A Long Petal of the Sea

A Novel

De: Isabel Allende, Nick Caistor, Amanda Hopkinson

Narrado por: Edoardo Ballerini

New York Times Best Seller

From the author of The House of the Spirits, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.

“One of the most richly imagined portrayals of the Spanish Civil War to date, and one of the strongest and most affecting works in [Isabel Allende’s] long career.” (The New York Times Book Review)

Named One of The Best Books of The Year By Esquire • Good Housekeeping • Parade

In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires.

Together with two thousand other refugees, Roser and Victor embark on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda, to Chile: “the long petal of sea and wine and snow.” As unlikely partners, the couple embraces exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. Starting over on a new continent, they face trial after trial, but they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they might go home. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.

A masterful work of historical fiction about hope, exile, and belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea shows Isabel Allende at the height of her powers.

Praise for A Long Petal of the Sea

“Both an intimate look at the relationship between one man and one woman and an epic story of love, war, family, and the search for home, this gorgeous novel, like all the best novels, transports the reader to another time and place, and also sheds light on the way we live now.” (J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Saints for All Occasions)

“This is a novel not just for those of us who have been Allende fans for decades, but also for those who are brand-new to her work: What a joy it must be to come upon Allende for the first time. She knows that all stories are love stories, and the greatest love stories are told by time.” (Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin)

©2020 Isabel Allende (P)2020 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Edoardo Ballerini's sensitive narration of Isabel Allende's lyrical prose touches the heart.... Ballerini expertly delivers Allende's reminder of how delicate the boundary is between precious freedom and insidious tyranny. Powerful listening." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Majestic...both timeless and perfectly timed for today...Allende’s assured prose vividly evokes her fictional characters [and] historical figures...seamlessly juxtaposing exile with homecoming, otherness with belonging, and tyranny with freedom." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"A tale that is seductively intimate and strategically charming...a virtuoso of lucidly well-told, utterly enrapturing fiction...Allende deftly addresses war, displacement, violence, and loss in a novel of survival and love under siege." (Booklist, starred review)

A Magnificent Journey

Another glorious historical fiction from Allende! The descriptions of life during the turmoil of 1900's Chile and the resulting emotional duress bring this political era to vivid life. Another reminder of how damaging abusive political figures can be in individual lives.

So so

Nothing about this book grabbed me. I really wanted to like it because it’s famous. It just seem to drag on and on. It’s spoke of passion but I didn’t feel it.

Great historical novel

This book was a page turner about the Spanish Civil war through the eyes of a couple that went from friends to love in over 60 years. The couple went through war, immigration to Chile and the own political challenges in Chile, this story has twists and turns that keep you interested and wanting to know what happens next.

Isabella Allende's very personal family history.

A long narrative, but a young day writes with such vivid language and personal details that it is interesting and educational.

Lessons from the 20th Century

Somehow our cultural collective memory forgets fascism and tyrannical dictators of the past and many in 2020 are running again headlong into the abyss of fear and violence brought on by authoritarian regime.
This book is a beautiful story that brings clarity and light to dark periods of the 20th Century in Spain and Chile.
Smells, tastes and vistas illustrated by the words of Isabel Allende are a pleasure and take us from youth to old age with love and intimacy.

Worth the Listen!

Very well read, intriguing story about a time period I knew little about before.

Brilliant

Well written, well plotted, well developed; incredibly informative about a time and place in history that I literally knew nothing about. I believe that most Americans know little about the Spanish Civil War. This novel made me want to know much more.

Great narrator, so so story

This narrator reminded me of Scott Brick, one of my favorite readers. Excellent job.
I picked this up to learn more about the Spanish Civil War, and I did. And also about the horrors of the Pinochet regime. The historical parts were great. Allende spent a lot of time telling rather than showing, so I didn’t love the characters or story, but I do understand a lot more about Chilean history. And it makes me want to read Pablo Neruda, which is something of a feat, as I am not much of a fan of poetry.

another fantastic book

Loved every moment of this book. pulled me right in at the beginning. going to read again for sure

Good listen but story line was somewhat tired

I enjoyed listening to the book and the performance was good. It gave glimpse of Chilean society during the Marxist revolution. I gave the story a rating of 4 rather than 5 because the story line was formulaic.