Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Black Swan (1988), Edition: New Ed, 304 pages
Description
A woman reporter in a Latin American country and a photographer are sent on a routine assignment. The two uncover a hideous crime, the revelation of which could challenge the terrorism of the military regime.
Media reviews
This is a novel about institutional violence, of the sort perpetrated by authoritarian states; it is about human rights and their loss, and the difficulty of documenting that loss, so as to move the collective conscience of the world.
Allende has married the world of magic and political evil
Show More
most credibly.
Show Less
Isabel Allende is a writer of deep conviction, but she knows that in the end it is people, not issues, who matter most. The people in Of Love and Shadows are so real, their triumphs and defeats are so faithful to the truth of human existence, that we see the world in miniature. This is precisely
Show More
what fiction should do.
Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Imagine the horror of having your teenage daughter being roughly taken from your home by police and never seeing her again. That is just what Isabel Allende has imagined and written about in this book. Set in a South American country that is never called Chile this tale of desapercidos is fiction
Irene Beltran was a journalist with a women's magazine engaged to a military man. She came from an upper class family and had unthinkingly gone about her business unperturbed by the military takeover of the government. Into her life comes Francisco Leal, an out of work psychologist who has decided to earn a living as a photographer. Working together Irene and Francisco visit the Ranquileo home in the country where the daughter, Evangelina, is reputed to work miracles during fits that occur once a day at noon. While there they witness a visit by the local police during which the police commander is humiliated when slight, young Evangelina picks him up bodily and throws him out of the house. When Irene and Francisco pay a return visit to the Ranquileos they learn that Evangelina was arrested by the police and has not returned home. The police commander says that Evangelina was released the morning after her arrest but no trace can be found of her. As Irene and Francisco continue to investigate they fall in love and when their search leads them to an abandoned mine the horror they find there is somewhat assuaged by making love for the first time. Their crusade to bring notice to the bodies hidden in the mine makes them dangerous to the military junta that governs the country. Escape to a democracy is their only chance to remain alive.
Even though Allende doesn't name Chile it is obvious that is the locale. Published in 1987 when the military government of Augusto Pinochet was still in power this book must have been dangerous for Allende. Of course, she was already on the government's list of wanted individuals and was living in exile but that would not have protected her if the Chilean government wanted to silence her. The horrific nature of the story is counterbalanced by lovely descriptions of the country and the love affair between Irene and Francisco. In fact, the description of the love scene between the two just after they discover the bodies in the mine is one of the best I have ever read. Highly recommended.
Show More
but must be based upon fact as the world now knows.Irene Beltran was a journalist with a women's magazine engaged to a military man. She came from an upper class family and had unthinkingly gone about her business unperturbed by the military takeover of the government. Into her life comes Francisco Leal, an out of work psychologist who has decided to earn a living as a photographer. Working together Irene and Francisco visit the Ranquileo home in the country where the daughter, Evangelina, is reputed to work miracles during fits that occur once a day at noon. While there they witness a visit by the local police during which the police commander is humiliated when slight, young Evangelina picks him up bodily and throws him out of the house. When Irene and Francisco pay a return visit to the Ranquileos they learn that Evangelina was arrested by the police and has not returned home. The police commander says that Evangelina was released the morning after her arrest but no trace can be found of her. As Irene and Francisco continue to investigate they fall in love and when their search leads them to an abandoned mine the horror they find there is somewhat assuaged by making love for the first time. Their crusade to bring notice to the bodies hidden in the mine makes them dangerous to the military junta that governs the country. Escape to a democracy is their only chance to remain alive.
