In 2019, Isabel Allende released her new book, Largo petal de mar, to bookstores. Its acceptance, as well as the thousands of comments, the vast majority of them positive, makes us see that we are facing a novel with capital letters.
But What do you know about Largo petal de mar? Have you read it? Do you have doubts about giving it a chance? Then take a look at this information we have collected about him.
Who wrote Long Petal of the Sea
As we have told you before, the novel Largo petal de mar is part of the author Isabel Allende.
This Chilean writer born in 1942 has a large collection of novels written, currently being one of the most important in the Spanish language, also translated into more than thirty languages.
Allende was born into a family of diplomats. Even his father was a first cousin of President Salvador Allende.
Fame came to him with his first novel, in 1982, when he published The House of the Spirits. Over time, he has published more than thirty books, from novels to short stories, memoirs and essays.
Largo petal de mar is one of his latest novels, but not the last, since in 2020 he published Mujeres del alma mia, an autobiographical work; Violet; and The Wind Knows My Name (the latter in 2023).
What is Long Petal of the Sea about?
The first thing you should know about the book Largo petal de mar, by Isabel Allende, is that its name is not chosen at random or by invention of the author.. In reality, it is a clear reference to Chile, a long and narrow country on the Pacific coast. That's why, when he mentions Largo Petal, he is referring to Chile, and the thing about the sea is because it is surrounded by the sea.
The reading, like many of Isabel Allende's, is full of part historical and documented, and part fiction. Topics such as exile, loss, love or hope are touched upon masterfully.
There is also talk about the Spanish Civil War. This means that the protagonists, Víctor and Roser, have to abandon everything and take refuge in Chile to rebuild their lives.
We leave you the synopsis so you can learn a little more:
«In the middle of the Spanish Civil War, the young doctor Víctor Dalmau, together with his pianist friend Roser Bruguera, are forced to leave Barcelona, go into exile and cross the Pyrenees towards France. Aboard the Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda that took more than two thousand Spaniards to Valparaíso, they will embark in search of the peace and freedom they did not have in their country. Received as heroes in Chile - that "long petal of sea and snow", in the words of the Chilean poet -, they were integrated into the social life of the country for several decades until the coup d'état that overthrew Dr. Salvador Allende, Victor's friend for their common love of chess. Víctor and Roser will find themselves uprooted again, but as the author says: "if one lives long enough, all circles close."
A journey through the history of the XNUMXth century led by unforgettable characters who will discover that many lives fit into a single life and that, sometimes, the difficult thing is not to flee but to return.
how many pages does it have
Although many of Isabel Allende's novels tend to be long, the truth is that she has something for everyone. In this case, the novel Largo petal de mar is not one of the author's longest.
It has 337 pages.
Long Petal of the Sea Characters
Source: Bookennials
Although in the book the two main characters are Víctor and Roser, that does not mean that other characters do not appear that are important at certain moments in the plot.
If you want to know them in more depth before the book, here we will talk briefly about them.
- Victor Dalmau. He is the male protagonist. Dalmau is shy, tall and with untamable hair. In the Spanish Civil War he served as a doctor for three years.
- Roser Bruguera. The female protagonist. She is a music student who lives in the Dalmau house. She is very talented and smart.
- Guillem Dalmau. Victor's brother. Republican and eager to make everyone aware of his presence (hence his flirtatious and extroverted appearance).
- Carmen. She is Victor's mother. She got together with an anarchist. She now needs nicotine from her to get through the day.
Of course, there are many more characters, but some of them would reveal part of the plot and that is not what we want (especially if it is drawing your attention to read it).
Is the book true?
We must start from the fact that Largo Petal de Mar is a fiction book, therefore the events narrated in it are not based on real events. However, Isabel Allende has documented herself very well to narrate, and above all describe the emotional part, in a unique way.
You see, from the looks of it, Allende was able to interview several survivors of that boat trip and learned first-hand what feelings went through the minds of those men and women., how they experienced facing a new nation and a new life.
Therefore, although the characters do not exist as such, they do have many references with which she could comment, talk about the topic, etc. For example, the interview with the Spanish Víctor Pey Casado, director of the Clarín newspaper until the military coup, and the author's advisor. Pey was Spanish, but was naturalized in Chile.
Worth?
Source: Cooperative
If you have read Isabel Allende more times and have some favorite novels, it is very possible that this will not become one of them, since neither the story, nor the romance, nor the novel itself are the best of the writer. .
Even so, it is recommended, although there are books by him that are better written and that are much more engaging than this one.
Have you read Long Petal of the Sea? What do you think? If you haven't read it yet, would you dare to do so after reading what we have told you?