Eva Luna

by Isabel Allende

book data

4,004 ratings, 3.90 average rating, 197 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		26%
4		42%
3		26%
2		3%
1		0%

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published

June 1st 1989 (first published 1986) by Bantam

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

setting

Chile

isbn

0553280589 (isbn13: 9780553280586)

description

An exotic dance that beguiles and entices... The enchanted and enchanting account of a contemporary Scheherazade, a wide-eyed American teller-of...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 5,005)

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06/24/07

Audrey rated it:

(review of isbn 0828839093)

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: Narcissists

Perhaps it is merely a reflection of my feebleness as a reader that I assume the basic conceit of any first person novel is for the author to be the narrator, more or less. In my defense, this book is dedicated to Allende's mother. And the story itself is about a girl who loses her mother and loves her mother deeply and has all kinds of wooooonderful adventures, only to discover writing and have even more maaaaaaagical adventures, and become highly successful, and be pursued by a general and als...more

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06/16/07

Zoë rated it:

bookshelves: a-delight

Read in June, 2007

This is the first book by Isabel Allende that I've read and I can totally see myself getting addicted to her writing...That, and my mother has sent me about 10 of her books to read here in Malaysia. But I stayed up all night last night just to finish the last half of the book, and that usually means that I really like it. The story is about two people who fall in love, but the story is about thier lives before they meet. The story is also about the social and political situation in the annoy...more

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01/17/08

Chandra rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, isabel-allende, luuuurve

It's hard for me to put into words what I enjoyed so much about this novel. It's another Allende that I've read and enjoyed more than once. It's so detailed and absorbing that it always feels like I'm reading it for the first time. Through a unique dual narrative Allende chronicles the lives of Eva Luna and Rolf Carl. If you enjoy this don't miss the companion short story collection Stories of Eva Luna.

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08/08/07

Octavio Navarro rated it:

Read in February, 2005

recommends it for: Yes

Awesome Book but don't forget to take your Ritalin before reading this book, if you have a hard time keeping up with too many characters in a Plot, you will need to OD on Ritalin before starting this book, trust me you will need it! This will be a great movie someday, the characters are rich, but it woulf have been better if some of the smaller characters, someday get their own book, here is a suggestion Ms. Allende!

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06/14/09

Ben rated it:

This is the second book I have read by Isabel Allende and it is addicting. I got this from the library when I was returning a book. Her style of writing is great and to my liking. In The House of the Spirits, the book is really detailed and engaging. It is the same with this book! The main character of this book, Eva Luna, faces many problems when she is young at age. She continues to face many conflicts as she grows up but that is what makes it more interesting. To see all of the adventures and...more

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05/12/09

Lynne-marie rated it:

Read in January, 2007

Rich with allegory, magical reasoning & happenstance and her own miraculous self, this book of Eva Luna is a story-telling book that helps her survive an otherwise miserable life destined by her less than propitious birth. Although said to carry on from The House of the Spirits and Of Love and Shadows, I found this book less transfixing. Maybe I've had an overdose of Allende's rich language and magical plotting, wherein anything can happen, which in the beginning was fresh and astonishing.

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10/31/08

Huyen rated it:

bookshelves: literature

this is my first genuine encounter with Latin American literature and it's been a gratifying one. Isabelle Allende, a self-proclaimed feminist before (Chilean?) feminism was born takes us on a journey of an orphan with a special talent in story telling. she was lucky enough to be born in Latin America in an era when a woman had a vast number of career choices to be successful: housemaid, scrubwoman, prostitute, or even better, a homosexual, to be tortured, persecuted and raped. there are many fe...more this is my first genuine encounter with Latin American literature and it's been a gratifying one. Isabelle Allende, a self-proclaimed feminist before (Chilean?) feminism was born takes us on a journey of an orphan with a special talent in story telling. she was lucky enough to be born in Latin America in an era when a woman had a vast number of career choices to be successful: housemaid, scrubwoman, prostitute, or even better, a homosexual, to be tortured, persecuted and raped. there are many female characters in the story with one thing in common: impecunious, degraded and forgotten stranded on the fringe of society. They led different lives, some subservient and resigned to fate, but thankfully, the majority, including our protagonist, is one of incredible perseverance and passion. she survived an arduous childhood serving many houses, consoling herself with her imagination and her mother's spirit and sometimes, real friends. Eva fell in love with her girlhood hero, an insolent, audacious urchin, Huberto Naranjo, who later turned into a jungle guerrilla that sought to overthrow the government. But despite her life-long passion for him, she had little sympathy with his cause and his possessiveness and they kissed goodbye as friends when he went on to rescue his comrades from a political prison. Amazingly and completely against my wish, she finally fell in love with a bold, impassioned, intelligent cameraman (too perfect a character to be liked by me) and salved him from his haunting memories in occupied Austria.
The plot is very dense and concise, every single page is interesting and charming, every character takes a life of their own, weaving into the fabric of a society full of contradictions: lavishness of the rich and destitution of the poor, the generosity of nature and the cruelty of man, amicable blending of cultures yet underlying racial prejudice, serene country side untouched by the urban strife. the tone transitions effortlessly from dark humour, piercing contempt and scornful mockery to a more melancholy shade. The narrative runs through the political turmoil of Latin America in the mid twentieth century, those years of repression, violence, corruption and secrecy (this country was endowed with too many dictators, I don't know which one is MrPineapple backed by the Coup Instigation Agency). And of course, rebellion, turbulence and sparks of hope in justice and freedom. Eva's journey is a struggle against poverty and subordination in a patriarchal society, which ended up in a bitter struggle with the man she loved the most. Interestingly Isabel Allende mentioned that no women were involved in the guerrilla revolution in Latin America but it was not necessarily a bad thing. In the end, women were heavily involved in the revolutions in Vietnam or China, which nevertheless did not facilitate the improvement in the status of woman by any means. I think there are many heroines with incredible courage in this story: an Eva Luna that dumped a pot of feces on her master, a Melosi that went against all odds to become a woman and certainly many other unsung heroes who rose above the political establishment and social prejudice to preserve their integrity and kindness.
The only weakness of the novel is in the ending, it didn't seem very convincing to me that after her two great loves, Eva fell in love with this journalist, who she had only met twice. Their interaction did not indicate affection and the ending seems strained as if Allende just gave up. but overall, it was a delightful and fascinating read, for feminists and non-feminists alike.
(less)