Even though Allende doesn't name Chile it is obvious that is the locale. Published in 1987 when the military government of Augusto Pinochet was still in power this book must have been dangerous for Allende. Of course, she was already on the government's list of wanted individuals and was living in exile but that would not have protected her if the Chilean government wanted to silence her. The horrific nature of the story is counterbalanced by lovely descriptions of the country and the love affair between Irene and Francisco. In fact, the description of the love scene between the two just after they discover the bodies in the mine is one of the best I have ever read. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
A story set in some country in America (probably a Latin American country). We are never told the name of the country but it is under the dictatorship of the military. It is political, love story and a family story. Irene is from upper class and is educated as a journalist. Francisco has lost his
Show More
job as a psychologist because of his families Marxist leanings. He goes to work for Irene. Irene is slowly exposed to the reality of the military rule and as she learns the horrors, she loses he innocent joy of life that is so much of her beauty. This is a beautifully written and easy to read book. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamuelW
Imagine that you have been invited to a dinner party in a different country. You are not acquainted with any of the guests, but, upon arriving, you find them to be a most diverse and lively group, encompassing rich and poor, young and old, lovable and detestable. You seat yourself at the table
The book begins well enough, introducing a rich cast of characters and painting a lifelike picture of a South American dictatorship. The promising orientation is carried out with care and perceptiveness, delving deep into the lives of the characters and fleshing out their personalities convincingly. This, however, is about far as Allende goes towards writing a novel. It soon becomes clear that Of Love and Shadows is firmly stuck in orientation mode, and intent on staying there for nearly two hundred pages. In the absence of a plot, the novel languishes and meanders aimlessly through page after page of text, in thick, merciless slabs which are sure to try the patience of even the most resolute readers.
By the time the plot finally kicked in, it was too late. I had been switched off so completely that nothing Allende wrote could switch me back on again. I cannot fault the quality of the writing, (apart from the occasional paragraph of florid melodrama,) but reading it was still like wading through treacle, counting down the pages until I could move on and read something else!
If you can derive enjoyment from endless anecdotes and character descriptions, then congratulations; you are much more patient than I. If, on the other hand, you prefer books with storylines, then take my advice: steer well clear of Of Love and Shadows.
Show More
among them and for hours they make conversation with you, allowing you intimate glimpses into their innermost secrets, fears and desires. Eventually, once night has long since fallen and you have begun to yawn and glance at your watch, your hostess finally remembers her obligation to provide some sort of food, and rustles up a brief, unremarkable meal before bidding you all goodnight. Imagine all of this, and you will have some idea what it is like to read Isabel Allende's Of Love and Shadows, which is all very well and good – if you like that sort of thing.The book begins well enough, introducing a rich cast of characters and painting a lifelike picture of a South American dictatorship. The promising orientation is carried out with care and perceptiveness, delving deep into the lives of the characters and fleshing out their personalities convincingly. This, however, is about far as Allende goes towards writing a novel. It soon becomes clear that Of Love and Shadows is firmly stuck in orientation mode, and intent on staying there for nearly two hundred pages. In the absence of a plot, the novel languishes and meanders aimlessly through page after page of text, in thick, merciless slabs which are sure to try the patience of even the most resolute readers.
By the time the plot finally kicked in, it was too late. I had been switched off so completely that nothing Allende wrote could switch me back on again. I cannot fault the quality of the writing, (apart from the occasional paragraph of florid melodrama,) but reading it was still like wading through treacle, counting down the pages until I could move on and read something else!
If you can derive enjoyment from endless anecdotes and character descriptions, then congratulations; you are much more patient than I. If, on the other hand, you prefer books with storylines, then take my advice: steer well clear of Of Love and Shadows.
Show Less
LibraryThing member raxxq
I have loved Isabelle Allende since I read The House of the Spirits in high school as part of our World Literature curriculum. Of Love and Shadows is a beautiful story that is, in many ways more centered in the reality of life under a Latin American dictator. This book maintains the magical realism
Show More
that Allende is well known for, but also feels slightly grittier. Show Less
LibraryThing member ntempest
I have a weird fascination with this book. It's not Allende's best known by far, yet something about the characters really affected me. In many ways I feel like it takes the broad scope of politics, family, and magic of House of the Spirits and condenses it into a more manageable package.
