isabel allende a long petal of the sea review

Viewed as “undesirables” by the French authorities, the refugees were forced to either crowd in concentration camps or return to Spain. Fleeing to France, however, did not afford the Spanish refugees the freedom and safety they sought after. During the exodus, the trio got separated but after some difficulty, they managed to reunite. Getting across proved no easy task and they had to employ the help of Victor’s Basque friend, Aitor Ibarra.

~ Isabel Allende, A Long Petal of the Sea It was at that moment he understood the profound meaning of that common phrase: he thought he heard the sound of glass breaking and felt that the essence of his being was pouring out until he was empty, with no memory of the past, no awareness of the present, no hope for the future. Among them was Victor who vowed to get his mother and pregnant sister-in-law to safety. Spaniards, in fear of reprisal, started crossing the border to France to seek safety. With Franco’s forces inching closer towards the Republican strongholds, Franco’s victory is becoming more certain. During the crucial battle of the Ebro, Guillém was killed. It did not take long for the kiss of death to touch the Dalmau family. As the entire nation was being ripped apart, the casualty count begun to skyrocket. Before Guillém left for the frontlines, he and Roser grew a fondness for each other that inevitably evolved into a romantic relationship.Īs General Franco’s forces stormed across Spain, he was challenging the communists and the government alike. The Dalmaus also stood as the surrogate parents to Roser Bruguera, a young piano prodigy. They have two sons who were aiding the Republican Forces on the frontlines of the Civil War – Victor, a doctor, and Guillém a soldier who was still finding himself. An affluent family, the patriarch, Marcel Lluis, is a music professor while his wife, Carme is a teacher. The narrative commenced with the Dalmau family of Barcelona. In her latest novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, Isabel Allende returned to her literary bread and butter by transporting her readers to 1930s Spain. When the dusts of the recent Spanish Civil War settled, Generalissimo Francisco Franco was installed as the nation’s absolute leader. In Spain, a new fascist was slowly inching towards absolute power. Over in Italy, the teeth of fascism came biting with the rise to power of Benito Mussolini. He started laying the groundworks for his dreams of reviving an Aryan republic.

In Germany, none is the wiser on the implications of Adolf Hitler’s ascension to the zenith of power. They have altered the flow of history and their perversion towards violence led to several bloodsheds that would mark a dark period of history. The 1930s saw the rise to prominence of several strongmen who has redefined a phase of modern history.

Isabel allende a long petal of the sea review