiple times. Eva Luna (the character) seems to be a magnet for interesting people. At first, she seemed to be just along for the ride; in fact, at first she did not even legally exist. But, as the book progressed, Eva grew into an interesting person as well. Giving plot details would detract from the reading experience, so I won't give any. But, believe it, this is book is a great experience. Isabelle Allende is a fantastic story teller.