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10/21/08

miaaa rated it:

bookshelves: recommended-for-you

Read in October, 2008

recommended to miaaa by: Ronny

This is the second book from Allende that I've read. And it's simply astounding. She introduces me to a woman who was conceived on her father's deathbed -as she says so- and named after her father tribe. She's Eva Luna. She's really good in telling stories, she can make a great and a happy ending out of miserable death to comfort a person who really needs it. A person who she feels like she knows him before.

She has a difficult life, especially once her mother passed away. Living alon...more This is the second book from Allende that I've read. And it's simply astounding. She introduces me to a woman who was conceived on her father's deathbed -as she says so- and named after her father tribe. She's Eva Luna. She's really good in telling stories, she can make a great and a happy ending out of miserable death to comfort a person who really needs it. A person who she feels like she knows him before.

She has a difficult life, especially once her mother passed away. Living alone at such young age is never easy. But somehow Eva Luna reminds me to Sara Crewe from the Little Princess. Both possess ability to invent stories, and those massive imaginations are able to keep them through the pain and difficulties. Both are brave girls as well.

Once you start to read it, it's almost impossible to put it down. Her life range from being a servant, adopted daughter of a fine Turk merchant, adopted sister and best friend of the country leading guerilla's leader, to a vivid writer who can write down the guerilla's movement into the national station TV show under the government nose. She may not Evita Peron but she's having her own way to love her country.

***

Ini buku kedua Allende yang aku baca. Sungguh, ceritanya begitu memukau. Allende memperkenalkanku kepada seorang perempuan yang dikandung saat ayahnya sedang sekarat -paling tidak demikian menurutnya- dan diberi nama sesuai dengan suku ayahnya. Eva Luna. Seorang perempuan yang mahir menyampaikan cerita dan mampu menciptakan akhir cerita yang hebat dan bahagia atas kematian mengenaskan demi seseorang yang membutuhkan cerita itu demi kedamaian hatinya.

Eva Luna menjalani hidup yang sangat sulit, terutama setelah kematian ibunya. Hidup sendiri di usia yang begitu muda tidak pernah mudah. Namun Eva mengingatkanku pada Sara Crewe dari buku the Little Princess. Keduanya memiliki kemampuan untuk menciptakan cerita-cerita indah atau unik dan imaginasi mereka yang luar biasa itu yang mampu membuat mereka bertahan hidup melalui semua masalah dan kerumitan hidup.

Jika sudah memulai membaca buku ini, rasanya sulit sekali untuk meletakkannya. Kehidupannya begitu bervariasi. Dimulai dari menjadi anak pelayan dan pelayan, anak angkat saudagar Turki yang baik hati, sahabat sekaligus adik perempuan pemimpin kelompok gerilyawan negaranya hingga menjadi seorang penulis yang memasukkan pergerakan gerilyawan ke dalam karyanya untuk ditayangkan secara nasional lewat televisi persis di bawah hidung para penguasa saat itu. Mungkin dia bukan Evita Peron tapi Eva Luna punya cara sendiri untuk mencintai negaranya.(less)

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03/01/08

Alyson rated it:

Read in December, 2008

Having read The House of Spirits, Portrait in Sepia, and Eva Luna almost sequentially in the past month, I can now rank them appropriately. The House of Spirits remains my number one Allende read: fabulous tale interviewing magic and history with the oddities of family and challenges of love. Eva Luna, coming in in second place, carries forth the power of storytelling and our young protagonist is so much more likable and charismatic as that of the woman in Sepia. Now that I can compare the two...more

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02/08/08

Patrick rated it:

Read in February, 2008

When I finished it, this book reminded me of a Charles Dickens life tale in which everything kind of comes together. The large cast of characters tie up nicely in the end, a love story that even ends similarly to Great Expectations in that there are almost two endings: the real and the imagined, the happy and the sad.