LibraryThing member noodlejet22
An interesting story about discovery courage and bravery. Historical and political fiction that seems removed from the magical realism for which Allende is known. Two friends uncover a crime committed by the military and struggle to expose the truth without putting each other in danger. A story
Show More
where everything that is a lie is truth and everything that is truth is a lie. What do you do, who are you and who do you become when you discover that the world is not as you believed it to be? Show Less
LibraryThing member purplehena
This was my introduction to Isabel Allende ... a great novel about the disappeared persons(los desaparecidos) of a Latin American dictatorship. I love Allende's writing style ... it was hard to put this one down.
LibraryThing member Lisa.Johnson.James
A book of the Revolution in a Latin American country that went unnamed in the book, this deals with the brutal side of government takeovers & crimes against the people. Irene is a journalist for a women's magazine, Francisco her photographer. Irene comes from a formerly well to do family, but her
There are so many tales of characters that become interwoven in this story, including the 2 Evangelinas, switched at birth, given to different mothers who knew each other, but were not permitted to switch their daughters back, so they both gave them the same names, & the families each treated the girls like sisters, & the girls always knew about the switch. Very strange substory there.
All in all, this story doesn't disappoint. The richness of the story, the way in which Allende writes about the people of this land, the families, the hardships, the brutality of the dictator's regime, the shocking violence of the takeover, & the propaganda that is spun while unspeakable things happen can be a lesson for all of today.
Show More
father became one of "the disappeared ones", & in order to make ends meet, turned the entire bottom floor of the hacienda into a home for the elderly. They are a cast of characters all their own. Irene is engaged to Gustavo, a Captain in the armed forces there, but falls in love with Francisco. There are so many tales of characters that become interwoven in this story, including the 2 Evangelinas, switched at birth, given to different mothers who knew each other, but were not permitted to switch their daughters back, so they both gave them the same names, & the families each treated the girls like sisters, & the girls always knew about the switch. Very strange substory there.
All in all, this story doesn't disappoint. The richness of the story, the way in which Allende writes about the people of this land, the families, the hardships, the brutality of the dictator's regime, the shocking violence of the takeover, & the propaganda that is spun while unspeakable things happen can be a lesson for all of today.
Show Less
LibraryThing member booklover3258
This is a book in the 1001 book to read before you die list. I lasted 50 pages and just had to stop. I'm sorry it just confused the heck out of me bouncing back and forth between families. I have no idea how one family was connected to the other two or why I needed to know their whole history. Very
Show More
very boring and I could not see myself reading the rest of the book. Not my cup o' tea. Show Less
LibraryThing member amerynth
I thought Isabel Allende's novel "Of Love and Shadows" was a good book, but not a great one. I ended up disappointed because my expectations were so high for this novel.
The story itself is interesting. It focuses on Irene and Francisco, a journalist and a photographer, who fall in love, but that's
The plot itself was interesting enough, but the execution wasn't the greatest. Allende kind of glosses over some things to move onto the next part of the story. It seemed a bit too "surface" if that makes any sense. Overall, it was an okay book but it isn't the best example of Allende's work.
The story itself is interesting. It focuses on Irene and Francisco, a journalist and a photographer, who fall in love, but that's
Show More
besides the point really. It's about the impact of a corrupt military on several families and the couple's documentation of it. The plot itself was interesting enough, but the execution wasn't the greatest. Allende kind of glosses over some things to move onto the next part of the story. It seemed a bit too "surface" if that makes any sense. Overall, it was an okay book but it isn't the best example of Allende's work.
Show Less
LibraryThing member siri51
I didn't find this book at all appealing, despite the passionate love story underlying it all.
LibraryThing member ElizabethCromb
A very touching story set amidst the struggles of the people against the Chilean military junta.
Awards
Soaring Eagle Book Award (Nominee — 1990)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Fiction — 1987)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1984
Physical description
304 p.; 5 inches
ISBN
0552993131 / 9780552993135