In the book “Eva Luna,” the title character is an orphan with a gift for story-telling. As she navigates the magical and sometimes ruthless streets of South America, she has only her wits and words to barter passage and build friendships. She sees the world through the lens of stories and views her fellow citizens as characters, swirling around in her mind providing inspiration for whatever necessary tale she needs to weave next.
Isabel Allende’s writing is dense and intricate, but if you give yourself over to the style you’ll find yourself woven into the tapestry of the world she creates. There is a supplemental collection of stories, “The Stories of Eva Luna,” where Allende shares the specifics of the stories Eva Luna crafted in the first novel, and it’s worth reading them one right after the other. I wished that the novel “Eva Luna” had gone into the stories instead of just alluding to them, but then reading the stories after the fact, I appreciate that I have a rich and detailed understanding of the context they were told in.
Three words that describe this book: Intricate, Romantic, Vibrant
You might want to pick this book up if: you are looking to broaden your reading experience and explore diverse authors and stories. Also, if you want to read a novel and then a book of short stories right after.
-Amy
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share reviews throughout the year.