There's a richness to the language, but a melodrama to the plot. I'm still kind of on the fence on this book. At times, it did read like a harlequin, but at others it...more

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01/28/08

Elizabeth rated it:

Read in February, 2008

I read this book to give Isabelle Allende a second chance after being unable to finish Daughter of Fortune. Although she still has not quite won me over, I think that Eva Luna showcased the author's strength - words and descriptions that are lyrical, encompassing and lyrical in their own right. Because what I appreciate about Allende's work is her descriptive style I think her work is almost like poetry which does not work as well in long form especially in a story that has a strong plot (or a...more

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01/13/08

Vera rated it:

Read in April, 2002

I liked it, but I feel like some of the magic was lost reading it in English instead of Spanish. I'd like to read it over again in the right language to get the full effect. I don't remember it that well - the story bounces around all over the place, following a man and woman as they have... well, bizarre experiences in their separate lives. Very hard to get into for a while there. It doesn't all start to come together until this one moment near the end when you realize both of their lives have ...more

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02/16/09

Lana rated it:

Not a fan of this type of writing. Allende has a habit of introducing dozens of eccentric characters, but never fully developing any of them. She gives each person a few poetic lines to desribe them to pull you in, but it never gets more complex than that. But, this story provided a good example of how powerful a force fiction is compared to non-fiction- facts are routinely misrepresented and distorted, but fiction is unfiltered. Wouldn't really recommend the book to anyone, but it wasn't allll ...more

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03/25/09

Zelie rated it:

Read in October, 2004

I read this book during a very difficult time in my life. I moved to another country by myself and I didn't know anyone. Lost the love of my life (my grandma) and had my heart broken by an $$hole. I began reading this book as a sad little girl and finished being a new woman. The book might not be the most awesomest book ever but to me it was life changing.

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05/31/09

Adela rated it:

(review of isbn 0060951281)

La primera vez que lo leí fué de forma obligada, para un trabajo de literatura en el Instituto. La verdad es que me sorprendió positivamente porque no es el típico libro que te hacen o te hacían leer en el colegio. Son una serie de cuentos diferentes, pero enlazados entre sí. El que más me gustó fué el de la vendedora de palabras.

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09/28/07

Katherine rated it:

Read in June, 2009

I read this in high school and loved it, and have referred to it as one of my favorite books for years. I finally reread it again. I'd forgotten most of the plot and characters, but most of it came back to me as I read. What didn't come back was the feeling that it was one of the greatest books ever written. I wonder if it struck me because I just hadn't read that much literary fiction yet. At any rate, it's a good book, probably worth three and a half stars, but I'll give it four to balance out...more

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11/30/08

Vicky rated it:

bookshelves: book-club, historical-fiction

Read in November, 2008

recommended to Vicky by: Book Club Choice for November 2008

Eva Luna is a likeable character. She was a survivor and independent which I like in a female character. She was very fortunate with the people in her life. She learned from all and used what she learned from each to survive. Set in South American country during the tumultuous years of the 20th century.

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06/19/07

Caroline rated it:

(review of isbn 0140244425)

Read in June, 2007

While this book was, at times, powerfully written and while I didn't have as much of an aversion to the "mystical realism" (Janaki's categorization) bit as I thought I would, I also didn't feel all that moved by the story. I identified with the characters, especially early on, but the obsession with pinning down the kind of falling in love they were all doing was kind of annoying- the exaggerated romp in the sheets with a cherubic pair of female cousins who smelled like cloves, lemon, ...more

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04/02/09

Catherine rated it:

bookshelves: international

Read in January, 1993

Forty years of Eva's and her mother's lives are intertwined with those whose lives they touch from the jungles of South America to an urban capital. Eva is involved with a Turkish merchant, a guerrilla fighter and a German immigrant photographer.

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05/04/09

Guadalupe rated it:

Read in October, 2002

Eva Luna es el primer libro que lei de Isabel Allende y fue suficiente para querer leer cualquier libro que ella escriba. Desde las primeras paginas ya estaba riendo con las descripciones que Eva da de su nacimiento, me encanto!

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"I began to wonder whether anything truly existed, whether reality wasn't an unformed and gelatinous substance only half-captured by my senses....If that were true, each of us was living in absolute isolation. The thought terrified me. I was consoled by the idea that I could take that gelatin and mold it to create anything I wanted...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." More quotes...