Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende

Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende
translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden

This is the story of a woman and a man who loved one another so deeply that they saved themselves from a banal existence. I have carried it in my memory, guarding it carefully so it would not be eroded by time, and it is only now, in the silent nights of this place, that I can finally tell it. I do it for them, and for others who have confided their lives to me saying: Here, write it, or it will be erased by the wind. -author's note

Over the weekend I finished Of Love and Shadows, a novel that (according to the Bookcrossing journal for the copy I have) has been on my bookshelves since April 2006.

Of Love and Shadows is one of Allende's early novels (initial publication in 1984). The copy I have has the cover depicted in this post (1988 Bantam mass market paperback). When I was viciously weeding the book collection post-move, I almost put this book in the Bookcrossing wild-release pile despite the fact that I like Allende's novels. Why? Because of the cover. Not because of the cover art, which is undeniably dated, but because of the blurbs selected for the back-cover text. The review blurbs, while positive, felt backhanded as they all seemed to say "it's good... for a political novel." Overtly political and/or religious novels can be a real turn-off for me, especially when they are preachy, so I would have been perfectly justified in weeding Of Love and Shadows. I didn't, though, and Of Love and Shadows does have a decided political stance, depicting as it does a fictionalized Chile under Pinochet.  But, the novel is about a romance as much as it is about the fate of the desaparecidos and those left to mourn them (see Allende's epigraphic author's note above) and I think that Of Love and Shadows balances the two stories much better than other novels I've read that have attempted to do the same.

Literature in translation swap

Today a new swap debuted, the literature in translation swap. I came up with this theme myself, thinking it would be a good way of introducing each other to new authors. (If you don't know what a swap is, check out the SWAP FAQ)

What are participants allowed to offer in the swap?
Any book originally written in French, Norwegian, Russian, Serbia, Spanish, etc. (the list is endless) and subsequently translated into English.

Here's what I decided to offer:
The Dark Bride by Laura Restrepo...
Translated from the Spanish by the author!

I picked up this book because I needed a new Colombian author for an international reading challenge that I'm working on this year (see this post for more details on the challenge). I'm eager to read it, especially having seen positive blurbs from Allende and García Márquez.

Book description:
Once a month, the refinery workers of the Tropical Oil Company descend upon Tora, a city in the Colombian forest. They journey down from the mountains searching for earthly bliss and hoping to encounter Sayonara, the legendary Indian prostitute who rules their squalid paradise like a queen. Beautiful, exotic, and mysterious, Sayonara, the undisputed barrio angel, captivates whoever crosses her path. Then, one day, she violates the unwritten rules of her profession and falls in love with a man she can never have. Sayonara's unrequited passion has tragic consequences not only for her, but for all those whose lives ultimately depend on the Tropical Oil Company.

A slyly humorous yet poignant love story, The Dark Bride lovingly recreates the lusty, heartrending world of Colombian prostitutes and the men of the oil fields who are entranced by them. Full of wit and intelligence, tragedy and compassion, The Dark Bride is luminous and unforgettable.

"Love, lust, despair, pride, violence, magic and irrational hope give depth and texture to this page-turning novel." --Isabel Allende

"Laura Restrepo breathes life into a singular amalgam of journalistic investigation and literary creation." --Gabriel García Márquez

Historical Fiction Swap

Today's the first day of the 4th Historical Fiction Swap. I was definitely chomping at the bit because it is my all-time favorite swap.

I did, however, decide to offer something a little different that our traditional swap fare (our offerings usually tend toward more "girly" historical fiction)--Fordlandia by Eduardo Sguiglia--mostly because I wanted an excuse to move it up the TBR (to be read) queue. I started it last night and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm interested to see how it goes over with the swappers. It hasn't been stolen yet, but the swap is still young...

Synopsis:
Fordlandia is a haunting, evocative novel at whose core lies a nuggest of fact: In 1929, Henry Ford, presiding in divine authority over his automobile empire, grew tired of the British monopoloy on Brazilian rubber. So, with signature hubris, Ford decided he would produce his own rubber and set about colonizing the Amazon, ultimately investing millions and founding an entire city around his rubber plantation. The name of the city was Fordlandia.

Surrounding this historical curiosity is a rich, captivating tale that explores the fundamental struggle between man and the natural world. Eduardo Sguiglia's exquisitely imagined Fordlandia is a town of characters by turns engaging and enigmatic, who draw the reader into their various worlds so effortlessly and ingenuously that their dreams, discoveries, and downfalls begin to seem as immediate and piercing as one's own.

Quote featured on front cover:
"[A] fine novel, whihc rescues Ford's folly from the most obscure pages of history and imbues it not merely with many new layers of meaning but also with its own mythology" --The Washington Post